lights do come in the hood. 64w (2 - 32w PCs). my hood (i got it up and out of the way for the picture above) has 144w (4 - 36w PCs).
you can also get the aquapod with no hood and a sunpod 70w metal halide. if you want to go up to 150w metal halide then order just the tank from nanotuners and get sunpod 150w metal halide or a Viper 150w metal halide.
again, figure that out now (by knowing what you want to do). it will be cheaper in the long run.
stock aquapod 24g w/64w PCs ($249):
my lid from nanotuners.com w/144w PCs (looks same as above when closed - $439)
aquapod 24 w/70w metal halide sunpod ($349):
aquapod 24 w/150w metal halide sunpod ($419):
nanotuners also sells just the tank for $94. and here's the 150w or 70w viper metal halide for $210 and $160 respectively.
take a look at those prices and you will see what i mean about figuring out what you want first. as an example, i paid $169 for my stock 24g aquapod. later decided to upgrade (but wanted to retain the stock lid - why i got this tank in the first place) and paid another $439 for the 4.36 lid from nanotuners. total of $608.
had i figured out what i wanted from the beginning, i could have gotten the closed lid aquapod 24 for $539 or the open top w/150 metal halide for $439.
note: all prices above are from nanontuners. you can find better deals on other websites. dr foster and smith has the best prices on the stock aquapod or aquapod w/70w sunpod.
most bang for the buck: $94 tank from nanotuners and 150w viper for $210. that would be $304 (50% of what i paid - damn, where was everyone when i was going through this
and you would have metal halide which is best.