Pros and Cons of Blacklight

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Super_Blueberry

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
661
Location
Esko, MN
Just looking for the pros vs cons of using blacklighting as a supplemental light source on top of the ~5000k led general lighting I have for my 100g planned tank. I’ve used blue led lights in the past but never got that color pop I would love to see from some of my guys. And maybe with the six 4’ led ‘tubes’ I simply can’t because it’s too much white light to overcome.
 
Black lights generally produce ultraviolet A (UV A) or ultraviolet B (UV B) wavelengths of light. These should not be used on aquariums or around people because they can cause skin cancer and cataracts.

Fish from rainforest or blackwater habitats are not normally exposed to UV A or B in the wild and should not be exposed to excessive UV light in the aquarium.

Albino fishes should not be exposed to UV light.

The only things that benefit from a small amount of UV light are corals that live near the surface. Corals produce a natural sunscreen that protects them from UV light. The UV light can enhance their colour a bit but doesn't do a lot for fish.
 
Black lights generally produce ultraviolet A (UV A) or ultraviolet B (UV B) wavelengths of light. These should not be used on aquariums or around people because they can cause skin cancer and cataracts.

Fish from rainforest or blackwater habitats are not normally exposed to UV A or B in the wild and should not be exposed to excessive UV light in the aquarium.

Albino fishes should not be exposed to UV light.

The only things that benefit from a small amount of UV light are corals that live near the surface. Corals produce a natural sunscreen that protects them from UV light. The UV light can enhance their colour a bit but doesn't do a lot for fish.

I’ve seen people say that, but I’ve also seen articles like this:
“Exposure to UVA from black lights is well below the recognised safe limits and is not hazardous to people using them, working in their vicinity or who have them in their home. Exposure from black lights would be much lower than your exposure to UVA outdoors.”
I understand that they fall within the UV-A range, but I find it hard to believe that they would be commercially available to consumers as common party lights if they were a health hazard. I’m not talking tanning booths levels here…
 
I understand that they fall within the UV-A range, but I find it hard to believe that they would be commercially available to consumers as common party lights if they were a health hazard. I’m not talking tanning booths levels here…

A lot of things sold in shops aren't safe but people are exposed to them daily. Nitrites and Nitrates are carcinogenic if ingested but are often found in tap water.

A herbicide called Glyphosate (Roundup, Weed Killer, etc) is extremely dangerous but can be bought from any supermarket, hardware store or garden centre, by children. This stuff is used all over parks, gardens, footpaths and people's yards but it is a serious safety hazard, and it does cause cancer.

Exhaust fumes from fossil fuel powered vehicles are toxic but billions of vehicles spew the stuff out every day and most people don't give it a second thought.

People still smoke even though it has been known to cause lung cancer for nearly 100 years. Alcohol is the same, causes all sorts of cancers as well as damages families and wastes heaps of police resources.

Half the chemicals in fish medications cause cancer but people still add them to their aquarium.

Vermiculite is used in horticulture to grow seedlings but it is often found in association with asbestos.

White asbestos has been found in talcum powder and the companies that make the stuff have known about it for over 50 years.
 
White asbestos has been found in talcum powder and the companies that make the stuff have known about it for over 50 years.

Do they still mine asbestos near you in Perth? Certainly is still mined in some parts of the world. Even supposedly civilised parts.

If you look hard enough in many building components you will find asbestos as its still commonly used in many poorer countries and components and parts commonly find their way into the supply chain of countries where its banned and a contractor is trying to cut a corner.

Asbestos is still found in many cheaper break pads even though its illegal and you will get a good dose if you stand for any period at a busy street corner where there is a lot of braking.
 
Do they still mine asbestos near you in Perth? Certainly is still mined in some parts of the world. Even supposedly civilised parts.

No, they stopped mining asbestos here in the mid to late 1980s. The town where most of it came from was called Wittenoom and they deleted that from maps about 15 years ago. There were a few old timers who lived there and the government wanted them out but they wouldn't leave. I'm not sure what happened to them but my guess is the government dragged them out and left all their belonging behind.

All roads leading to Wittenoom have been blocked and or ripped up, and signs erected around the outskirts warning of asbestos contamination and you aren't allowed in there. From the pictures I have seen it's a nice area but it's a death sentence for anything living there. Same as Chernobyl, lots of plants but very little else, including fish in the waterways.
 
Too much of anything can be a bad thing. Using something in a way that it’s not intended can be a bad thing. None of your arguments actually answer my question.

You put a little glute in your tank and it helps your plants. You have your fish swim in pure Metracide, they’re going to have a bad time. Same with prime… you put a capful in, you’re good. You put a gallon in, not so good.

Yes, high doses of UVA/B is bad, but that’s not what I’m planning on using. I guess I’m looking for someone who has used blacklights themselves, or information on cases of them being used in an aquarium, and none of this anecdotal hearsay.
 
If UV lights were meant to be used on aquariums, you would be able to buy them from pet shops. I have never seen UV light globes sold at pet shops during the last 50 years.

I have seen UV sterilisers sold at pet shops and these have a plastic case around the UV light to stop the UV light affecting things around it.

The closest you get to UV light globes for aquariums is actinic light, which is not UV light but close to it, and it makes things glow/ luminesce. Actinic lights have been available in pet shops for over 40 years.

I spent quite a few years working in the pet industry and never had any customers use black lights on their tanks. You can try it and record the results. It would make an interesting experiment. Have 2 tanks set up the same. Have one with the black light and the other without. Monitor and record things with video, pictures and writing down results, over a period of at least a couple of years, and see if there's a difference. It might be worth using them but I doubt it.
 
My secondhand axotle tank came with a black light in the hood as the GFP axies carry the Green Fluorescent Protein. I chose an open egg crate cover to maintain lower temperatures, but I never heard anything about harm to the axies from black lights.
 
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