AI vega, sol, or hydra

[txaggie09]

Looking at new lights for my tank. Right now I have a DIY led setup. It works OK but I accidentally dropped it in the tank a while back and since then it hasnt been the same. Luckily no fish were in the tank at the time and nothing got harmed. I first looked at the onyx from rapidled. I had a great experience with them while doing my DIY setup. After some research it looks like the meanwell drivers dont do good at ramping up and down (wont turn on until 10%) so here I am.

I am having a hard time telling the differences between these lights. Other than the obvious 8 puck design of the sol vs the 4 puck design of the hydra or vega. Also noticed the hydra isnt upgradable like the sol and vega. Other than that, anything important to differentiate the three?

Tank is a 120 gallon (4x2x2). Which of these lights would be best for this tank? I plan on keeping soft corals and LPS.

I would like a decent amount of controllability with the lights. Also I would like to get away with only two units if possible.

It seems a lot of the Sol and Hydra threads say that a tank this size would need 3 lights. I'm not sure how that layout would work as there is a large center brace. My two diy lights work good at covering my tank but they are 20" long each whereas the AI's are only, what, 13"? Do any of these three lights provide better coverage vs the others?

Another thing that may be important. The highest point in my canopy is about 8" above the water. From what i've read, AI suggests 12". Does this make that big of a difference? Ill build a new canopy if I have to.

Thanks!

 

[malady]

http://www.reefgeek.com/pdf/product_comparison_led_lights.pdf

 

[txaggie09]

Awesome! thanks for the link.

I had no idea the hydra and vega arent apex compatible. That kind of sucks. The director software looks promising though.
It also appears the vega and hydra have a larger spread than the sol, which is good to know.

 

[duberz]

None of those.Spend a little extra and get the radion gen2.Im gonna sell my two color vegas and get the gen 2's.Should have done it in the first place.Ecotech already has their computer software ironed out and ai is still far behind with the pos director.

 

[ghostman]

Of the three that you mentioned, I would have to vote for the vega. The colors seem right to my eyes, and the ability to upgrade with power pucks is a big plus. I hope they get the director figured out soon. That would be a big pluses well. If you are looking outside of AI, I would recommend anything but the radions. Too costly, and ESL is the worst IMO.

 

[txaggie09]

Thanks ghostman, appreciate the input. I already ruled out the radions, I cant see why they cost so much more. I am pretty much narrowed down to the vega or hydra, probably the vega for the reasons you mentioned.

Another option would be the maxspect razor. Im looking into them now, mostly curious about their programability.

 

[malady]

the director is not that bad and I am happy with my hydra

I guess I was lucky but I literally plugged in the director and set my graph and was done with it

maybe its because I work with computers for a living(but that does not mean much nowadays)

 

[txaggie09]

Thanks again for the input, sent you a PM.
Its really hard to decide between the hydra and vega. Glad to hear you like your hydra. How long have you had it/them running? and on what size tank

 

[liquidfunk]

Good article from Sanjay about the Hydra vs Radion vs Mitras:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/201...ider&utm_medium=slider&utm_campaign=clickthru

 

[dvdcox]

How many Vega/ Hydra fixtures for a 210 72x24x29 deep. I hear numbers ranging from 3 to 6 lights for this tank. I guess I could start with 3 and work up. any thoughts

 

[ninjamini]

I have the Vegas, have since they came out. Love them. Good growth good control. I have a 48" tank with 2 Vegas. But I'll probebly add a hydra to get better depth. It's a 30" deep tank.

I know that other lights have better control over the spectrum. But with the vega you can control the amount of light in each color. But ask your self do you really need more.

 

[mypepper]

I've had my two Vega color leds for the last year on my 90 gallon reef tank, and the coral growth had been very good. My lights are 10" above the water line, which is the sweet spot for my tank inhabitants.

Would I purchase the Vega's leds, yes and I'm planning on purchasing the Vega to Hydra 52 upgrade, once it's available.

The only problem I had recently, one of my fans went bad, which AI replaced at no cost. Since I never took my Vega apart, it took about 45 minutes to swap out the fan. Next time if the fans goes bad, I could replace the fan within 15 minutes.

Thanks,
Randy

 

[nanoreefer1000]

IMO, have a better spectrum. But teh spectrum of a nano box or Razor, or good DIY is far, far better.
I would get a Razor, Nano Box, or Reefbreeders for a budget