AI Vega Color/Blue Owners Thread!

[Wills612]

I have my vega blue over a 29g whites 35 blues 40-55

[Dadekster]

Originally Posted by Dadekster

So I got my three upgrade kits to turn my Sol Blues into Vega Colors. Package showed up in good shape and had all three of my upgrade boxes in there along with all the parts looking to be in good shape. Took out the instructions and followed them to the letter on one of my units. Not the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and pretty simple to be honest. Fired the light up after updating the firmware on my controller. Did a light test check and all leds fired up nicely to include the violets.

So off I went merrily to do the upgrade on the other two remaining lights. Get them all done and hang everything over my tank and set them all into the steady red light mode to upgrade the firmware and have the controller recognize them. Right about there is when everything went to hell in a handbasket. As of right now I have one light that works, one that constantly just goes into disco mode and another one that at one point had all the leds working to just now the far right side puck coming on. The one remaining unit while working just seems to come on and off randomly even with the controller set up in auto mode. I ran the 2 minutes test mode and it went through the entire cycle flawlessly; however, for some odd reason it just wants to do its own thing the rest of the time. Cloud effects are off btw.

I have reset the lights separately, re-downloaded firmware (2.09) and done numerous factory resets on all three units and at this point I fell like throwing the lights in front of an oncoming train. I have put together several of my own computers, have rc cars etc etc so it's not like this upgrade was hard but *** am I doing wrong or do I just have an inordinate amount of bad light?

Update-

Called AI and spoke with Justin who promptly returned a message I left. Spent a good 30 minutes on the phone and he very helpfully walked me through various troubleshooting solutions. Long story short they are going to send me some new power supplies. This along with a firmware patch to run my lights while I wait for the power supplies is letting me run my lights with all features albeit at reduced power. So if anyone out there is having the issues I was having it may be related to your power supply packs.

There aren't many companies out there I can say would call me back in the same day and then be as helpful as Justin was on the phone with me, AI and Vortech however are two I can. I was pretty sure I was going to buy 3 more Vega Colors brand new for my tank but the customer service AI has shown me had definitely clinched the deal. Thanks again Justin if you read this thread.

[Tinpanva]

Originally Posted by reefervinny

Looks good. Only suggestion I would make would be to start your percentages lower than what you have right now. Set with coral acclimation mode at 50% and put your levels at 60% so it will ramp from 30% to your desired amount of 60%. I personally don't go over 35% with my whites because it seems to make my corals unhappy and they start to bleach around a little over 40%. Another thing I suggest per "AI" is that the moonlight percentage be set at 5% which will give you all the phases of the moon. 9% is really high and your fish will be buggin at night. I set mine at 1% only because 5 seems so damn high. These are just my suggestions as I have been running 2 vegas over my 90gal for about 7 months.

Good luck!

I based my setting off the following email I got from AI tech support. In a nut shell, less than 5% no good, more than 10% not recommended. Perhaps your confusing Moon Lights with Lunar Cycle. They are not the same.

From AI:
1) Lunar Cycle reduces (never increases) intensities of all LED colors for the programmed hours of the day. It is a rough approximation of the 8 phases of the moon that occur throughout the month.
2) Intensities are reduced in 8 steps by multiplying the current intensity by a fractional number. The calculation is done every night at midnight, and one of the 8 multipliers are then applied to the current intensities based on which phase of the moon.

Intensity Reduction
New Moon
.10
Waxing Crescent
.20
First Quarter
.40
Waxing Gibbous
.60
Full Moon
1.0
Waning Gibbous
.60
Third Quarter
.40
Waning Crescent
.20

As you can see, a full moon has no effect of intensities (multiplied by 1.0), so the nighttime intensities need to be set to the brightest, full moon level desired.
Take the example of setting ROYAL as your moonlight with an intensity setting of 5%. You would wind up with the following intensities:

Actual Results
New Moon
5% x .10 0%
Waxing Crescent
5% x .20 1%
First Quarter
5% x .40 2%
Waxing Gibbous
5% x .60 3%
Full Moon
5% x 1.0 5%
Waning Gibbous
5% x .60 3%
Third Quarter
5% x .40 2%
Waning Crescent
5% x .20 1%

Important Notes:
- Results are rounded to a whole percent. Be careful when setting the "full moon" intensity less than 5%, or you will have 0% intensity for most of the month. The absolute minimum nighttime intensity to use Lunar Cycle should be no less than 5%.
- A full moon only lasts 4-5 days for the entire month, so the intensity setting of 5% won't be seen for 3 weeks.
- The year, month, and date must be correct for all of this to work.
- There are no intermediate steps or graduations beyond the 8 steps listed. The intensity reduction simply changes 8 times a month at the midnight hour.

[Tinpanva]

Originally Posted by Wills612

I have my vega blue over a 29g whites 35 blues 40-55

Did you start here or ramp up? Do you have SPS, good color on things like tri-colors?

[dougdstecklein]

Originally Posted by Dadekster

There aren't many companies out there I can say would call me back in the same day and then be as helpful as Justin was on the phone with me, AI and Vortech however are two I can. I was pretty sure I was going to buy 3 more Vega Colors brand new for my tank but the customer service AI has shown me had definitely clinched the deal. Thanks again Justin if you read this thread.

I agree with you on this. I messaged AL about changing the automatic sunrise/sunset colors. I felt the colors turned dark blue too quickly. They promptly replied and offered to work up a custom ramp up/ramp down sequence for me. I didn't even think I would get a response, so this personal attention was above and beyond my expectations.

[Wills612]

I pretty much started around there. I Set the light up maybe six months ago but had a crash about 3 months ago. kinda had to start over with my sps. I've gotten pretty good growth from sps color wise hit and miss. I I've got some param issues that I attribute to the poor colors.

[tannersmith2000]

I just thought I would share my custom AI Vega Color Fixture mounting system.

Light6.jpg

I have a shallow reef rimless tank 48" x 37" x 8"

I custom built my AI Vega Color fixture frame/mount because I wanted my fixtures parallel rather than in series. AI uses a rail system that just doesn't satisfy my liking.
The light spread is more effective for a wide tank (30"+). If the tank was more narrow, say 24" or less, the AI rail system would be sufficient and practical.

I went to Lowes and bought three 8' (1" x 1") aluminum square sticks/poles. I wanted my lights to be evenly spread so the frame is exactly 30" long and 12" wide.

I cut my pieces and welded them together.

Light7.jpg

The middle light fixture sits exactly in the center. I drilled 1/4" holes through the frame and used 10-32 x 2" screws that mount the fixture to the frame. I used an Ecoexotic fixture mounting kit for hanging it to the ceiling.

Light2.jpg

Light3.jpg

Light4.jpg

And in case you are wondering, they do not overheat due to part of the frame covering the fan.

[tannersmith2000]

If anyone wants to build a fixture mount, I will help you by sending you instructions

[Ledo]

After 6 months using Vega, I'm very satisfied with the LEDs.
Corals have grown very well, more than with T5.



But, the software....

Originally Posted by qfrisco

We had an overnight power outage lasting roughly four hours. When power finally came back on, the controller did not re-establish connection with the Vegas. In order to fix it, I had to reset both Vegas then re-discover them via the controller.

Anyone else have an experience like this?

Me.

Every time the power fails, it happens.

For example, last Friday I had a 37 seconds power failure (Apex report).
One of the lamps didn't turn on, and the rear LED was flashing different colors.
The other lamp turned on, but freezing the program.

Another issue: the control freezes after some time (two or three days).
I have to unplug and plug again every time.

Is anyone having this experience too?
Is this a Vega issue?

PS: I'm using the last firmware.

[pwfletcher]

Me too

[jg93]

So I've had the Vega's for a couple of weeks and wanted to update -

My acans - which were red, color shifted to orange under the Sol Blues, are turning nice and red again. I'm very happy about this.

My colors overall are much better. The Violet really pops a big blue chalice I have. My other corals - which were blue, are morphing to their proper purple (two SPSs...) My brownish-blue SPS that never really colored are now definitely shifting back to deep blues. I'm very, very happy I upgraded to these and I'm delighted to see the colors coming out in some of the corals I've had for a while now. I'll update more in the ensuing weeks as the colors continue to flourish.

[pwfletcher]

Originally Posted by jg93

So I've had the Vega's for a couple of weeks and wanted to update -

My acans - which were red, color shifted to orange under the Sol Blues, are turning nice and red again. I'm very happy about this.

My colors overall are much better. The Violet really pops a big blue chalice I have. My other corals - which were blue, are morphing to their proper purple (two SPSs...) My brownish-blue SPS that never really colored are now definitely shifting back to deep blues. I'm very, very happy I upgraded to these and I'm delighted to see the colors coming out in some of the corals I've had for a while now. I'll update more in the ensuing weeks as the colors continue to flourish.

What are your light levels?

[bangbangkhan]

Is any one using the lunar cycle @ 4%?
Is it really bright? I am using 1% and I get a lot of dark nights.

[djbetterly]

Originally Posted by jg93

So I've had the Vega's for a couple of weeks and wanted to update -

My acans - which were red, color shifted to orange under the Sol Blues, are turning nice and red again. I'm very happy about this.

My colors overall are much better. The Violet really pops a big blue chalice I have. My other corals - which were blue, are morphing to their proper purple (two SPSs...) My brownish-blue SPS that never really colored are now definitely shifting back to deep blues. I'm very, very happy I upgraded to these and I'm delighted to see the colors coming out in some of the corals I've had for a while now. I'll update more in the ensuing weeks as the colors continue to flourish.

I would love to know more as well about your levels, distance from water, etc.

[reefervinny]

Please read below and I think you will find your answers you are looking for.

Originally Posted by bangbangkhan

Is any one using the lunar cycle @ 4%?
Is it really bright? I am using 1% and I get a lot of dark nights.

Originally Posted by Tinpanva

I based my setting off the following email I got from AI tech support. In a nut shell, less than 5% no good, more than 10% not recommended. Perhaps your confusing Moon Lights with Lunar Cycle. They are not the same.

From AI:
1) Lunar Cycle reduces (never increases) intensities of all LED colors for the programmed hours of the day. It is a rough approximation of the 8 phases of the moon that occur throughout the month.
2) Intensities are reduced in 8 steps by multiplying the current intensity by a fractional number. The calculation is done every night at midnight, and one of the 8 multipliers are then applied to the current intensities based on which phase of the moon.

Intensity Reduction
New Moon
.10
Waxing Crescent
.20
First Quarter
.40
Waxing Gibbous
.60
Full Moon
1.0
Waning Gibbous
.60
Third Quarter
.40
Waning Crescent
.20

As you can see, a full moon has no effect of intensities (multiplied by 1.0), so the nighttime intensities need to be set to the brightest, full moon level desired.
Take the example of setting ROYAL as your moonlight with an intensity setting of 5%. You would wind up with the following intensities:

Actual Results
New Moon
5% x .10 0%
Waxing Crescent
5% x .20 1%
First Quarter
5% x .40 2%
Waxing Gibbous
5% x .60 3%
Full Moon
5% x 1.0 5%
Waning Gibbous
5% x .60 3%
Third Quarter
5% x .40 2%
Waning Crescent
5% x .20 1%

Important Notes:
- Results are rounded to a whole percent. Be careful when setting the "full moon" intensity less than 5%, or you will have 0% intensity for most of the month. The absolute minimum nighttime intensity to use Lunar Cycle should be no less than 5%.
- A full moon only lasts 4-5 days for the entire month, so the intensity setting of 5% won't be seen for 3 weeks.
- The year, month, and date must be correct for all of this to work.
- There are no intermediate steps or graduations beyond the 8 steps listed. The intensity reduction simply changes 8 times a month at the midnight hour.

[Ledo]

About the issue after power failure and controller freezing, the (quick) answer from AI:

If you have a power failure this may happen as the lights are designed for power application to the outlet first, then the light. If this happens opposite, it may not have enough power to kick it back on again and you will need to unplug the power directly from the light, then reenter back to the module. This should resolve the rapid LED flashing and then can sync back to your controller.

With the controller freezing are you running this via the power supply that comes with the controller or via computer USB directly? It may be an issue with the power supply for the controller. If you have an iphone/smartphone usb adapter would try using this to see if this resolves the issue with the controller freezing.

[nova65ss]

So I have a vega updated the new firmware to 2.09 now the controller can not find the lights any help? I selected vega and tried all 10 channels and the led on the back is red. Right now the lights are just randomly flashing through the different colors. Thanks

[reefervinny]

Originally Posted by nova65ss

So I have a vega updated the new firmware to 2.09 now the controller can not find the lights any help? I selected vega and tried all 10 channels and the led on the back is red. Right now the lights are just randomly flashing through the different colors. Thanks

I would try and hold the button in the back until it starts flashing and then I believe goes solid. Then try to find the lights with the controller. If not unplug your power source on the vegas and the controller and start from a fresh boot.

[nova65ss]

Man I tried that like five times. Thanks though

[nova65ss]

I got it I called and got tech on the phone I just needed to hold the button down again to get it red. It was actually amber indicating it was in demo mode. Thanks

[jg93]

Originally Posted by djbetterly

I would love to know more as well about your levels, distance from water, etc.

I hung mine 9" AWL. I'm using the 'easy set up' for now. I had tweaked around the manual settings a bit but this is so much easier and generally I like the ramp up and down. My lights are currently

CW: 30
Blue/Deep Blue/Royal/Violet: 35
Green/Red: 25

I'm going to add in more blue over the next two weeks and get that group up to 40%.

After that settles, I'm going to slowly (like 1%/week slowly) ramp up to 60ish on the blues, 45ish on the whites, 30ish on the Green/Reds.

I had the Sols for 1 year. Really had a lot of bleaching problems with them - especially on things like cyphastrea, favias - mostly LPSs. I had them running at about 35 blue/25 whites, hence where I started with these.

Best of luck, I'll report back as time goes on.

[dougdstecklein]

I decided to paint my wall mounts flat black a few days ago. When I plugged the lights back in the controller could not find the lights. I had to re-setup the lights which deleted all of my manual programming. Very frustrating considering how long it takes to manually program your ramp up and down. At least I wrote them down a few pages back on this thread.

I also decided to move my lights from 6" AWL to 8" AWL. I think it looks a little better. I don't see as much of the headlight beam affect that whites everything out directly below the fixtures.

[bangbangkhan]

Originally Posted by dougdstecklein

I decided to paint my wall mounts flat black a few days ago. When I plugged the lights back in the controller could not find the lights. I had to re-setup the lights which deleted all of my manual programming. Very frustrating considering how long it takes to manually program your ramp up and down. At least I wrote them down a few pages back on this thread.

I also decided to move my lights from 6" AWL to 8" AWL. I think it looks a little better. I don't see as much of the headlight beam affect that whites everything out directly below the fixtures.

can you please post your settings? I am also using the predefined ones but don't really like the quick changes in the dawn and dusk time.

[dougdstecklein]

Originally Posted by dougdstecklein

I can't freakin sleep so I'll give this a go.
White- 50
Red- 35
Green- 35
All blues-70
I have them on manual timers.
4 hour ramp up. 9:00-1:00 4 timers/1 hour each
9:00 white-3 red-5 green-5 blues-7
10:00 white-7 red-10 green-10 blues-15
11:00 white-20 red-20 green-20 blues-35
12:00 white-50 red-35 green-35 blues-70
4 hour ramp down. 6:00-10:00 4 timers/1hour each
6:00 white-50 red-35 green-35 blues-70
7:00 white-20 red-20 green-20 blues-35
8:00 white-7 red-10 green-10 blues-15
9:00 white-0 red-0 green-0 blues-1
I do not like the automatic timers. The sunrise/sunset turns dark blue immediately and doesn't look very natural. I wanted a normal daylight color with just increasing/decreasing intensities for most of the sunrise/sunset.
This allows for great viewing of the tank all day without frying your corals.
The lights are only at my max intensities for 5 hours of the day; 1:00-6:00.
At least if my controller ever loses it's programming I have it written down now.

[jg93]

Those look interesting Doug I may try that out!