Uv Black Light

[Musho3210]

Well the title says it all, i got a 15 watt black light, it is amazing, it makes all the colors in my tank pop, the corals, the macro algae, the coralline, the fish. But i dont know if i should use it. Mainly because it is called UV, would it damage my corals? It is pretty weak so it seems like a good moonlight.

 

[Lynden]

I have read that a small amount of UV is the key to getting all corals to colour up. I wouldn't use it at night, and if your corals begin to show sickness then remove it immediately.

 

[nanocubeking]

I have read that a small amount of UV is the key to getting all corals to colour up. I wouldn't use it at night, and if your corals begin to show sickness then remove it immediately.

Yeah exactly as Lynden said. When I was about to get the Viper I was thinking of using a black light to use as a black light.

I have read that a small amount of UV is the key to getting all corals to colour up. I wouldn't use it at night, and if your corals begin to show sickness then remove it immediately.

When I was about to get the Viper I was thinking of using a black light to use as a night light.

 

[yorkcoparamedic]

There are several posts about using a black light as part of the main tank lighting in the forums here and a lot of articles around the web. I am not speaking from experence but I would start out carefully with it, maybe an hour a day while the tank lighting is on and then more if it doesnt seem to harm anything. I am sure you know that UV is used to kill organisms, bacteria, and parasites in your water. I have been looking into placing a UV filter into my system and also seeing if it was possible to build my own. I have read several articles over the last couple of weeks and everyone warns against using a standard blacklight over there tank whenever the question comes up. But no one ever seems to give any real scientific proof that it will cause any harm to the inhabitants of the tank.

I would think it depends on the wattage of the light and the lenght of time that it is left on. Conversely I would think that it would help control any free floating algaes, harmful bacteria, or parasites in your water at least to some small degree. Plus it does make things glow really nice!

Give it a shot and let us know how it works out for you.

 

[Matthew5664]

My input is that UV light can be split into three spectrums: A, B and C. A being the shortest wavelength about the same as some of the top end true actinic. B a little longer still but in the region of semi ok for the tank long exposure will burn fish and corals like it would you. And then C this is the longest and the most powerful. All UV filters use this wavelength to attack the cell walls of small organisms and render them susceptible to infection, preditation or in most cases it just kills them.

Using a backlight in a tank lighting set-up should not be a problem in short doses. I would suggest that you have your actinic come on first then the main lighting, and then when the main lighting goes off for the night the backlight come on the supplement the final hour(s) of actinic before 'bed'.

This is the knowledge I have it may not be scientifically correct but for the most part it give a rough idea

 

[Revision17]

My input is that UV light can be split into three spectrums: A, B and C. A being the shortest wavelength about the same as some of the top end true actinic. B a little longer still but in the region of semi ok for the tank long exposure will burn fish and corals like it would you. And then C this is the longest and the most powerful. All UV filters use this wavelength to attack the cell walls of small organisms and render them susceptible to infection, preditation or in most cases it just kills them.
...

Just a technicality, A has the longest wavelength and C has the shortest. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy per photon (IE the more damaging).

 

[Matthew5664]

Dam it! I knew when I wrote in that it was wrong and I should have checked it but well for all intensive purposes it really doesn’t witch way round but the class of UV does.

But thanks for the heads up on that must remember to not to post in hast after beer!

 

[SkiFletch]

One other way to think about it... With as neurotic as we as a society have become about UV radiation and cancer, something tells me that a blacklight which has not been linked to such disease in humans would also be fine for fish

 

[andywg]

I would just point out that most SW fish are very poor at seeing red, but far better at seeing blue. It is not outside the realms of possibility that the fish can see some way into the Ultra Violet range. Using a black light is unlikely to cause major problems, but I wouldn't recommend it as a night light (nor would I recommend actinics)

 

[superman]

Exactly my thoughts skifletch, with no warnings about using the bulbs in areas inhabited by humans, I doubt that it can hurt fish or corals at all.

 

[Lynden]

I would just point out that most SW fish are very poor at seeing red, but far better at seeing blue. It is not outside the realms of possibility that the fish can see some way into the Ultra Violet range. Using a black light is unlikely to cause major problems, but I wouldn't recommend it as a night light (nor would I recommend actinics)

Agreed with above, I once read that many can see both infra-red and ultra violet (cannot verify this, so take it with a grain of salt). I do not recommend moonlights unless they are very weak and few in number.