Marine UV lights damaging to eyes?

[Bob Parkins]

Sorry for the cross-post, I am new to aquatics and don't know which group is
best for this sort of thing.

I have always wanted to start a saltwater aquarium, and now that I have
started my career can possibly afford it. However, my eyes are starting to
go (thanks computer screen) and am concerned about them. I have heard that
UV lights (like those blacklights used in dance clubs) are damaging to your
eyes, and among other things can cause/promote cataracts. I have also heard
that UV lights are used in marine tanks. Does anyone know if the lighting
in a marine aquarium can cause damage to your eyes? If direct contact does,
will it be dissipated by the water? I have no idea were else to ask, I
couldn't find a discussion group for eye health.

Any serious comments would be appreciated.

[Ian Rudge]

You are correct. You should never look at the light outside it's housing.
You won't see any light in the water
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[Jon Olav Bjørndal]

Bob Parkins wrote:

I don't know if I understand you correctly, but I would just like to point out
that there is a difference between general aquarium lighting and an UV filter.
An UV filter is a black box that water is pumped through. Inside the box there
is a strong UV bulb that kills micro organisms in the water. If you open the
box and look at the bulb it will injure your eyes. Many people have injured
their eyes while making DIY UV filters, but a well made filter should not be
dangerous since you don't see the light.
I have never heard that the general aquarium lighting can be damaging to your
eyes. If anybody else know about this I would also like to hear it.

- Jon Olav

[Marksfish]

UV lights for aquariums are sealed in a "box". The bulb itself is also
enclosed within a quartz tube. Water enters the box at one end and exits the
other, with the water passing the light, thus causing the algae to clump and
bacteria to die. Most items these days have plastic tails that glow when the
bulb is alight, this way you can check the bulb without having to try and
look into the unit.

Regards

Mark
www.marksfish.f9.co.uk

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[DaveR]

As many other posters have pointed out, the UV lights you refer to are in a
UV sterilizer which is not a necessary, or even commonly suggested, bit of
equipment.

If you use aquarium grade lights vs. shop lights, they will not emit UV
rays. Lights designed for aquatic use have UV shields in them. If your
aquarium lights were to emit UV rays it would be even more dangerous to your
fish than to you. You can look away, they can't. But hey, you'd have nice
tanned fish.

UV Rays are what is used in tanning beds to cause you to tan. It you think
about it, all cars these days have a UV treatment on their windows to help
block these rays as do the windows in your house and your eye glasses. UV
Rays are natuarally occuring but yes, they can damage your eyes.

So the short answer to your question is this: The lights that go on top of
your aquarium will not damage your eyes through UV emissions provided that
you don't skimp and buy cheap shop lights.

daveR

[Dan Denham/Sarah Sweeney-Denham]

I realise that cheap shop lights are no good for aquariums, but what
about a cheap shop light ballast with aquarium tubes in them? They can
be 1/4 to 1/2 the price.

[DefLizard]

There's nothing wrong with cheap shop lights, and I had used them for
years. The new ones are electronic and have a fusible link in the
transformer that just burns out, for some unexplained reason (Ah yes,
cheap!) even with brand new lamps. I have fixed a few, and then they
work fine, and are cheap and easy to replace. However, they are for FO,
where photosynthetic considerations are not a issue. I had also used
those cheap screw in self-contained PC fluorescent lights for
supplemental lighting for sunrise/sunset simulation, and worked just
fine for several years. So, the bottom line is, if your not keeping
light loving/needing invertebrates (FO) then almost anything pleasing to
your eye (and pocketbook) will do! Ciao!

Re: Marine UV lights damaging to eyes?

Group: rec.aquaria.marine.misc Date: Tue, Feb 19, 2002, 6:57pm (PST+3)
From: dde...@netreach.net (Dan Denham/Sarah Sweeney-Denham)

http://community.webtv.net/deflizard/doc
regards, John

[DaveR]

As far as I have been able to tell a cheap shop ballast is pretty much the
same as the expensive aquarium ballast. The Home Depot ballasts are pretty
decent units although I would not every buy a magnetic ballast.

Electronic ballasts are about $5 at Home Depot. They're smaller, lighter,
quieter, cooler, and the bulbs burn a bit brighter and longer. If you're
interested as to why go to www.howstuffworks.com and look up ballasts.

I'm having a hard time with that once because I wanted to build a less
expensive lighting system for my 6 foot long tank. I was looking at
spending about $40 all told but now it'll be more like $240 since those Home
Depot ballasts only run Standard Flourecents instead of VHO.

daveR

"Dan Denham/Sarah Sweeney-Denham" <dde...@netreach.net> wrote in message
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[Dan Denham/Sarah Sweeney-Denham]

I'd have a 55g FO and would like to start adding some live rock, with
the intention of eventually purchasing enough to have the LR as my
primary filtration (along with a skimmer of course), and maybe as my
checkbook allows, slowly work towards inverts and corals. Are 2 48" NO
or actinic fluorescent lights sufficient for the LR? Do I really need
to make a $300+ investment just to start?

[DaveR]

It's enough for now. More would be better but mostly corals are what
require the BRIGHT lights. A couple of N.O. should be fine for the time
being. Others will disagree of course.

daveR

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