Black Light

TRIX · #1 11-30-2006, 07:50 PM

Would running a black/UV light for a short period of time hurt anything in my tank. I was thinking of having the light on for about 1 Hour a day in the evening or maybe just for special occasions.

danny zubot · #2 11-30-2006, 10:32 PM

To the best of my knowledge corals will not like UV exposure. They will become stressed over time and begin to bleach. Are you wanting to use the black light for looks or water purification? Black lights don't really penitrate water that well, I'd suggest just using actinic lighting instead.

Der_Iron_Chef · #3 12-01-2006, 01:24 AM

Yeah, I like the look of actinits. Very sharp. And safe.

TRIX · #4 12-01-2006, 02:21 AM

The Black light is just for looks. I've got a bulb sitting around and thought it might look kinda cool.

Kryten · #5 12-01-2006, 06:35 PM

Your fish won't like it either.

kwirky · #6 12-04-2006, 11:07 PM

blue cold cathode might be nice?

albert_dao · #7 12-05-2006, 04:56 AM

I and a friend were experimenting with UV exposure last year. There's anecdotal theories out there suggesting that some of the eye popping coloration could be intensified with controlled exposure to UV lighting (considering that the color maybe have evolved to protect against the radiation). With knowledge in hand, we went ahead and exposed a green and red Trachyphyllia to his blacklamp in a 10 gallon; starting with five minutes a day and eventually upping the exposure time to 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, after three weeks of this, the tank burst and my friend decided to discontinue the routine. All said, I don't think we ran the experiment long enough to notice any results, had there been any to notice. I am interest in trying it again sometime in the near future, though.

muck · #8 12-05-2006, 05:02 AM

So there you have it..

Prolonged UV exposure can be hazerdous to your tank!!

danny zubot · #9 12-05-2006, 07:11 PM

I was just about to ask how the heck UV light could burst a tank!