Thinking about Light and Health

[fearlessfisch]

I have seen people here post that aquarium lights should be replaced every 6 months to a year or so, because they lose their effectiveness. I have probably had the same lights on my tank for almost three years now. Aesthetically, the lights may be slightly less pleasing than when we bought them, but I'm not sure that I would have even noticed if I hadn't read about the lifespan of bulbs here at AA. Given that finances are tight, it has been hard to justify buying new bulbs when the old ones still work as well as they do.

I know that light is important to health in humans. Deprivation of natural light is associated with depression and probably physical illnesses too. I wonder if using old bulbs is less healthy for fish, in addition to being less aesthetically pleasing.

I also wondered about full daylight bulbs used for aquariums, and how they would be different from the very expensive lights sometimes prescribed for people with seasonal depression. Does anyone know?

I'm interested in any thoughts people may have about light and health, either for fish or humans.


On edit: I just realized I may have posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry if that is the case.

 

[flipz]

You're fine in this forum, no problem. Unless of course you have a salt water tank. For a salt water tank with corals and such you will definitely want to post over there.

Now first off, a regular daylight bulb versus others is no big deal in a fish only tank. If you are growing plants, you might want to look into the other bulbs.

Now I just recently read on a thread here that having a bulb that's over 1 year old can cause algae blooms due to it not displaying the correct spectrums... but I don't know the truth behind that. If you aren't having a problem with that, then no worries.

But finally... the real question, does light effect fish? Yes, it very well does. Fish have a circadian rhythym just like humans, plants, etc. What this means is that they require a normal 24 hour light cycle to basically function. If the output on your light isn't enough, or in the wrong spectrum, it very well can effect your fish.

My 2 cents: if you can afford new bulbs, go for it. They will be much brighter than you expect, as you are used to the dullness of your current bulbs. If you can't afford it, and your fish and/or tank aren't currently suffering any ill effects... you can put it off for now!

I hope that helps,
-brent

 

[nitrous]

some advice about fish only bulbs, the ones from the petstores arent really needed, they are sold as specialty i think so if your like me go to a home depot near you and get some cheap bulbs mine were 7 each and some are even cheaper and the lfs has bulbs around 14 each so ya

 

[flipz]

Yup. You can find "aquarium and plant bulbs" at walmart in the same racks with the other fluorescent bulbs for cheap!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I still recommend "natural sunshine" or "daylight deluxe" bulbs from Home depot. for 4' lights they are about 3$ or less each. You'ld have to see what lights are available for your fixture(s) since some 55Gal tanks have 2x24" bulbs..

The spectral output changes on every bulb with age (including metal halide).. This may cause the spectrum to fluctuate and give off spikes in certain spectrums, in planted tanks this can cause the plants to fail to photosynthesize correctly and contribute to an algae bloom, I'm unsure of the effect in a FO tank.

I have 5 bulbs over my tank and the combined cost of those bulbs was under 15$. (4' daylight/sunshines)

 

[fearlessfisch]

Thanks very much, everyone. I guess it is time for new bulbs. The funny thing is that I actually bought some a few months back but gave them away because I decided I didn't need them. You gave me some things to think about that I hadn't considered. I will have to check out the bulbs at Home Depot or Walmart.