laser lights for a fish tank?

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billy61788

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ive been seeing in different stores that they sell lasers that go in the fish tank and make a light show...is this safe? it almost seems like a laser pointer, which can be harmful to human eyes. i personally would not use lasers in my fish tank but can something like this actually be safe?
 
Billy I have heard of these lazers and I think they are totally safe. It is just the light being concentrated in a certain way to make it a thin beam. I don't like the idea f them much though, as much as they are safe it would be annoying to you and I imagine the fish to have a constant disco!!

:lol:
 
i just wasnt sure if it was safe or unsafe...they say laser pointers can damage our eyes so i didnt know if those would damage fish eyes, but i guess they really couldnt make them if it was unsafe
 
The laser technology for those lasers is quite different from the laser you are talking about. The sad thing about the laser is that the only shop they are available at where I live is Petco. I have issues with giving my money to National chains who don't care about the people they deal with.
Anyway, From what I have gathered they help flood the tank with some of the types of light your fish would get naturally in the wild (reef enviroment). The claim is that the light will improve your fish color and health and so on. The only thing I know for sure is that they do provide a nice lighting effect and I haven't seen any damage from their use. I use a 50/50 lighting system in my tank so I don't think I'm going to get much change in the coloration but..
Anyway, give them a try if you want them for the looks. Otherwise go with a high scale lighting system if you want the color and health benefits.
 
Wouldn't a full spectrum bulb do the exact same thing without the disco effect? If fish have the same vision spectrum as us they must be disconcerted by these beams of light stabbing through the middle of their tank. Just because they are made for aquariums doesn't mean that they are safe.
 
I didn't say they hurt the fish. The lights themselves are hardly noticable. At night if a fish swims infront of them they might make a slight silhouette. The light provided by the "laser" isn't bright enough to affect the day night cycle. So, in theory they are more beneficial than a full spectrum light because the fish are getting the special types of light constantly only without the bright lights that you get with a full spectrum. I don't know if they cause harm to fish, I haven't seen any and I can't tell the differece in the fish because I already use a very nice lighting system. I do know that it looks nice and doesn't cause harm with the day night cycle. As for Disco lighting effects.. Its a far cry from disco lighting.. just enhanced lighting, and it is not a "true" laser. It is more light a light funnel/focus something like the tunnel lights used to pump sunlight into dark places from outside. though the beam stays more compact. A laser on the other hand is more than focused, and not all lasers are dangerous to humans though most can affect vision if put directly on the eyes. Lasers are significantly more powerful as well using alot more light focused into one thing and they use different types of light. I am not trying to sell or stick up for the laser system, I just think the idea that it hurts fish is ridiculous, and if you saw it for yourself you would see what I mean.
 
Every "laser" set-up I have seen is just LED lights, the same thing your remotes use, new stop lights use, new truck taillights, etc., etc.. If they are LEDs then there is nothing more to worry about then your fish looking at your light in the hood.
 
Just think you could have a laser, disco ball, and cloudy water...

Oh ya a laser is just a light. it just depends on the spectrum you use would be bad for your eyes.

But as was said before.. if you constantly had a bright light shining in your eyes every few seconds you would get a bit pissed as well.

Laser = Ich
Disco ball = Fish jumping for the sparkly thing in the sky
cloudy water = death to fish....
 
I guess there is no way to explain what the light is like if you have never seen it. The packaging claims that the light is beneficial. The light itself looks like small minor beams, not very bright. I doesn't illuminate the tank, nor can you see the fish with the light when they swim infront of it. It is definitely not the laser light/disco show everyone seems to be making it out to be. It does however help flood a small ammount of light from different spectrums. I personally think its mainly for decoration but.... Maybe I need to post a small video of what it actually looks like in a 10 gal tank with the lights on and then with the lights off.. Maybe then we could end the debate.
 

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