AI Vega Settings and Intensities?

[nova65ss]

My tank is only 9" deep so I have it really high. It in my opinion has helped a bunch as no matter what setting I had it set my corals just were not happy with it lower. Since I've raised it I have been able to bump my percentages up as well.

I wonder if the closer the lights the more of a pinpoint affect it has on the coral. With it higher it seems to me a softer more even spread on each color? Just my uneducated logic....

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[3Twinklets]

I keep my Royal Blue at the lowest setting at night for several reasons.
I have a carpet anemone. Sometimes sleeping fish can be startled at night by wandering night creatures and weather a night light helps or not, it makes me feel better thinking I am helping them to not swim right into the anemone.
I am a very light sleeper. I tend to solve all of the problems I can manufacture in my head, while I am sleeping Lol! Therefore I usually end up many times standing in front of my tank at night.

Do you totally shut off your lights or just to 3% for the night

 

[Westicktogether]

I keep my blues at 10% all night. Idk if that's normal or not but everything is holding its colors. Just not a lot of growth. Do you guys use the thunderstorm setting or is that mainly for show.

 

[3Twinklets]

I think it is mainly for effect. Also, more and more manufacturers are really trying to replicate real situations that happen in the ocean. My husband always thinks something is wrong with the lights. (Well he is an electrician Lol)

 

[Stoneyman]

Hey guys. Im so glad I found this thread. I recently constructed a 180 gal sps dominant tank with a side of lps. Tank is about 6 months old. Ive had reef tanks for going on 6 years or so. Pretty much learned everything the easy way AND the hard way. I spared no expense for this was my dream tank, graduating from a 65 gallon red seamax. I installed four AI Vegas. The hydras came out a week later but AI assured me the vegas were their top model.
I transferred some prize sps pieces into my new build. And picked up some amazing frags and colonies over the past few months. I could never quite get my eyes trained to getting used to the coloration, brightness, shimmer of these lights. I chalked it up to never having leds, only T5s. Some pieces would brown. Others would look pale or uninterestingly blue of purple. But a couple weeks ago I finally concluded something had to change.
I assure you I have everything else in order. The only variable are the lights. I have a pair of MP40s, a ****** skimmer, religeously perform water changes, the whole ten yards. I kept the lights where AI told me to...7 inches off the surface. I was always unsure of what percentages to put the different colors at. So they slowly fluctuated. The ended up sticking with whites around 60% and blues 75%. Some acros got bleached while ofhers got brown.
I noticed that every LFS i ever wondered into had these lights WAY higher than 7 inches from the surface. In fact my go to lfs has their show tank lit by these things and they have them 2.5 feet above.

I felt something needed to be done. So I raised my tablets to 12 inches above the water level. And rev'd down the lights gradualy over a week to
35% white
40% blue
Greens and reds 30%.
Im hoping now to start over. Tank definitly needs more light. Im gonna ramp up 1-2% every other day until i get to 70%. If i dont see an improvement in coloration AND growth AND health, you can find these lights on craigslist around xmas time for 80 cents on the dollar. Gonna go with some retrofit halids and T5s and keep it old school. Hoping it wont be necessary.

 

[Stoneyman]

 

[Stoneyman]

I test nitrates, phosphates, ca,mg, alk weekly. I have an auto doser that doses ca,alk,mg. nitrates and phos zero. Ca-470, mg 1400, alk 10.5. My apex monitors salinity and ph. I have a jbj 1/3 hp chiller and an ATO. Btw the pics were taken with an SLR camera. Tank looks nicer in the photo than in real life.

 

[Jimbo662]

I think most people shoot for blues in the 70% range and whites around 50%. I keep my reds / greens at 30%.

 

[whixley101]

Bump for a Slowwwwww Sunday

 

[NeverlosT]

Ive had vegas for a year now, two over a 60g sps cube. I wanted to minimize shadows. Ive NEVER run the lights with blues over 50% or white over 40%, reds/greens even less. I have been unimpressed with growth and found that turning up the power ruined color on my sps, to make matters worse, i still have considerable shadowing issues. One side of a green slimer is neon green, the other side is brown. Most SPS encrust instead of growing up (though some do well). A red planet is bright red/pink (indicating high light) just 3" away from a pink lemonade that is dark green and not growing (indicating too little light). Chemistry is just fine, flow is strong, and i test with various kits several times a week and have been in sps for 15yrs.

Current levels are 43% blue, with the royal and deep blue at mid 30's, white around 18%, red/green at 12%. Color is better but very slow growth. I have the lights 6" AWL but have tried 12" AWL with no difference. Ill be honest, im pulling the plug.

ATI powermodule gets here in a week. Im done with having my lights be a totally unknown quantity. Ill gladly spend money on bulbs and electricity to have a huge variable removed from my SPS equation. Part of me wishes i could have gotten success with these lights, they look great and are easy to use, but alas, it isnt meant to be. If anyone has suggestions, id be thrilled to try them before I swap lights.

Params are SG 1.025, ph 8.0-8.4, nitrates almost undetectable, phosphates 6-9 ppb measured with hanna low level checker, alk 9.5, CA 375-400, mg 1375. I know ca could be a tad higher but thats about it.

Suggestions?

 

[whixley101]

You and I are in the same spot. I just refuse to give up. I have four so it was not a small investment. I am looking for any help. My only current variable is lighting.

 

[NeverlosT]

The painful thing is that i can go to "light test" and have each color on at 100% (just for a sec) and the lights look amazing. Too bad every acro would be dead in 6 hours if i left them like that.

 

[ReefTankRebel]

My tank under vegas set at

DR 75%
RV 60%
CW 12%
GB 7%
BB 5%
DB 2 %

 

[NeverlosT]

So its primarily red and violet? Definitely a unique color choice. I would think that the corals would need more light in the blue and white spectrums, but thats strictly my opinion. Thanks for sharing!

 

[ReefTankRebel]

I keep my blues at 10% all night. Idk if that's normal or not but everything is holding its colors. Just not a lot of growth. Do you guys use the thunderstorm setting or is that mainly for show.

Prlly not a good idea, my corals start to open seriously at 1 % on any color. So at 10% they for surly photosynthesizing and not good for corals to photosynthesize 24/7. Jus my 2 cnts.

 

[Stoneyman]

I feel like a discovered im not the only weird kid in school . I got four vegas x 6 months over a 180 gal sparing no expense. All i got in return is a tank drowned out by a white/blue effeft whete all the corals look to be the same shade of blue/brownand also browned out acros many which were perfect in the old tank ( T5s). Dobt get me started on the shadows. I too am pulling the plug. Going back to T5s where tanks look like they are filled with paint. Got the T5 ATI sunpower 60 in 8 bulb. Man im jealous of the powermodule! Please start a thread on that id be thrilled to follow. I wish i never went with the vegas and spent the same amount on the powermodule

 

[screefer]

Still running my Vegas at: white 45%, red 15%, green 25%, and all blues at 90%. All corals are happy in the tank. Roughly 30 acros and atleast 35-40 lps corals, a bubble tip, and two clams

 

[NeverlosT]

Thanks SCreefer! I may try creeping higher and higher over a few months. But the powermodule is waiting in the wings..

 

[jedidad]

Screefer how high off the water do you have yours?

 

[screefer]

8" above water line