Aqua illumination Vegas?

[60gal reef guy]

Anybody running these lights? Aqua illumination Vegas? Was gonna go with the radions but a buddy of mine just opened a saltwater coral shop in my area and said he loves these Vegas. They look awesome on 120 rimless cube he has on display. Just wondering building my new 125gal and about ready to purchase lights.

[Drewsta84]

I've had one on my 30G JBJ just tore that tank down and now have 2 over my new 100G and I LOVE THEM!! Great polyp extension my corals are taking off I just need to make sure not to fry my new stuff, always forget that

[The sculpin]

If some light is good is more better? I am upgrading to a 150, I have 3 vegas, tank is 48" long 24" wide and 30" deep. Should I run all three lights turned down or run just two?

[Drewsta84]

There is a butter zone.. If you run all 3 full blast the intensity will be to much. I would go with all 3 since you have them. However I would only run at 1/3 power until your corals acclimate or you will burn everything to death

[The sculpin]

This sounds like it could be tricky

[Drewsta84]

could be tricky but not really corals are hardy start low if they don't look great turn up the light simple as that. The controller also makes life great if you don't have one I def recommend getting one!

[chrisfont23]

Yep. Burn things. Sounds crazy, but it happens. I put LEDs on my tank a few years ago before this craze set in. There weren't even dimmers to abate the intensity. Since I have modular units, I tried adding a few at a time. Though that would help. Wrong. Fried a few SPS corals up high and a few blastos on the sand bed. I had mushrooms detach and hide. After Ecoxotic came out with dimmers, the light onslaught ended, but not after a few losses.

Be careful...whatever route you choose.

[dkeller_nc]

Originally Posted by 60gal reef guy

Anybody running these lights? Aqua illumination Vegas? Was gonna go with the radions but a buddy of mine just opened a saltwater coral shop in my area and said he loves these Vegas. They look awesome on 120 rimless cube he has on display. Just wondering building my new 125gal and about ready to purchase lights.

I have 2 Vegas over a 50 gal cube (24" x 24" footprint). And yes, I do like them and my corals seem to be doing well under the lights, though they do not grow as fast as corals that I have under high intensity fluorescent lighting.

As for Vegas over Radions, this is my opinion: they're actually roughly equivalent in "value for money". The reason I say that is output intensity and features vs. price. The Vegas will pull 95 watts per fixture from the wall at maximum intensity. The Radion Gen 3 fixture will pull 170 watts. Approximately speaking, the power output from a Radion is twice that of a Vega, for approximately twice the money. Both fixtures have integrated timers, weather effects, independent channel spectrum control, high build quality, and decent warranties. Both companies have the reputation for excellent customer service (and I've personally experienced AI's customer service - highly recommended).

There are, in my opinion, 2 major differences between the Radions and the Vegas that may help you choose. The Radion Gen 3 fixtures incorporate near-UV emitters, while the Vega does not. The Radions have a wider lighted angle than the Vegas (the Vegas spread angle is approximately 90 degrees, my estimate is that the Radion G3 spread angle is about 120 degrees). Finally, the Vegas can be programmed via a wireless controller, while the Radion G3 requires being plugged into a computer via USB for programming. Both companies' fixtures will communicate wirelessly with additional fixtures, and in the case of the Radion, it will communicate wirelessly with vortech pumps. At present, you must have an individual AI controller for each light program you wish to use, so if, for example, you have two different aquariums with different light cycles, you need 2 controllers.

If you think that light output in the UV spectrum is important, you do have a route to get it with Aqua Illumination - you can either purchase the Vega fixtures and retrofit the fixture with custom pucks that include UV emitters (at the cost of $50 per puck), or you can buy the new Hydra that includes UV emitters. Note that the Hydra isn't customizable with later puck upgrades.

Finally, AI makes a "plug and play" mounting system for their lights that doesn't require hanging. Ecotech at present doesn't have the same option - you will have to rig your own armature if you don't want to hang the Radions from the ceiling or hang them from a hood. I personally don't consider this a big deal, and there are folks that have modified the AI EXT rail system to fit Radion G3 fixtures.

[The sculpin]

New tank has T5H0 MH combo light in canopy. I was going to take that out and put in the vegas, wonder if it would be a good idea to incorporate the T5's in with the LED's?

[Drewsta84]

It would be overkill imo but hey give it a shot and see what you think