Giesemann vervve
- Thread starter sowellj
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Daniel@R2R
Living the Reef Life
Bump! I'd love to see a review of it too.
seastar
Well-Known Member
I have 4 of them (3 on my DT and 1 on my frag tank) and I'm really liking them so far. I bought 4 of the plus models (they were actually cheaper than buying the regular ones at the time) thinking they could still put the other masters into slaves but sadly you cannot yet. I am hoping a firmware change in the future might fix that.
I have one light the might be overheating a bit (seems like it doesn't follow it's schedule to shut down at night and I just noticed it's power base is making a loud hum - I am going to follow up with them on that to see if they know what it is.
Overall I love the lights and think they provide a very pleasing color and I think they will have plenty of light for anything that I intend on keeping (will be mostly SPS). I haven't begun tweaking the various levels or lighting times or even setting the moon cycle but I will be in the near future.
I have three on the arm mounts and one using their cable mount and I like both styles. I did have to make a small modification but grinding down some spacers a bit on the arm mounts as they were too long to actually allow the screws to attach to the lights.
The power blocks: Please forgive the mess of cables, Im working to clean them up. The power blocks are on the large side and get a little hot, so I've mounted them on the wall just outside of my tank stand to allow for better heat dissipation.
Frag tank: Here you can see I have the cable mounts setup, I haven't cut them to size yet and I haven't used my PAR meter to determine exactly how high this will end up being.
My Display Tank: Loving the light spread I am getting with this setup and I am confident I wont have any trouble with shading on my SPS that will be going into the tank soon.
I have one light the might be overheating a bit (seems like it doesn't follow it's schedule to shut down at night and I just noticed it's power base is making a loud hum - I am going to follow up with them on that to see if they know what it is.
Overall I love the lights and think they provide a very pleasing color and I think they will have plenty of light for anything that I intend on keeping (will be mostly SPS). I haven't begun tweaking the various levels or lighting times or even setting the moon cycle but I will be in the near future.
I have three on the arm mounts and one using their cable mount and I like both styles. I did have to make a small modification but grinding down some spacers a bit on the arm mounts as they were too long to actually allow the screws to attach to the lights.
The power blocks: Please forgive the mess of cables, Im working to clean them up. The power blocks are on the large side and get a little hot, so I've mounted them on the wall just outside of my tank stand to allow for better heat dissipation.
Frag tank: Here you can see I have the cable mounts setup, I haven't cut them to size yet and I haven't used my PAR meter to determine exactly how high this will end up being.
My Display Tank: Loving the light spread I am getting with this setup and I am confident I wont have any trouble with shading on my SPS that will be going into the tank soon.
hellsangelbx
Active Member
@seastar hows it been going with these lights? Now you have them over 2 months is there any updated feedback you could give us on these lights. Also, have you had any other LED lights before and can you compare the Vervve with those? THanks
seastar
Well-Known Member
So far I am loving them. Sadly that overheating middle light is still and issue. I had a dog get badly injured by a car when he attempted to go on a walkabout and his care has required a good deal of my time.
I did however manage to send a service request into CoralVue and they told me this is normal and likely a user programming error, blah, blah, blah.
I am going to take temperature and decibel readings shortly to show that it's much hotter at the power supply and light, and that the power supply is much louder on the one. Again, I think this is just a one off thing, the lights themselves are something I would definitely purchase again.
I did however manage to send a service request into CoralVue and they told me this is normal and likely a user programming error, blah, blah, blah.
I am going to take temperature and decibel readings shortly to show that it's much hotter at the power supply and light, and that the power supply is much louder on the one. Again, I think this is just a one off thing, the lights themselves are something I would definitely purchase again.
seastar
Well-Known Member
It was very much an initial brush off, but I think they're probably trained to start there. I do feel confident I would have the issue resolved by now if the accident with my dog hadn't taken place.
McMullen
Valuable Member
I'm very sorry about your dog!!! Sadly, it is likely all inqueries get the programming/user error run around to begin.
The customer is NOT always right, but when your describing something as you did, it's probably a product defect. Especially since you have thee other lights performing to satisfaction.
The customer is NOT always right, but when your describing something as you did, it's probably a product defect. Especially since you have thee other lights performing to satisfaction.
hellsangelbx
Active Member
Shame on Coralvue. I work in a field similar that is not an inexpensive purchase. They should really understand that they don't have alot of customer purchasing these lights and your their feedback on the forums. I will base judgement on the product review, pricing and customer service from where you purchased it. There are about a handful of other retailers selling this same model. This just detours people from buying it from Coralvue. Especially when they are really pushing this brand with review, unboxing and setup for this product. Please keep us updated as this is important. Hope all goes well
Hi all,
I just purchased and installed the vervve on my IM 20 peninsula. I have to say WOW! they are insanely bright and the colors are really really nice. I am upgrading from a current USA base model I have used for 2years. I have to say that I bet its 3-4 times brighter. In fact I am worried that I am going ruin some things, if I am not careful. After 4 hours of owning it and having it setup here are my initial impressions.... I will also post a video of unboxing and setting it up, later on...
Form factor:
- Beautiful aesthetics.
- Middle of the road build quality
-The seams are not 100% tight, more like 95% meshed
-The inset screw mounts were 3/4 good. One of the screws was almost a no go
- The cables are nice and long
LED'S:
- Really amazing and very tunable
- CRAZY BRIGHT
- The reflectors are well done. (I lay on a couch near the tank and it can be high and still not blind me)
- With two main clusters there is some shadowoing, but honestly I think my rock work looks much better now. Its defiantly not T5 diffusion.
Bluetooth APP IOS:
- Excited to have it but found it clunky and not very useable
- I was having problems getting the upload, download and preview right.
- They need a better UX designer
Bluetooth APP OS X :
- Much Much better than the IOS app.
- Calmer more detailed interface.
- Still too many clicks
- They need a better UX designer
On Board control panel:
- Well, I tried to use it and got defeated right away.
- I accidentally shocked it and then had to reset the system. worked after that...
- Will try to use it eventually, I am lazy for now
Noise:
- I have found the noice to be intermittently loud.
- I think the more power is flowing the more its humming...
- Ill take measurements and report back
Coral Growth:
- Don't know yet its been 4 hours.
- Putting these on I can tell all of my sps lps zoas and softies are all happy looking....
This is my 2 cents for the conversation. It doesn't seem like many people are talking much, but I am really intrigued and happy to contribute to the conversation.
Hope this helps some.
-Ram
I just purchased and installed the vervve on my IM 20 peninsula. I have to say WOW! they are insanely bright and the colors are really really nice. I am upgrading from a current USA base model I have used for 2years. I have to say that I bet its 3-4 times brighter. In fact I am worried that I am going ruin some things, if I am not careful. After 4 hours of owning it and having it setup here are my initial impressions.... I will also post a video of unboxing and setting it up, later on...
Form factor:
- Beautiful aesthetics.
- Middle of the road build quality
-The seams are not 100% tight, more like 95% meshed
-The inset screw mounts were 3/4 good. One of the screws was almost a no go
- The cables are nice and long
LED'S:
- Really amazing and very tunable
- CRAZY BRIGHT
- The reflectors are well done. (I lay on a couch near the tank and it can be high and still not blind me)
- With two main clusters there is some shadowoing, but honestly I think my rock work looks much better now. Its defiantly not T5 diffusion.
Bluetooth APP IOS:
- Excited to have it but found it clunky and not very useable
- I was having problems getting the upload, download and preview right.
- They need a better UX designer
Bluetooth APP OS X :
- Much Much better than the IOS app.
- Calmer more detailed interface.
- Still too many clicks
- They need a better UX designer
On Board control panel:
- Well, I tried to use it and got defeated right away.
- I accidentally shocked it and then had to reset the system. worked after that...
- Will try to use it eventually, I am lazy for now
Noise:
- I have found the noice to be intermittently loud.
- I think the more power is flowing the more its humming...
- Ill take measurements and report back
Coral Growth:
- Don't know yet its been 4 hours.
- Putting these on I can tell all of my sps lps zoas and softies are all happy looking....
This is my 2 cents for the conversation. It doesn't seem like many people are talking much, but I am really intrigued and happy to contribute to the conversation.
Hope this helps some.
-Ram
GaZZaW
Community Member
Hello,
I have one master and one slave unit. Mounted length ways on a reefer 425xl
They look really nice and super quality, no plastic fantastic like a lot of units out there.
The LEDs are very strong and the unit ventilator fans do come on at 100% but are silent, no problem.
I have the blues turned down to 50% and white down to 30% and gives very nice colour and reds turned off. no disco effect.
My only peev is the Bluetooth control and software.
I loose connection to Bluetooth if im more than 2.5 meters away from unit so i have to stand next to the tank to complete changes with no problem.
The software isn't very user friendly either on IOS or Android, still no windows version.
The on board control is doable but too much trouble to use. I used it to turn off small screen back lighting but it only turns off the master not the slave. not really a problem just annoying.
I give the Vervve 8 out of 10
I have one master and one slave unit. Mounted length ways on a reefer 425xl
They look really nice and super quality, no plastic fantastic like a lot of units out there.
The LEDs are very strong and the unit ventilator fans do come on at 100% but are silent, no problem.
I have the blues turned down to 50% and white down to 30% and gives very nice colour and reds turned off. no disco effect.
My only peev is the Bluetooth control and software.
I loose connection to Bluetooth if im more than 2.5 meters away from unit so i have to stand next to the tank to complete changes with no problem.
The software isn't very user friendly either on IOS or Android, still no windows version.
The on board control is doable but too much trouble to use. I used it to turn off small screen back lighting but it only turns off the master not the slave. not really a problem just annoying.
I give the Vervve 8 out of 10
creektree
Active Member
Just some quick feedback... I have two AP700(s) over a 5ft sps tank and a Vervve over a 3ft Zoa and paly tank. The AP700s are brighter, and imo, better. While I may eventually add t5s to the 5ft tank just because I want the best lighting possible for my sps (used hqi for over a decade, for all hqi lovers) I may add a Vervve Slave unit to my 3ft tank (two Vervves and mount sideways). I have had the ap700s going for a year and a half with solid sps growth (mounted lengthwise on the 5ft tank) - very happy with them. I have had the Vervve going since December so less study time. I do like the Vervve for what it is, a well made led unit - probably one of the better made units. I think I am a little spoiled by the AP700s and the spread and color they put off. I have the Vervve at 100% during the peak hours, about 15" off the water. I think success depends on what you're keeping, elevation of coral in the tank, room above the tank, etc. Good luck!
Seame
Community Member
I am really starting to like these are lot. I have three vervve pluss above a 7ft 260g tank. I got my first one mid summer 2016 and waited for a sale to buy two more that replaced my Infiniti MH T5 fixture during blackfriday. I mainly wanted to change from MH do to the ever increasing electricity costs and costs to change bulbs yearly.
I have never had better success to date in the colors and growth on my sps. I am no where near the wet thumb others are in this hobby but I am very pleased with the results so far.
I have had some difficulty with software. I am running firmware V1.08 on the firts one and V1.10 on the other two. The timing on the lights has been off on the older firmware but funny enough I changed to day light savings time last week and it seams to be working ok now. I have no idea how to update the firm ware on these lights.
I still can't get the clouds or lightning to work via blue tooth. I have not really tried to use the manual settings for this to lazy i guess. The moon light settings over blue tooth work ok but I wish I could fine tune it a little less bright.
Uploads and down loads of light intensity is sometimes spotty and I have had to repeat. Live adjustments would be good to have vs needing to upload each time. Same as it would be nice to save light intesity patterns and select them for maybe different days or trials to see how corals respond.
Colors, brightness, par, (A fellow reader took some pars reading for me and they compared well against my MH) ability to adjust levels and mix are all excellent.
The lights tend to pull slightly to one side with the hanging cables because of the power cord. I haven't tried to afix the power cord to the tank or wall yet to improve this. These lights are very light compare to the heavy MH fixture.
My lights are all really quiet and I'm very pleased with that,
Overall I'm happy with these lights and would recommend others to give them a try vs equally priced brands,
I have never had better success to date in the colors and growth on my sps. I am no where near the wet thumb others are in this hobby but I am very pleased with the results so far.
I have had some difficulty with software. I am running firmware V1.08 on the firts one and V1.10 on the other two. The timing on the lights has been off on the older firmware but funny enough I changed to day light savings time last week and it seams to be working ok now. I have no idea how to update the firm ware on these lights.
I still can't get the clouds or lightning to work via blue tooth. I have not really tried to use the manual settings for this to lazy i guess. The moon light settings over blue tooth work ok but I wish I could fine tune it a little less bright.
Uploads and down loads of light intensity is sometimes spotty and I have had to repeat. Live adjustments would be good to have vs needing to upload each time. Same as it would be nice to save light intesity patterns and select them for maybe different days or trials to see how corals respond.
Colors, brightness, par, (A fellow reader took some pars reading for me and they compared well against my MH) ability to adjust levels and mix are all excellent.
The lights tend to pull slightly to one side with the hanging cables because of the power cord. I haven't tried to afix the power cord to the tank or wall yet to improve this. These lights are very light compare to the heavy MH fixture.
My lights are all really quiet and I'm very pleased with that,
Overall I'm happy with these lights and would recommend others to give them a try vs equally priced brands,
Have you guys seen any disco ball effects with these lights? I am just starting research today for a 72" x 40" x 26" tank. I know I will have to supplement some lights on the sides to cover a 40" wide tank. For those with the lights can you list the following:
1. Height of fixture from water
2. Spread of light (i think I have seen then cover a 24" x 24" area)
1. Height of fixture from water
2. Spread of light (i think I have seen then cover a 24" x 24" area)
seastar
Well-Known Member
Sorry Im trying to upload a video but Im having trouble. I would say it's got what most people would call a disco ball, but I call it shimmer. I have done a lot of snorkeling in my life and I love when there is that wavy look of sunlight on the ocean floor.
1.) I can measure later
2.) I have 3 over a 60" wide tank but I think I could easily get away with two for an LPS tank.
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