UV Light

[j25uk]

Hi all im justin new to the forum on flash and narayans recomendation.

just havent posted in the newbie forum yet

does anybody know if a UV COLD CATHODE whould be harmfull to my tank water
or my blue lobster/crayfish

as im cycling my tank have made a moon light but the cathodes i brought also came with a uv one . havnt used it yet as didnt know if it would be harmfull to fish or the water


all help greatly appriciated


and yes my blue was the one that died when i went on holiday hopefully the next will be much more sucsess

ill post pics of the moonlight setup soon found the instructions here got the stuff took ten minutes to install looks great

cheers all

 

[The-Wolf]

I would say don't use it!
all uv light is harmful to life,
thats why we have most of the
ozone to filter it out.

 

[j25uk]

ok cheers for your input wolf anyone else got any idea's i just wondered cos you have uv filters for water ???

 

[Timmy]

all uv light is harmful to life,

UV light is essential to the health of many reptiles, so it is not harmful to all life. No idea about fish (eyes would be the main problem). Do you know what sort of UV it is?

 

[JustinSane]

There are three types of UV radiation. UV-A, UV-B and UV-C.
The UV-B and UV-C have a longer wavelength and they are the ones that make you tan, or burn. UV-B and UV-C are also harmful to life if exposed for prolonged periods of time.

UV-A then again has a shorter wavelength and usually bounces of from our atmosphere so we don't get exposed to it much (from sunlight that is).
Which is good since it is able to kill microbe's and bacteria and is actually used for just that. Sterilising premises from bacteria etc. There also these things called "UV-filters" for aquariums. Their main principle is just to have little amounts of water at a time exposed to UV-A radiation. This very efficent against algae blooming.

But it can cause pretty bad cellular damage to humans on extended exposures, so if you don't know what you're doing, don't

 

[Timmy]

As I've not heard of UV COLD CATHODE before I did a quick google. People put them in their PCs to glow and look pretty! I cannot imagine that they are particularly harmful but I would have a slight concern about long term damage to the eyes - I wouldn't use them personally.

 

[j25uk]

it would only be on a night and id be asleep i thought the same thing if you can lite a pc with it then maybe its not to harmfull i just wonder if it is harmfull to the fish gonna have to keep lookin i think

 

[Timmy]

Yes, it was the fishes (or lobsters) eyes I'd worry about. Especially as they sleep with their eyes open B) .

I'd be pretty sure there would not be any short term damage but I would worry about long term damage. Unless you have a good reason to do it or can find some good data I wouldn't bother.

 

[j25uk]

cheers all think ill not bother and /or do some more reaserch

 

[kitababy]

I have two Firemouths in a 10 gallon and we have a window right next to them and we have not had any problems with the sun coming in. They actually love the sun! I don't know what else I can give you for advice. Good luck!

 

[kitababy]

I also have a fish tank(sm one) on my computer desk and he just loves it when I am there working on my computer. He seems to be great!!!!

 

[j25uk]

kitababy does your pc have a uv light then ??

 

[FishDan]

I think another thing to check is whether or not your PC "UV" light actually emits UV radiation. I have seen, on many occassions, simple purple lights being sold as "UV lights". Furthermore, these lights (even if true UV lights) will emit such small amounts of radiation as to be irrelevant. People who work in night clubs do not seem to have mass cases of cancer or sunburn. And many nightclubs make extensive use of UV lighting. Regular black lights emit UV radiation, and they do not kill or cause cancer either. Personally, I think your fish would be just fine. Maybe there is a slight risk over the long term, but that also depends on the lifespans of the fish you plan on keeping. Seriously, I doubt there is sufficent (if any) UV radiation to worry about causing problems.

\Dan

 

[NickT]

its just a "black light" no radiation and not even true UV. if the CC (cold cathode) has a case around the glass tube leave it there. just so water dosnt affect it at all.

im positive it wont adversly affect the fish\tank\bacteria.

 

[j25uk]

the only case i suppose is the plastic tube around the bulb
so we think the blue lobster will be ok then ??