AI Hydra vs AI Vega Vs Sol

Cherub

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
#1
I am just curious what owners of these products are thinking? I was planning on buying 3 hyrdas for a 6 foot tank but after today I am leaning toward the vega blues.

I keep reading that the sols are still the brightest and the best bang for the buck and I find that hard to believe.

Per a few reviews I have read that the hydras are very nice but see a lot of complaints about how dim they are and poor coverage.

I haven't seen anything negative about the vega other than they're not as bright as the sols.

If you own these or have extensive knowledge to compare these I would appreciate your feedback as this will help me make my choice for my new lamps!

Radions are more than I want to spend since I would need 3 so don't bother mentioning them plz lol
 
Andrew_bram

Andrew_bram

Tiger Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#3
#3
Personally I would spend the money for a better unit then the Vegas. I had Vegas and the had problems with water penetration. They were also spot lighty IMO. The hyrdra have a better diffusion lense and you can order different optics for them. Personally after dealing with ai I will not purchase another one of there products. However the 52 does look promising.
 
F

FinsUp

According to my watch, the time is now.
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
#4
I've got 3 Sols over my 6' 180. I've been happy with them, but am considering adding a couple of T5s. Mainly I want to do this to broaden the spectrum. Most of the tanks I've been really impressed by had at least a couple of different types of lights over them. I just think there's something to the idea of not keeping all of your eggs in one basket, if you know what I mean,
 
Cherub

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
#6
Thanks for the feedback so far. Yeah I would prefer the 52's but I dont think I can swing that right now. Maybe I can just do 2 and get a third in a month or so I suppose.. decisions!
 
Bajamike

Bajamike

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
#8
I have not owned the hydras or vegas. I tried to help Andrew with his vegas and was completely disappointed in them. If I ever used leds again I would chose the blue/white tao tronics/evos or AI sols just my .02. but I love my halides
 
Cherub

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
#9
3-4 of those kessils are looking pretty sweet too but not sure if I want lights I have to dial myself
 
Shaunv

Shaunv

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
#12
I have the Kessil 350's and love them even though I have to dial them up or down. This is from the Kessil website in regards to the 360's controllability "On/off timing, intensity and spectrum are adjustable either manually or with a 0~10V external controller. Lights can also be daisy-chained so adjustments to one light control all others." I wish I had waited for the 360 but still, it's an awesome light.
 
Munch

Munch

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
#14
I miss my old 350 kessils shimmer, hated they didnt have the 360 back then, nice lights...
 
Cherub

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#16
#16
Well I decided on the Hydra 52's. :D

By the end of it; it was between Radions gen2 (not pro), Hydra 52 and the Kessil A360W. There were others not listed but they were too pricey but hey I can dream :p **coughmitrascough cough**

All of them were strong contenders but after seeing all the reviews on the new hydra 52 I see they fixed the "disco ball" effect with updated optics that everyone was concerned with. Plus people are also comparing them to radion pro's not just the normal quality but at a nicer price point. The kessil A360w was also a nice contender due to it's great reviews. People never said anything bad and the shimmer was the most notable thing spoken. The spread is apparently amazing too so using 3 on a 6ft tank would have been no issue making them the lowest price point with much to offer. I really liked the gooseneck mount for the lamps as well. I would like to see a tank with these on it. Basically because of it's limited control capability is the only reason I didn't get these.

In the end I'm a sucker for gadgets and I liked that the Hydra 52 was wireless and sleek and it does all the fancy weather effects, sunrise/set, lunar cycle etc... Yes the radions do that too but at 32 LEDs they are 20 less than the Hydra52 at the same price point. The only bad thing is the over priced mounting system...

Either way I am just happy to get rid of my Chinese LEDs finally lol

Thank you all for the feedback You all had great points,
 
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Cherub

Cherub

Hey you
M.A.S.C Club Member
#20
#20
So I snapped this bad cell phone pic of my tank so you can see the light spread on the hydra 52's. The lights were at roughly 40% on all channels when I took this. Overall I love the lamps though I do need a third to help cover the ends. The corals, fish and nems all look great and have actually colored up even more since I started using these new lamps. There's no spot lighting or discoball effects that I can see. The thunderstorms scare the crap out of my fish lmao but it's all in fun. I've been using the UV's at 1% for the moonlighting and it's working out nicely. I'm very pleased with the product. I guess in short YES I would recommend these lamps. Hydra 52 all the way! Yes I made my ghetto mounting rail lol.

 
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