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getting AI Vegas next week

Tommyboynj

Administrator
Officer Emeritus
I have 2 sol blues over my 75 and have them about 12 inches of the water. These things are powerful. acclimate slowly. I'm thinking about getting the vega kits for them. I had them for a year and love them as do my corals.
 

dnov99

FRAG SWAP VENDOR
does anyone know how to deactivate extra timers that were set in the controller when i bought these?

When you scroll through the options it should have an "active" function with yes or no choices.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
i found out yesterday that the "frosted" lenses used on the ai hydros can be purchased separately and used on the ai vegas. the new lenses "diffuse" the colors for better blend, and reduced spot lighting. (which i only notice on the red and greens and only at certain times) i think also that the addition of some supplement colors such as uv, violet, and magenta via a diy addition that i can mount to the frame i fabricated will give me everything i need. with the longevity of led's this will be a perfect solution, because by the time my vegas need replacing there will be the "perfect fixture" available at the right price. by the time i'm done with these they will have paid for themselves in the cost of t5 bulb replacements. so. i am now a happy reefer.
 
Interesting.... I just saw the Hydra upgrade kit and was debating about the Hydra vs the Vega for my system, which is currently Sol Blues. I was sold on the Vega but I think the Hydra looks to be a great solution as well. At least I am not doing that until November so I have time to let others play with them and figure out the best option.
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
I spoke to a rep at AI yesterday and he told me that the lenses for the hydra do not fit the Vega, the vega uses a 3 watt white bulb which is bigger then the hydra. He said they might make a new diffused lens for the vega but is not available at this time. I have moved my Vegas to 12.5 inches off the water and the spread is better.
 
Leds

Most LED pods like AI or Radion really need to be hung at least a foot above the tank to get the right spread.

Its helps alot with coverage as well.
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
Since I'm still playing with spread and hight I'm also trying to play a little bit with length of time the lights are on and ramp times. If anybody out there using Vegas maybe you could give me some input on what you're doing.
 
i have mine 9 3/4" off the water and i think the coverage is good and even, with minimal light not going into the tank.
timer 1: 10:30am 3 hr ramp up:
wht 35%, red 20%, green 20%, blue 45%, d-blue 55%, royal 55%
timer 2: 9:30pm 1:55 ramp down:
wht 5%, red 2%, green 2%, blue 10%, d-blue 15%, royal 15%
timer 3: 11:30pm 1 hr ramp down:
wht 0%, red 1%, green 1%, blue 3%, d-blue 7% royal 5%

now i'm still debating weather or not i eventually want to go brighter... but as of now i'm very happy with these settings.
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
Wow That's pretty low. What size tank you have and how many fixtures do you have on it. Mine go on At 11:45 AM 65% white 90% blue 90% Rael 90% deep blue 20% red 20% green.
Ramp time two hours.
Timer two 8:45 PM Ramp time two hours Colors at zero Except I have lunar time set To Eastern standard time
 
i have 3 fixtures over a 6' tank. you have 2 over a 4' tank. one light for each 2' by 18" section of tank. we have the same ratio. i have mine run parallel to the tank. and do you notice much light spilling out at that height?
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
Very little if any. The spread is much better since I raised them from 9 to 12 1/2. At nine I found that the side of my tank really wasn't being lit the same way it is now. Also the defused color is better now before you could pick out the red and green on a single rock now it's much harder to detect the individual colors. I would say raise them up to at least 12 or better. With an 80° fixture it's pretty simple that it 9 inches you're not getting the top corner of the tank. How are you corals doing with that lowlight situation are they growing? I'm a little nervous with my sps to drop it down that low. But I'm also concerned because I do have a couple of corals that seem to have turned a little bit brown I don't know if it's because they're on the shady side of the light and the light doesn't filter like T5's or metal halide all I know is they turned a little brown. And my water parameters are dead on.
 
my tank is mostly softies and lps. i do have a few setosas and psammacoras and a misc. acro. everything seems happy. but they were thriving under 4 bulb t5. i think they look equally bright. i think eventually i'll bump it up a lil, but most likely not as bright as yours, i don't have as high light demanding corals.
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
Ok,
I'm still trying to figure out the best light and messing around a little at a time. I guess ill find a good combo sooner or later.
 
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