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[24 AquaPod] Hood Cooling & 120w Light DIY Mods


keepher

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Cooling DIY Mods (part 1)

 

First, this mod is done on an older Pod. A newer Pod hoods may or may not be different!

 

This mod is intended for anyone looking for a way to upgrade a Pod, retain the factory “All in One” look and do it inexpensively. If you don’t care for the covered factory hood look, stop reading this thread. This is not for you!

 

Important Note: Both the cooling and lighting upgrades require some basic electrical skills. If you are uncomfortable working with electricity, please get someone to assist you with the wiring!

 

Before we start with the lighting, lets deal with the cooling. The cooling should be done with all AquaPods, both 12 gal. and 24 gal., even if you don’t make any lighting mods. Although, this has nothing to do with Pod hoods and lighting, I highly suggest replacing the stock-circulating pump with a Maxi-Jet 900 or 1200 powerhead. The MJ pumps use less electricity, produces much less heat and the replacement is pretty much plug & play.

 

Before I did any changes (one fan, stock bulbs and stock pump), I found I had a hard time keeping the temp below 81 and this was in the winter (in the great white north.) Within a month of buying the tank, I changed the circulation pump, did the cooling suggestions in part #1 and moded the hood for (2) 40 watt bulbs. I found I could easily keep the temp at 76-77 and on the hottest days of the summer it would hit 80.2 with the inside room temp @77.5. Sorry, but I never tested the temperature with the stock bulbs. Finally, with the three bulbs (120w), I can still maintain 78-79 during the cool days and on the hottest day this summer the tank temperature reached 81.5 with the inside room temp @78.6. I feel any tank temperature below 82 is still very reasonable for short time periods. This was done without a expensive chiller to buy, operate and listen to!

 

One last comment on the photos you will be viewing, all of the upgrades were done long before I decided to write this article. So, if you notice something is done before it is described, you know why!

 

 

First we will be changing the way the air flows through the hood and then a second fan will be added (really the factory fan should be replaced too). I’m not going to get into what fans to buy. Some people want quiet fans (lower cfm.) and some want more cooling (higher cfm.) There are thousands of threads on the subject of fans. Decide on your wants and needs and purchase accordingly.

 

Items needed:

 

1 - Roll of 1¼”(tall) x ¾”(wide) rubber weatherstrip tape (Ace Hdw. # 51276)

1 - Roll of 3/8”(tall) x ½”(wide) Poly Foam weatherstriping (Ace Hdw. #53110)

1 or 2 60mm x 25mm (or less) 12v computer fan(s)

4 – Small wire nuts

1 small roll of electrical tape

 

Tools needed:

 

1 - each #1 & #2 Phillips screwdrivers

1 - slotted screwdriver

1 - wire crimping and stripping tool

1 - Dremel tool w/bits and/or a utility or X-Acto knife and plenty of sharp replacement blades

1 - propane torch or some other means to heat the knife blade to melt-cut plastic

 

Ok, here we go! Unplug the hood and remove from the tank. Lay the hood top down, take the clear lamp cover off, remove the pc lamps and then remove the metal reflector. The reflector is attached with four screws. The first two screws are located between the lamp endcaps and the lamp clips. The second two are the screws that hold the lamps clips in place. Now remove the lamp end caps, the ground wire (located at the back center of reflector and lastly, gently unplug the moonlights from the small circuit board located in the back ballast/fan partition.

 

1CuttingforcoolingII.jpg

 

First we will deal with the airflow so that means we need to cut plastic. You will need a Dremel and/or a utility knife. The above photo shows two red circles on the upper left and lower center. This shows where the plastic needs to be cut down to the hood surface. Use a Dremel or hot knife (don’t cut through the hood.) The circle on the right shows where the intake vents are located. If you take a knife blade and insert it in the holes, you will note that they are barely open! The intake vents need to be opened up! Use a new sharp blade to trim this open. If you take your time and are careful, none of this grinding and hacking will be seen after the hood is reassembled.

 

2ventandfoamview.jpg

 

This shows a better view of the opened intake vents and the beginning of the next step; air direction. You need to direct the cool air through the entire hood and eliminate dead (hot) spots. This will be done by forcing the cool air to come forward and around the bottom front of the metal reflector, then over the bulbs, through the round factory holes, into the back where the ballasts are located and exhausted out through the fans. Again, the idea is to pull all of the hot air out, not just the ballast heat and eliminate dead spots. The next step is to widen the back partition wall of the intake vents. I used ¼”(tall) x ¾”(wide) rubber weatherstrip tape. I used rubber because it is stiffer and easier to apply another type of weatherstrip to the top. Now take a sharp utility blade and trim the height of the rubber strip down to the height of the plastic partition wall.

 

3hoodfoam.jpg

 

Next, we will be using 3/8”(tall) x ½”(wide) Poly Foam (soft) weatherstriping. In the above photo notice the arrows in the far left and right. Take 1” pieces of the poly foam and centering on the back vent partition, stick them one on top of each other until you are higher than the partition wall. This will have closed off the area between the intake partition and the hood sidewall. Now, apply one long strip of poly foam from the inside of the hood to the other. This will be attached to the doubled up poly foam on each end and the top of the rubber foam in the middle. This will seal the cool air from bypassing the bulbs.

 

4foambackofrefector.jpg

 

Now add a strip of poly foam to the back of the metal reflector. When the hood is reassembled this will sit on top of the foam wall you just completed on the last step. Don’t worry about there being too much weatherstriping, the poly foam is real soft and will compress nicely, creating a good seal.

 

5finalfoam.jpg

 

One last piece of poly foam is applied the length of the top of the reflector at the back edge.

 

6fans.jpg

 

Finally, we get to the fan(s)! This is pretty cut and dry. So, I’m going to keep this short. First, wire the fans into the pigtail (circled). Match the red to the red wires, the black-to-black wires and if your fans have a third wire, simply tape it off so it doesn’t touch anything else (you won’t be using it). I soldered mine and used heat shrink tape, but you could use wire nuts as well. I suppose you noticed, I didn’t have you mount the fans first. This is because you want to make sure that both fans are blowing out of the hood. It is especially important if you are using two different brand fans! So, temporarily plug the hood in and confirm that the fans are blowing in the same and correct direction. When they are correct, unplug the hood and mount the fans.

 

If you are only concerned with cooling, you can reassemble the hood and enjoy cooler tank temps!

 

Please go to (part 2) for the 120w lighting portion of this DIY. Link: (Part 2) 120w Lighting

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