Aqua Illumination Review

I noticed AI is coming out with the upgrade for SOLS > VEGA so I thought I would share my thoughts.


I have the Vegas on my display and they are pretty cool. I also have SOL's on my frag tank and they are pretty cool as well. So you know where I stand AI's in general are pretty cool. Moving on.


I am not upgrading my SOLs because they are on my frag tank and doing a fine job and I don't really need all the bells and whistles on that tank. I run them at 70% across the board and watch the SPS grow. (When I run them at 80%, I watch them burn.)


IF I had SOLS on my display, knowing what I know, I would consider the upgrade. But only if I had all the other important stuff purchased already like reactors, dosers, skimmers, etc. If I had all my equipment purchased and had extra cash just sitting around then yes, definately I would upgrade. Well, no I would probably just sell my SOLS for $200 and buy the Vegas new. But that is me. I enjoy staring at my sump and equipment as much as I do my tank. You should see my basement fish room. So clean and organized with no cable monsters. Everything routed perfectly. Probes clean and calibrated. Apex dialed in perfectly. Skimmer dialed in and dumping skimmate to a storage locker. Always skimming fish ****. Always. But I digress.


Whatever you decide to do is your choice but as long as I got this buzz going I'll continue to review the VEGAS...


The VEGAS are superior in a few ways....


1. They are slimmer. A LOT slimmer.


2. They produce a MUCH WIDER spread than the SOLS. I would have needed 6-8 SOLS on my display where I 'only' need 4 VEGAS for the same display. I have verified PAR for the tank and so far so good. I have had them running since December with no coral loss and obvious SPS growth. The disco ball effect that I hate so much is either more muted in the Vegas or I got used to it.


3. New colors. I have the standard colors (no UV) and am pretty happy with the glow at night and the look during the day. The red and green LEDs do look nice I must admit. I would like a little UV but the glow is pretty sick without them.


4. Hanging kit: The new rails and hanging kit are really really cool. My lights look like they are floating over the tank....the rails just kind of disappear. They aren't those piece of **** rails that came with the SOLS. I mean come on. Those rails when installed are disgusting. The footprint they take up is like 5X the size of the SOLS themselves. You can't even see the SOLS because the freaking rails are so huge. OK end of rant. The new VEGA rails are the **** and yes they work with the SOL heatsink so you are good if you just want to upgrade your rails.


5. Independent control of everything. You can control every color to get your perfect light blend. And of course all the timetables of the world, lightening, storms, whatever. I just crank these at 100% for 8 hours a day and watch the sun rise and set for the other six hours. After 7pm my tank starts glowing blue and all the area stoners are drawn to it like moths to a bug zapper.


Other than that some things that totally suck:


1 You HAVE to have the wireless controller. Period. So $75 there. And it always has to be plugged in to the wall so to call it truly wireless is kind of shady. It wirelessly communicates but it is not a wireless remote control like a tv remote. It is like a tv remote with a power cord that always has to be plugged in to control your tv. In 1975 my grandpa had a totally analog three button tv remote that 'clicked' and it didn't have to be plugged in all the time. I'm just sayin.


2. No UV on the color VEGA and you can't custom order pucks yet. Not that I would, as I already gave them a **** ton of money.


3. Oh yeah the AI director. What was seemingly going to be a free service is now $99 for some freaking dongle. WTF! I don't need a damn dongle. So basically to be a master of your LED universe you need a 75 (that's dollars not the year) "wireless" controller and a $99 dongle. Are you kidding me?


Thanks for listening I'll be at springest slinging corals please buy them from me.

 

Haha i was just gonna do this but not to this extent. I just got my vegas running last night and wow im so impressed. You gotta see them in person to appreciate what they put out. And i love the new controller and how all the units are wireless. Not as many cords and they look sweet under my canopy. You said you run yours at 100% though? I dont have any corals or fish in the tank right now as its cycling but for what it looks like at 80% id say 100% would burn corals. Mine are 9" above the water. Id agree on the subject i have sols on my frag tanks which is good enough but seeing these vegas in person makes me wanna upgrade them all haha. Theyre soooo sick!!!

 

I have been considering these as an option as I cant find a t5 fixture that I want. What kind of spread you getting?I have a 30x30x16 tank coming tuesday of next week.

 

Yo MXC207: 100% yes. You can't tell anything by looking with your naked eye. I used a PAR meter and found I need 100% full crank. The club has a par meter in every region.

mthomp: I have a 8' x 2' x 2'. The Vegas cover 2 feet square (advertised) and I find this is pretty accurate. So I need one VEGA for every 2' of tank length.

 

What are you looking for as par? Jus so i got a rough estimate when i use it.

 

I have 4 ai sols on my 60 inch 125 and am starting to really like them. Are the vegas more money?

 

Ok I need to see these things. I almost wish there was a reviews thread on here...I always find this the most valuable info.

 

good write up Jim thanks

 

Grrr. Now you're making me want to spend a bunch of money.

It's been suggested that we have a reviews space on the forums. Don't know if it's in the works or not, but this would be a great first entry.