black lights

11 posts • Page 1 of 2

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


buck50
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:45 pm

black lights

by buck50

can u use blacklights in a freshwater tank, maybe that sounds stupid but i was just wondering??


darkruby
 
Posts: 87
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:00 am

by darkruby

Black lights? Well, to tell you the truth, I have only heard of them used for crime scenes. Within a tank a I have no idea but it sounds like the kind of light spectrum it emmits can be bad.


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

I think blacklights would probably cause more harm then help. Although I don't think they would be really harmful. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the nifty ''accenting effects' a blacklight would create on fish (such as glofish) or neon decor is from the UV light it emits? I think actinics are also fine producers of UV light but are more for producing light utilized by corals in saltwater setups. I might note that I have actinics in my 5 gallon and they seem to supplement algae growth more than plant growth. -.-
I've seen blacklights used in some Fish stores but usually only in glofish tanks so that buyers would be more anxious to get a brightly glowing fish. Which is a heated debate among many aquarists. Some sellers claim their glofish (which are actually zebrafish) are genetically mutated to glo, and some will even go as far as to say that the mutation is natural and bred by selection. Others state that their fish are simply injected with dyes and many buyers have no problem with this while others think its the most cruel thing in the world. Either way this isn't a fish I consider supporting the development and sale of if that is the case.


gumbii
 
Posts: 1695
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 am

by gumbii

i think they throw 100-300 nm... a UV sterilizer i think throws around 230nm... i think... i don't have my books right now... so don't qoute me on this...


but anyways... the way UV light kills protozoa algae and other crap is by how much time they are exposed to this wave length and what part of the spectrum the light is...

so with that said... yes... it will kill some if not ALL of your biological bugs in your aquarium and the good bacteria on your fish...

but i don't know anybody or anywhere that talks about the harms it does... so if you do decide to try it let us know... lol...






oh and glofish are geneticly engineered to glow... they were made for the water treatement plants... the fish naturally clean the water out a bit, and are made to glow brighter when there are high levels of toxic chemicals and amonia...

a glofish wont glow unless the water quality is really bad in the tank...

check out http://www.glofish.com i think it says the reason and such for those poor fish... i think they are mixed with the cuddle fish or some kind of jelly fish... i forgot...





good times...


Sumthing_Fishy
 
Posts: 193
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:47 am

by Sumthing_Fishy

I just put 2 black lights across my new 125 gallon tank, and it looks cool. Makes the water look sort of purple, and some of the decorations glow from it.


buck50
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:45 pm

by buck50

well thanks for all the input, but if i where to put blacklights in, it would just be for short periods of time, maybe just to take some pics and get some cool effects, but i wasn't quite sure if it would be ok to leave them on for long periods of time, ya know...


angus4481
 
Posts: 199
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:31 am

by angus4481

ive used blacklights b 4..... imo they are trouble, fresh and salt. if you look twards the top of the tank when the blacklight is on, its really cloudy. after awhile ur water will seem to be cloudy when regular lighting is on. antic lighting is the best blacklight for the aquarium, it keeps ur water looking natural, and clear imo.


courtney8526
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:26 am

by courtney8526

I use black lights sometimes on my tank with glofish in them. They really glow when you put a black light on them and look very cool. I'll try to take a picture of it tonight to show what it looks like.


Sumthing_Fishy
 
Posts: 193
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:47 am

by Sumthing_Fishy

I turn my blacklights on just before bedtime for an hour or two, just to use like a night light.


EDUB1152
 
Posts: 27
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2007 12:50 am

by EDUB1152

Black lights won't harm you tank. But the bad ting is that the black light will show all the bad things in your tank. Looks nasty!! Try-it!!

black lights

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