Added a third bulb to AP24!

[budsreef]

I finally got all the pieces I needed to tackle adding a third bulb to the hood of my AP24. It was relatively easy, but due to some trial and error activity it took most of the day, yesterday. Once I had the hood apart, I also used a dremel to open the rest of the air intake slots to help with heating issues I've had during these hot weeks.

I took out one of the stock ballasts and replaced it with a Pony dual 36W ballast and moved the other stock ballast back in the hood further so I could move the reflector back to make room for the extra bulb. After moving the reflector back I added some reflector material to the front of the hood. To gain a little more room I replaced the two original bulb sockets with the connector type. Unfortunately, I had to move the moon lights to the ends so they won't be shinning on the middle of the tank like they were.

I decided to go with the 50/50 type bulb for the third one and wired it into the dual ballast along with the dual daylight. The dual actinic is on the original ballast and I also have it so the fans come on when the actinics come on.

Luckily, everything worked just fine once I got it all back together. Here are a few pictures of the hood before, during and after the mod.
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[triga22]

Wow! That freaking sweet!

 

[wbholwell]

Job well done- Looks great!

 

[budsreef]

dawgdude;75544 wrote: Looks stock bud nice job! How much did it cost to do that? I might have you help me out on my gf's Aquapod!

Charlie, when all was said and done it was right about $80. I still need to do something more to help get airflow over the bulbs themselves. Now that I've gone through it, I think it can be done a little cheaper and a little easier. Give me a call at anytime. I'd be happy to discuss alternatives and help out anyway I can.