UV Safety

[stoney85]

How much UV is produced by the UV bulbs used for aquariums, specifically the lights that sit above the tank outside the water?
I worry about skin cancer and know how dangerous tanning bulbs are so am curious how safe the lights used for fish tanks are. I recently sat next to a large fish tank which had what appeared to be a fluorescent tube over the top of and outside of the actual tank with a bit of plastic separating it from the water. I was able to see it through the tank glass and this bit of plastic so hoping this plastic and glass also protected me from any potential risk.

Thanks

 

[blaxsun]

If you're talking about the glowing indicator light, I suspect not very much because it's probably diffused quite a bit. As long as you're not staring into the actual UV bulb itself for long periods of time - you should be fine.

 

[oreo54]

How much UV is produced by the UV bulbs used for aquariums, specifically the lights that sit above the tank outside the water?
I worry about skin cancer and know how dangerous tanning bulbs are so am curious how safe the lights used for fish tanks are. I recently sat next to a large fish tank which had what appeared to be a fluorescent tube over the top of and outside of the actual tank with a bit of plastic separating it from the water. I was able to see it through the tank glass and this bit of plastic so hoping this plastic and glass also protected me from any potential risk.

Thanks

Unless specially made (and unlikely over an aquarium) fluorescent tubes give off very little uv-a, none or a teeey teeny tiny bit of uv-b (tanning bed stuff) and no uv-c.
Most plastics (again unless specially manufactured, again uncommon) will block most uv after about 380-ish nm's. How much blocked does depend on thickness.

If the lighting was metal halide or any mercury based lamps things change though.
Only reason I even mentioned this is you wanted to know about aquarium lighting and mh's are used.

As in anything, and any light really you shouldn't be staring at it.
There is contrary data but usually there is a specific reason like compact fluorescent bulbs and coating defects.

Study: Fluorescent Light Bulbs Emit High Levels Of UV Radiation

A new study finds fluorescent light bulbs, although eco- and budget-friendly, emit high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

www.cbsnews.com

Decreasing UV exposure from fluorescent lights

In those that are photosensitive, UV light can trigger a lupus flare. Read about light shields, LEDs and other alternatives.

www.lupus.org

Fluorescent lamps and health - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[bushdoc]

Risk of skin cancer (melanoma) secondary to UV light exposure is proportional to duration of the exposure, UV intensity but also increases if people are exposed to UV light in their childhood vs adulthood. Hence one of the highest incidence of skin cancer is in Australia.
So unless you are a toddler and you sit under UV light for several hours a day for next 10-15 years, your chances of developing skin Cancer from UV aquarium light are asymptotically approaching ZERO (0)

 

[Bpb]

If it’s UVB and UVC generating bulbs you’re worried about, you won’t find them over an aquarium.

 

[stoney85]

If you're talking about the glowing indicator light, I suspect not very much because it's probably diffused quite a bit. As long as you're not staring into the actual UV bulb itself for long periods of time - you should be fine.

Ok thank you I’ve found an older photo on Google of the tank and light in question

 

[blaxsun]

Ok thank you I’ve found an older photo on Google of the tank and light in question

Don't sit by the tank...?

 

[stoney85]

If it’s UVB and UVC generating bulbs you’re worried about, you won’t find them over an aquarium.

Thanks this is the light over the tank im referring too

 

[stoney85]

Unless specially made (and unlikely over an aquarium) fluorescent tubes give off very little uv-a, none or a teeey teeny tiny bit of uv-b (tanning bed stuff) and no uv-c.
Most plastics (again unless specially manufactured, again uncommon) will block most uv after about 380-ish nm's. How much blocked does depend on thickness.

If the lighting was metal halide or any mercury based lamps things change though.
Only reason I even mentioned this is you wanted to know about aquarium lighting and mh's are used.

As in anything, and any light really you shouldn't be staring at it.
There is contrary data but usually there is a specific reason like compact fluorescent bulbs and coating defects.

Study: Fluorescent Light Bulbs Emit High Levels Of UV Radiation

A new study finds fluorescent light bulbs, although eco- and budget-friendly, emit high levels of ultraviolet radiation.

www.cbsnews.com

Decreasing UV exposure from fluorescent lights

In those that are photosensitive, UV light can trigger a lupus flare. Read about light shields, LEDs and other alternatives.

www.lupus.org

Fluorescent lamps and health - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Great thank you for the detailed response, this is the light and tank I am referring to for reference

 

[twentyleagues]

That's a fresh water tank. No way any lighting used is as strong as on a reef tank so you are basically as safe if not safer then sitting in a room with a regular lamp lighting it. I'd worry more about going out into the sunshine. Or in this case the light of a full moon.

 

[stoney85]

That's a fresh water tank. No way any lighting used is as strong as on a reef tank so you are basically as safe if not safer then sitting in a room with a regular lamp lighting it. I'd worry more about going out into the sunshine. Or in this case the light of a full moon.

Phew thank you I just panicked with it being a blue light and therefore assumed it was a uv light.

 

[Bpb]

Phew thank you I just panicked with it being a blue light and therefore assumed it was a uv light.

A fair concern. Just for grins, even if it were a germicidal UVC producing sterilization bulb, or a UVB producing bulb like the zoomed ones used for reptiles, the plastic covering on the lights and the aquarium glass itself would block all but the least concerning trace amounts of UV. Furthermore, if you were to hang one of the aforementioned bulbs in open air, at a comparable distance, the amount of photons reaching your skin and eyes would be negligible due to your distance from them, as well as your short exposure time.

When dealing with radiation exposure, from UV all the way to gamma, the three factors that serve to increase or decrease your lifetime exposure level are time, distance, and shielding. IF it were a UV bulb, being the output of the bulb in question is extremely low, you also had the benefit of distance, short exposure time, and shielding of glass and plastic.

Remember tanning bed bulbs require dozens in quantity, at incredibly high output, placed inches away from the skin for hours upon hours of continuous exposure over course of months to years before you reach dangerous exposure levels.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

A fair concern. Just for grins, even if it were a germicidal UVC producing sterilization bulb, or a UVB producing bulb like the zoomed ones used for reptiles, the plastic covering on the lights and the aquarium glass itself would block all but the least concerning trace amounts of UV. Furthermore, if you were to hang one of the aforementioned bulbs in open air, at a comparable distance, the amount of photons reaching your skin and eyes would be negligible due to your distance from them, as well as your short exposure time.

When dealing with radiation exposure, from UV all the way to gamma, the three factors that serve to increase or decrease your lifetime exposure level are time, distance, and shielding. IF it were a UV bulb, being the output of the bulb in question is extremely low, you also had the benefit of distance, short exposure time, and shielding of glass and plastic.

Remember tanning bed bulbs require dozens in quantity, at incredibly high output, placed inches away from the skin for hours upon hours of continuous exposure over course of months to years before you reach dangerous exposure levels.

Yeah, that's what I was about to mention. I don't think the sun can really make it past a pane of typical window glass (which is why tanning indoors doesn't really work out).