I have had an AI light since the SOL came out. I wanted to remain loyal and save a few bucks (instead of purchasing another more expensive led) so I went with the Vega upgrade.

In order to use the Vega you must purchase the controller. Surprisingly, as I don't this I specifically read this anywhere (it's implied...) you don't need the wireless adaptor with the vega upgrade. You might however need a set of glasses because the screen is tiny. This shoul be remedied with the addition of 'Director' due out pretty soon.

A word of caution, DO NOT use the supplied power adaptor. It makes the buttons on the controller go crazy and could be a fire hazard. AI needs to recall these ASAP.

Setup was easy and installing the new firmware on an iMac was easy as well. I like the interface and I like the easy setup, but I will most likely take a weekend and program individual timers just because I want to play. There was some initial weirdness when connecting it to the vega in that it didn't work, it worked halfway, power cycle sparked the plug...then it worked. If you having issues use that red button to change modes back and forth. Controller shows intensity levels of all LEDs on the home screen which is cool. Haven't used the regional timer, but that sounds like a cool idea.

Overall I'd say this gets 4 stars because its a great little innovative product that eventually worked (and works) great. It's upgradable and I'm sure updates will continue to appear especially with the addition of Director. Minus one star for the supplied fire starter kit. Come on AI we aren't camping with this thing!

I just purchased 3 vega color and the controller. For all intents and purposes the controller is mandatory for the vega's to get the functionality you bought with the lights. As everyone else said the only documentation is online and it is not in a very user friendly format not a format that you can print without it being an eye chart. And even with that documentation it is still not complete, it doesnt explain how you might use some of the settings.
The first thing you have to do is upgrade the firmware, the one 1 got was about 4 versions old and there have been significant changes. I believe the interface would be ok if the actual touch capabilities of the buttons was better, you touch it once and it may not register anything at all or it may think you touched it 5 times. You can play with the sensitivity of the buttons but I have yet to find the sweet spot. So bottom line, does it work, yes, does it make you go Wow, this is great, not so much.

Bought one, brought it home for vega system(2). It did not work and looked like it was opened, label on back was torn off, cables unwrapped. Replaced next day, store employee opened it and it connected and worked. Came home set up lights, got controller and nothing. sometimes it will get the button push, then nothing. I now have no lights and the store does not have anymore.

This is not about this store but the product, as the store I purchased it at is local.

Not sure if I will be staying with Aqua illumination for anything anymore. Looks like I will have to try and return lights and put my old ones back in, but it will be a few days, so i have a tank, reef and no lights for whats going to be about a week.

First of all I would only recommend it, as I see no other way to control the Vega Modules therefor if you purchase the Vega lights it's a must have. Sadly though the firmware needs to be updated upon arrival, as the old version firmware is horrible and the power supply that came with it died during the firmware updating process too. Wow were we ever UNIMPRESSED with a product. Still waiting on a response from BRS on this issue, as now we're powering up the control module with my phone charger.

Since the old controller was out of stock, I decided to get this one. I'm glad I did because it seems to be much easier to use the interface rather than the old one. But there were issues.

When I first got it, I plugged it in and it fired the lights right up. There is a review that it's hard to program, this is NOT true, it's quite easy, there are just several different windows you have to go into.

When I got it, it had the old firmware in it, and when you would kick on the lightning show (showing off to friends, I can't stand it otherwise), the blue lights would max out in intensity, the RB would stay dimmed down, and the whites would do what they did, create the lightning effect.

I decided to update to the most recent firmware, and once I plugged them into the SOL Blues, Nothing happened. I checked all connections, still nothing. So I redid the firmware upload and finally, it started working (thankfully). So I checked out the lightning, and the blue issue was fixed and it looked more natural.

After the upgrade, the visual interface is a little harder to follow. I liked the list of functions, now, they are boxes like you would see on your phone for your apps, but very poorly marked until you selected them. The colors are mostly all pastel and I'm sorry, we are not in the 50's anymore. I would like the high contrast colors back. Lets hope the next update has a fix for this, or better yet, an option to customize the colors to your liking!

I don't plan on keeping this controller however. I plan on getting the VDM for my Apex and letting my controller control the lights as well as everything else. If you don't have a controller, this one is GREAT. Love the sunrise and sunset, love the cloud cover and love the moon cycles. It's worth the money if you don't have a controller.

i bought 4 vegas with the intention of running 3 on my main tak and one over my frag tank with a different time to come on.. basically reverse cylce.. wiht the controller you can only have them all on or off at once... needs to add a few more options to the controller

but the controller gets a 7 as is

I would highly recommend that you purchase this if you're going to get either model of the Sol. This allows you to access certain modes; acclimation, storms, cloudy weather, dimmable features, and timers. Without this, you'd be stuck with having all three LED colors on full blast (100% power) which would be without a doubt a huge shock to your cnidarians.

You hook up the unit to a power supply through USB connection, and there is an auxiliary connection to link to the LED unit.

The only feature that I'm waiting on is wireless capability. Supposedly there is a wireless adapter in the works.

It does not come with directions. They are on-line. Very hard to understand how to program the times. It does look cool.

Smaller than I expected. plenty of timer options only downside is having to be plugged in at all times