AI Vega Color/Blue Owners Thread! - Page 78

Zoa man · 09/09/2013, 08:13 PM

Just got 2 hydras myself for my new 120g. Gotta say I'm gonna miss these T5s. They look great on the tank right now

jonthany · 09/09/2013, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoa man

Just got 2 hydras myself for my new 120g. Gotta say I'm gonna miss these T5s. They look great on the tank right now

You miss your T5s over LEDs??? How are the Hydras? I have been looking at them for a while but they just announced the Hydra52 so I was holding out again until I get some more info...

Zoa man · 09/09/2013, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonthany

You miss your T5s over LEDs??? How are the Hydras? I have been looking at them for a while but they just announced the Hydra52 so I was holding out again until I get some more info...

I will miss the t5 s. the hydras didn't arrive yet. I have brand new sol blues also that I have to sell. I've always had amazing results from ATI and tek fixtures which I still have on 2 other tanks. Figures I can save some dough with LEDs on he big tank lol

rhinonm · 09/12/2013, 04:24 PM

I ordered some custom pucks for my Vega 1 month ago and received no update from AI about my order. This company sure does drop the ball a lot. The website quotes 2-3 weeks to ship out.

I contacted them today and they said they are still waiting to manufacture them. Really...

Any one else have experiences ordering from them?

djbetterly · 09/12/2013, 04:41 PM

They have never dropped the ball on me but I have heard of them doing that. On a positive note when you do have problems with your lights their customer service is great! They've been working with me to fix an issue with the LED drivers and when they couldn't resolve it through new drivers they sent me, they replaced all the guts.

rhinonm · 09/13/2013, 08:31 AM

They are great on that stuff, but it seams like they are more interested in releasing new products than perfecting current ones. It appears the Vega features that initially sold me on the product (custom pucks, director) are on the back burner with the company.

Another feature I really liked was the 20 channels of control. My tank is 24" deep with some sps in the top 12" and some in the lower 12". I liked the ability to control each led so that I could pump up the leds covering the sps on the sandbed. A year later and I still dont have this ability. I noticed that they have taken down this feature from their website and vendor descriptions.

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 12:11 PM

So I have a 220. 72x24x30. I think the depth is killing me. I am running 3 vega color. All blues are at 100 whites are at 65. 6 inches above the water. Well just check my par measurements and well to say the least they aren't very good. We are talking 100-150 par just about everywhere. Don't get me wrong I am getting very nice spread but low numbers. Any thoughts on this. Do I need to add one more vega. Any help would be great. On a side note I just held an evo up with them and got a 50/75 par jump.

Zoa man · 09/13/2013, 12:18 PM

Well that's not good to hear cause I'm waitin for my hydras to show up

jonthany · 09/13/2013, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewbram

So I have a 220. 72x24x30. I think the depth is killing me. I am running 3 vega color. All blues are at 100 whites are at 65. 6 inches above the water. Well just check my par measurements and well to say the least they aren't very good. We are talking 100-150 par just about everywhere. Don't get me wrong I am getting very nice spread but low numbers. Any thoughts on this. Do I need to add one more vega. Any help would be great. On a side note I just held an evo up with them and got a 50/75 par jump.

Im sure this has been covered already many times but Im pretty sure standard par meters dont read leds correctly. What model are you using?
I have a 24 cube and im about 6 inches off the water as well with 1 vega color and i have my blues on about 50 and my whites on about 35ish. If i go over that everything starts to close up and look unhappy

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoa man

Well that's not good to hear cause I'm waitin for my hydras to show up

I am running a 30 inch deep tank. That makes a huge difference. I think the hydra may have more useable light because of the violets. The are good lights but I am a stick guy so more par more par.

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 12:43 PM

Apogee is what I am using. Same meter tested a number of other lights. I think the optics are what are hurting me. Hence the need for another vega but wanted to see if anyone else was running tank my size or bigger and hear some feed back.

jonthany · 09/13/2013, 01:01 PM

You have a good point. I have mainly LPS... I have been thinking about switching two of my whites out for violet. Only running whites on 30% seems like a waste to have all 4.....

RandoReefer · 09/13/2013, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCareyETexas

I'm another 60" tank guy and am wondering about utilizing 3 units. My concern is that everything being symmetrical that my center unit would be mounted directly above my center cross-brace mitigating the benefit of the 3rd unit.
Any input on this?

+1

I had this question too. 72" tank here and with the 24"X24" coverage calculation, I should only need (3). That puts the middle one directly over my center brace.

I will buy (4) anyway to see how it looks, but does anyone have issues with their center brace being in the way of an odd number?? I'm sure we aren't the only ones thinking this.

Thoughts....Pics??

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 02:00 PM

If you are going to run four I would run them front to back instead of length wise. That way you can not worry about wasted light.

Mr tap water · 09/13/2013, 02:13 PM

Hi there
When cloud mode when the cycle has finished it shoot straight back up instead of going up gradually and spokes I Fish does this happen with everyone

Zoa man · 09/13/2013, 02:35 PM

Im hoping these hydras are good cause I have 2 brand new sol blues I haven't even opened yet I'm gonna sell when the hydras show up

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoa man

Im hoping these hydras are good cause I have 2 brand new sol blues I haven't even opened yet I'm gonna sell when the hydras show up

How big and deep is your tank

Zoa man · 09/13/2013, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewbram

How big and deep is your tank

48x24 120g.

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 03:01 PM

You could run all 5. Haha just kidding. I think three hydra should be more than enough. I have 3 vega on 72". I tested by sliding closer together and got a huge par increase. At 24 inches down I was hitting. 175.

Zoa man · 09/13/2013, 03:02 PM

I'm only gonna have 2

Zoa man · 09/13/2013, 03:11 PM

But I'm not doing much sps.

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 03:20 PM

Gotcha

rhinonm · 09/13/2013, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewbram

So I have a 220. 72x24x30. I think the depth is killing me. I am running 3 vega color. All blues are at 100 whites are at 65. 6 inches above the water. Well just check my par measurements and well to say the least they aren't very good. We are talking 100-150 par just about everywhere. Don't get me wrong I am getting very nice spread but low numbers. Any thoughts on this. Do I need to add one more vega. Any help would be great. On a side note I just held an evo up with them and got a 50/75 par jump.

You may want to get different lenses for the vegas with such a deep tank. They have 50 deg lenses on their site. If you order today you may receive them next year (look at my above post).

If I were you Id add 1 more vega and swap out the lenses. I have 3 on a 48"L x 24"D and have them mounted length wise all mount together using the smallest ext rails. I have mine dialed back pretty good.

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhinonm

You may want to get different lenses for the vegas with such a deep tank. They have 50 deg lenses on their site. If you order today you may receive them next year (look at my above post).

If I were you Id add 1 more vega and swap out the lenses. I have 3 on a 48"L x 24"D and have them mounted length wise all mount together using the smallest ext rails. I have mine dialed back pretty good.

I will check that out. I didn't know they had different lenses. Gtk

andrewbram · 09/13/2013, 05:27 PM

Well have an email into support to make sure my vega are able to accept those lenses. Fingers crossed. Has anyone used these interested to know how much they cut down on the spread.

09/09/2013, 08:13 PM	#1926
Zoa man Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 88	Just got 2 hydras myself for my new 120g. Gotta say I'm gonna miss these T5s. They look great on the tank right now

09/12/2013, 04:24 PM	#1929
rhinonm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Rio Rancho NM USA Posts: 302	I ordered some custom pucks for my Vega 1 month ago and received no update from AI about my order. This company sure does drop the ball a lot. The website quotes 2-3 weeks to ship out. I contacted them today and they said they are still waiting to manufacture them. Really... Any one else have experiences ordering from them?

09/12/2013, 04:41 PM	#1930
djbetterly Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 284	They have never dropped the ball on me but I have heard of them doing that. On a positive note when you do have problems with your lights their customer service is great! They've been working with me to fix an issue with the LED drivers and when they couldn't resolve it through new drivers they sent me, they replaced all the guts.

09/13/2013, 08:31 AM	#1931
rhinonm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Rio Rancho NM USA Posts: 302	They are great on that stuff, but it seams like they are more interested in releasing new products than perfecting current ones. It appears the Vega features that initially sold me on the product (custom pucks, director) are on the back burner with the company. Another feature I really liked was the 20 channels of control. My tank is 24" deep with some sps in the top 12" and some in the lower 12". I liked the ability to control each led so that I could pump up the leds covering the sps on the sandbed. A year later and I still dont have this ability. I noticed that they have taken down this feature from their website and vendor descriptions.

09/13/2013, 12:11 PM	#1932
andrewbram Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 337	So I have a 220. 72x24x30. I think the depth is killing me. I am running 3 vega color. All blues are at 100 whites are at 65. 6 inches above the water. Well just check my par measurements and well to say the least they aren't very good. We are talking 100-150 par just about everywhere. Don't get me wrong I am getting very nice spread but low numbers. Any thoughts on this. Do I need to add one more vega. Any help would be great. On a side note I just held an evo up with them and got a 50/75 par jump.

09/13/2013, 12:18 PM	#1933
Zoa man Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 88	Well that's not good to hear cause I'm waitin for my hydras to show up

09/13/2013, 12:43 PM	#1936
andrewbram Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 337	Apogee is what I am using. Same meter tested a number of other lights. I think the optics are what are hurting me. Hence the need for another vega but wanted to see if anyone else was running tank my size or bigger and hear some feed back.

09/13/2013, 01:01 PM	#1937
jonthany Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Long Island Posts: 147	You have a good point. I have mainly LPS... I have been thinking about switching two of my whites out for violet. Only running whites on 30% seems like a waste to have all 4.....

09/13/2013, 02:00 PM	#1939
andrewbram Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 337	If you are going to run four I would run them front to back instead of length wise. That way you can not worry about wasted light.

09/13/2013, 02:13 PM	#1940
Mr tap water Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 248	Hi there When cloud mode when the cycle has finished it shoot straight back up instead of going up gradually and spokes I Fish does this happen with everyone

09/13/2013, 02:35 PM	#1941
Zoa man Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 88	Im hoping these hydras are good cause I have 2 brand new sol blues I haven't even opened yet I'm gonna sell when the hydras show up

09/13/2013, 03:01 PM	#1944
andrewbram Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 337	You could run all 5. Haha just kidding. I think three hydra should be more than enough. I have 3 vega on 72". I tested by sliding closer together and got a huge par increase. At 24 inches down I was hitting. 175.

09/13/2013, 03:02 PM	#1945
Zoa man Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 88	I'm only gonna have 2

09/13/2013, 03:11 PM	#1946
Zoa man Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 88	But I'm not doing much sps.

09/13/2013, 03:20 PM	#1947
andrewbram Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 337	Gotcha

09/13/2013, 05:27 PM	#1950
andrewbram Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 337	Well have an email into support to make sure my vega are able to accept those lenses. Fingers crossed. Has anyone used these interested to know how much they cut down on the spread.