Safety of LEDs

[newf99]

I was just wondering what are the opinions and experiences regarding high power LED safety. I have a set of Kessil A160 LEDs hanging form goosenecks and I notice that if I work on my tank and happen to look at the reflection of the light in the water I can get a nasty headache.

Also my tank is near the dinner table and when we are sitting down if we look in the direction of the tank we can see the bright LED shining down on the tank. I often wonder if the UV rays or Blue light spectrum can potentially damage our eyes.

Would love to hear insights from other reefers on the safety of LEDs and possible risks of using them in public housing areas.

[GHill762]

very little UV present in reef led's.

 

blue light, there's been a bit of debate on eye safety.

 

if you're really concerned you could build a hood..

 

oh, and

[Benny314]

Your light isn't using UV light. UV is miss used in lighting terms. It will have the violet range 410-435nm so true to hyper violet. Ultra Violet is sub 380nm. That's the range that starts causing cancers and other nasty things by destroying DNA which is why UV sterilisers are enclosed.

 

Prolonged exposure to bright light isn't good over long periods of time, nor is focused light. There's a lot of medical research going on at the minute into the dangers/affects on the human body/mind/sleep patterns when using Ipads and such as books before bed. The light from the backlighting seems to be causing sleeping problems in some people.

 

Some people are just light sensitive, I get headaches when out in bright sunshine so I wear sunglasses, when working in the tank maybe dim or turn off the lights. But reflected light off the waters surface isn't going to have the same intensity as looking directly into the light (really wouldn't recommend that) and shouldn't do any long term damage, but might leave you seeing spots for a while.

Common sense is best course of action and as mentioned, maybe a canopy or hood to catch any unwanted light spill.

[Horerczy]

Any light can damage your eyes if the intensity is high enough.

 

UV would not likely be much of an issue.

 

If one wants to get technical most led fixtures that use Real UV leds have less output in the ultraviolet spectrum than halide or t5 fixtures.

 

Most of this UV is UVA anyways and is the least dangerous form of UV lighting. Certain corals can even use the UVA for photosynthesis (not that it's required) and some fish actually see UVA light.

 

Blue is up for debate on how damaging it is but you obviously shouldn't stare into it.

 

I suggest possibly altering the angle the light is pointing if the glare is bothering your eyes. A faux canopy of sorts could also help.

[newf99]

So if I built a canopy, how harmful would the light rays emanating from the glass be? I really, really love my tank but I am worried about the possibility of permanent eye damage from the lights. I have noticed an increase in eye floaters in the past two months and I am only 29.

[Benny314]

Glass deflects and refracts light (think of a prism in school creating a rainbow from white light), this scattering effect reduces light intensity and unless you have some sort of high intensity laser going on in your tank (and it's lined up at exactly 90 degrees to the pane of glass to allow the light to go straight through with out being refracted), your unlikely to suffer any long term damage to your sight from your tank lighting through glass, however like I said to begin with, if your sensitive to bright light, your going to get headaches etc when looking into a brightly lit tank. I have never had a problem with my tank, but like I said, even when it's overcast I wear sunglasses when out doors as I get a headache, particularly when driving in bright conditions.

While it's not recommended to look into bright light sources for extended periods of time, even looking at an LED array at 100% is unlikely to cause lasting damage as unless your being stupid, you're only going to catch a glance at it before your body reacts automatically and closes your eyes/makes you look away.

I don't think eye floaters will have anything to do with your tank lighting.

If your really concerned, discuss it with your doctor or eye care specialist/optician.