Will I kill the fish and plants?

[HappyCamper]

Hi All,

I don't own an aquarium, but i was hired to install new color-changing LED lighting in a nightclub. They have a huge freshwater planted tank with all sorts of fish in it. Probably measures 7'long x 4'wide x 3'deep.

What they want me to do is install two high output color-changing LED strips to light up the aquarium from all sides and make it change color to the theme of the rest of the club.

My thinking is that it HAS to affect the way fish and plants feel, especially since it will be basted with all sorts of unnatural narrow-spectrum colors at 2400LUX.

What would be the impact of such a light "bath", running and changing colors at max intensity for 11 hours a day? I like fish, and if that has any potential of killing them i won't do it.

 

[Dano01]

It would stress them resulting in deteriorating health and possibly death.....Advise them to get plastic plants and fish......For them to pursue this would be an act of cruelty to animals...

You are to be commended for being concerned.
Dan

 

[jcarlilesiu]

I think like all things, the fish will get acclimated to the conditions.

I worked at a bar in college with a 200 gallon tank. All the loud music and people tapping on the aquarium, and all the ciclids couldn't care less.

When I initially put new lighting over my aquarium, my fish went into hiding for awhile until they got used to it now they are back to normal.

I don't think its the right atmosphere for an aquarium, and I keep getting mental pictures of goldfish doing the electric slide in the tank.... but I don't think it will necessarily harm them.

 

[HappyCamper]

Thanks for all your input! Are there certain colors/wavelengths that fish respond better to? I could program the lights to only use certain colors over the aquarium.

i think i will also advise them find an animal trainer to teach the fish synchronized swimming to YMCA...

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Happy Camper and welcome!

LED lights are beginning to emerge as a new technology in fish tanks. They don't put out the heat that compact fluorescents do. I saw a demo tank with LED lights a fish convention recently. But as far as the lux output, I'm not sure. I know that fish and plants do well between 5,000 and 10,000K. If you have plastic plants, it doesn't matter what the light is.

If the light is pulsating and changing colors, I would imagine that would be stressful for fish. Real plants probably wouldn't survive. It's an unnatural atmosphere for the fish and plants. Cichlids, like jcarlilesiu states, are hardy, aggressive fish, and if any fish can take those conditions, it's probably cichlids. I would imagine that the fish could get used to noise a little easier than pulsating lights. We have TVs and stereos in our houses that can get a little loud sometimes; of course, noise in a nightclub is louder and more consistent than a loud TV occasionally.

What type of fish are in the tank? Some fish are more aggressive and out in the open. Some fish tend to hide more. I don't know for sure how the lights would affect fish in the long run but since it is an unnatural environment, it may not be the best thing for them. I have read that some fish will orient themselves to light - the light source is "up" to them. I've read that if you shine a flashlight through the side of a darkened tank in a dark room, the fish will swim sideways, thinking the side of the tank is now up. I've never tried that myself.

I'm not sure what would happen. I've just tried to make some educated guesses and I hope it helps.

If you like fish why not stick around here and start your own tank?

 

[HappyCamper]

If you like fish why not stick around here and start your own tank?

hehe tempting my wife got a big black dog last year, so that makes me the next one to pick a pet. and i don't have to wake up at 7am to walk my fish.. very tempting.


As for the tank, i have decided to relocate the two color changers to a different section of the club and use top-mount daylight-spectrum LED panels on the tank. i don't see a point in confusing fish, and the owners don't really care that much about it.

 

[Door]

Wow. How cute are you! Worrying about someone else's fish, when you could just do the job, collect your check and breeze out of there. Kudos! Tell your wife she's got a keeper. ^_~

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm glad to hear that

 

[new2betas]

Wow. How cute are you! Worrying about someone else's fish, when you could just do the job, collect your check and breeze out of there. Kudos! Tell your wife she's got a keeper. ^_~

I second that!! Impressive!!