Concerned over blue light and our eye health

[tippytango]

I know this is a topic that we all want to ignore. But I am officially concerned over my tank lights having a negative impact on my and my family’s (2 small children) eye health. I had concerns over this topic before getting in to the hobby… but always ignored/silenced that tiny voice in my head saying it was too risky—especially for my kids.
So, I am left at a crossroads of if I need to get rid of my tank or if I can find ways to ease my concerns.
My tank is small, just a IM nuvo fusion 20 gallon.
I have considered doing a custom built canopy to block out the excess light. This seems like a somewhat difficult project.
An extreme idea I had was to alter the light schedule so that the blue lights were coming on when my kids were asleep… say, from 7pm-12am, then dark from 12am-sunrise, roughly 6 hours of dark?
The tank is in our family room/kitchen area, where we spend most of our time. We LOVE the tank and watching our fish/corals. So I don’t want to move it to another room… though I guess that’s better than getting rid of it all together.
I need to do something but I am not sure what. Does anyone have any input on this issue? Thank you!

 

[Critteraholic]

Bump

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Definitely interested in getting other peoples' perspective on this! The only experience I can share is that when I watch my tanks closely for more than 20-30 minutes my eyes do get tired/sore. I've always chalked that up to the UV LED's giving my eyes a little "sunburn", but that's purely anecdotal.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

I know this is a topic that we all want to ignore. But I am officially concerned over my tank lights having a negative impact on my and my family’s (2 small children) eye health. I had concerns over this topic before getting in to the hobby… but always ignored/silenced that tiny voice in my head saying it was too risky—especially for my kids.
So, I am left at a crossroads of if I need to get rid of my tank or if I can find ways to ease my concerns.
My tank is small, just a IM nuvo fusion 20 gallon.
I have considered doing a custom built canopy to block out the excess light. This seems like a somewhat difficult project.
An extreme idea I had was to alter the light schedule so that the blue lights were coming on when my kids were asleep… say, from 7pm-12am, then dark from 12am-sunrise, roughly 6 hours of dark?
The tank is in our family room/kitchen area, where we spend most of our time. We LOVE the tank and watching our fish/corals. So I don’t want to move it to another room… though I guess that’s better than getting rid of it all together.
I need to do something but I am not sure what. Does anyone have any input on this issue? Thank you!

+1 vote sunglasses with UV protection built in

For those without canopy, I've always wondered why there isn't some some of dropping lower cover... a super cheap solution is black craft foam

Share your concern and have lights in canopy. Due to TX heat and undersized chiller, we'd been keeping canopy doors open, but it's the exposure to UV lights that prioritized getting correct sized chiller purchased and recently installed so canopy doors can remain closed at all times (unless feeding or maintenance)

 

[Pistondog]

All the wavelengths from our lights, and then some, are duplicated by sunlight.

 

[a.t.t.r]

The UV bulbs we have in these led lights are not the type of UV that causes damage. The uv range is large and only on the lower end(higher energy) do any type of “sunburn” or germicidal effects happen.

the lights most likely hurt our eyes because they are bright but not in the spectrum we see as bright so your pupils are not contracting as they would with light that peaks closer to the green spectrum where we see best. 555nm iirc
Only metal halide and some tube lights would be of Uv concern Specifically unshielded double end mh

 

[PeterC99]

I installed these 3D printed light shades and very happy with the reduced glare. Have my Radions up to 80% Point light intensity.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

I installed these 3D printed light shades and very happy with the reduced glare. Have my Radions up to 80% Point light intensity.

Those look good!

 

[a.t.t.r]

I installed these 3D printed light shades and very happy with the reduced glare. Have my Radions up to 80% Point light intensity.

Have the file for those? I want to do that as well except I plan to put mirrors on the inside

 

[SPS2020]

Similar R2R thread on this with links, etc. and optometrists viewpoints earlier this year. May be worth a search if you are concerned.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

How about option C, get metal hallide lights! IMO, lights that make corals glow like space aliens is not normal, and not attractive. With MH lights, reef tank will go from looking like a science fiction movie scene to looking like an actual bright sunny reef.

T5's are another option, but T5 doesn't have as nice an effect as MH (IMO)

 

[ChaosAquaculture]

I would cover the light with a shade or a canopy for sure so the direct bulb isn't exposed to look at. If i've looked at the tanks too long I get a headache. - kali

 

[PeterC99]

Have the file for those? I want to do that as well except I plan to put mirrors on the inside

Bought them from @chemisfun11

 

[tippytango]

I installed these 3D printed light shades and very happy with the reduced glare. Have my Radions up to 80% Point light intensity.

Your tank is amazing! And those shades are a great idea

 

[LuizW13]

Wouldn't it mainly affect you if you look directly at the lights, like the sun?

 

[homer1475]

Just another reason not to run your lights so your tank looks like a windex bottle.

 

[shakacuz]

I installed these 3D printed light shades and very happy with the reduced glare. Have my Radions up to 80% Point light intensity.

should definitely consider making this for the masses.. i would jump on this if it was for an hydra 32hd with a reefbrite attachment.

 

[Dkmoo]

Im not a doctor but have followed many threads like these over the years and have concluded that its very low risk bc:

1) we are not staring at the lights. Whats being reflected off of the corals is virtually harmless

2) the "uv" we have is not true uv. Unless you are talking about UV sterilizers, but those are heavily protected by the sleeves. The "uv" in our LED is just a very dark shade of purple. Its 405nm spectrum is "just" over the true UV spectrum of 100-400. The "harmful" uv that everyone's concerned about is much lower at the 200s

3) if you work with computers, staring at the screen or phone for 12 hrs a day is a lot more harmful than staring into your reef tank. As long you are not staring at the lights directly.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

I just want to make it clear that I wasn't blaming the UV LED's for anything, and I will continue to stare at my tanks from less than a foot away until my eyeballs melt lol

 

[Wyvern]

I expect it's not good. I am considering getting PC glasses or clear UV blocking glasses for extended viewing of my aquarium.