jasontatro Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 I agree with Ab.... not possible. While putting my setup together, I looked at the light several times and had my face inches away on several occasions and nothing happened. Either you were trying to get a tan or it is a nice little bit of fiction you've created for all the kiddies here. Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Another questin for raven might be... HAve you been on antibiotics, anti acne medication or any other medication lately? Some medications can cause you to be hyper-sensitive to UV. This is why they often say to avoid direct sunlight while on the drugs. What they don't take into account are other sources of UV. I've seen it before with reptile bulbs and MH. Just a possibility. The other possibility is that raven might be one of those people that has a natural sensitivity to UV (ie burns easily). I know people that will burn pretty badly in under 15 minutes in the sun, especially after the winter months. Just some things to consider. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I have whats called regular "float" glass which will block "some" but not all uv. I basically had that cut to size for my csl 30" hood then i just took the actual UV glass from a regent light and used some glass glue to bond it right over the de bulb just to be safe. Link to comment
ravenlot Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 (Sarcastically) You guessed it. I decided to sit down and write some outlandish story just to get people to reply and feed my need for attention. I appologize if I've wasted your time. ... Perhaps I wasn't clear about what happened. My original setup had no UV protection but it did have the standard glass cover over the tank. I'm sure this provided a little bit of UV protection but not enough for sustained periods of exposure. The tank didn't receive a full day of light during that first day since I set up the lighting in the afternoon. My corals were affected but I'm not sure if it's because of the UV or because it's because the lighting is just brighter. The following day, all corals except the green finger leather didn't look as healthy as before. As of today, they're all recovering nicely except for one type of polyp, most of which remains closed. When I looked at the tank, I obviously didn't have a glass pane shielding me fron the light like the corals did. Since I had a small 10g tank with a new lighting setup, I might have been closer to the tank as usual as I examined everything. I was easily between 1-2 feet from the tank. Furthermore, since I was excited to have installed my new lighting, I was watching the tank more frequently than I usually do. The light was about 4 inches above the tank and shined at my forhead as I watched the tank. I didn't feel I stared at the light for any significant amount of time so I was as surprised as anyone else might be when my vision was affected. As I said, I would never guess that such a little light bulb would put out so much UV radiation. I read that these bulbs put out a significant amount of UV radiation when they're brand new. Perhaps that's why it was so strong. 1fish2fish, I'm not on antibiotics or anti acne medication but I do take some medication for cholesterol and high blood pressure (yeah, I gotta watch what I eat). I have no idea whether that medication affects one's sensitivity to light. I'm of pacific islander descent so I'm not especially sensitive to UV radiation. I wish I could use those explanations to back my story up but I can't. JMT, the Lexan stuff has been working. Since I've obviously been wrong before, I PM'ed birdman204 (tank of the month winner http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/?tank=4) who also used Lexan. He said he still uses it in his minibow and it works fine. I actually replied to your thread earlier. If I remember correctly, your sheet was 1/2" away from your bulb which is waaay too close. I've always believed that one's reputation is a person's most important asset. I don't go around making up stories to waste everyone's time. So I don't appreciate people calling me a liar. In turn, I don't go around putting down every story I don't believe. If it's something I feel necessary to voice my disagreement with, I try to do it tastefully and constructively. Absolutc, do us all a favor and stop lurching the message board. Do youself a favor and quit replying to stories you don't believe. You'll save everyone's time, including yours. Let me just say again that I'm absolutely surprised that this happened. I had no idea that the UV radiation would be this strong. That's why I didn't get a UV blocking protection in the first place. I figured 1) it wasn't much radiation, 2) regular glass would block out the most harmful rays, 3) the corals could handle some radiation since I figured they have to deal with it in the ocean. I never dreamed that the radiation would affect anyone just looking at the tank. BTW, I later found a thread showing what happens to corals exposed to UV radiation for a day under a 150w bulb. Check out this thread if you're interested http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=22147 Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Originally posted by AbSoluTc That is the equivalent of somone sitting in the sun for 8 hours straight. Again, IMPOSSIBLE. Kinda funny you mention 8 hours exposure... here's a quote from this link. http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/pagebin/pg000106.htm "Recent tests conducted on mercury vapour and metal halide lamps with the outer envelope removed gave ultraviolet radiation levels that exceeded the National Health and Medical Research Council 8 hourly exposure limit within a few minutes, even at several metres distance." Don't get upset over them Raven. There are people out there that say 9/11 didn't happen too. Link to comment
ravenlot Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 Reefer_Buddha, How's that float glass working for you? My concern is that I read one thread (don't have link sorry) where UV light was bouncing off the back of the tank and onto the backs of some corals. I'm still working on my setup to make it more fool proof. With my DIY hood, I have a lid that opens to gain access to the tank but I still have to remove the Lexan sheet within it. I'm concerned that I might easily forget to put the sheet back in one day and expose my tank to hours of UV radiation. Link to comment
DSparks Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Yikes! Note to self: Apply SPF 30 before working around tank. Seriously, I just installed a 70W DE over my 10g. I ordered up some 1/8" glass from a local glass shop. I'm hoping that it'll do the UV filtering job for me. I didn't want to pay the $20.00 for tempered glass, so I took a chance. onthefly, how far away from the bulb is your glass? Mine is about 1 1/2", and it gets hot. I'm hoping it's not too close. Your thoughts? Link to comment
Korbin Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 1 1/2" is pretty close. Store-bought fixtures position the glass at least 3.5 to 4" away. The quartz jacket on the bulb gets red hot on my 150 watter. Link to comment
ravenlot Posted March 18, 2004 Author Share Posted March 18, 2004 Ooh, 2 minutes. Don't hurt yourself now. How many times do I have to say this. The fixture was installed in the late afternoon and was on until the evening (about 10PM or so). I have no idea how long my exposure was but I was looking at my tank very frequently several minutes at a time. I was checking how my corals were doing under the new light, monitoring temperature of the water, and checking to see how much heat was being transferred to the glass. Quite frankly, I couldn't care less what your supposed findings might be. You didn't give any respect to my comments and I won't be giving any in return. Go lurch somewhere else. Link to comment
onthefly Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Abs you wuss.....I'll stare at the sun for 2, do 5 minutes! j/k:) Sparks - I run my bulb about 2" from the glass. It gets hot! It evaps SW splash before it even hits the glass right under the bulb. I've had some browning issues over the past few months, but with me leaving town fairly frequently these days, SG spikes, temp fluctatuations, and an NH3 spike from a dead emerald crab....UV isn't even on my radar as a cause. Sorry for the hijack, now back to the raven and abs show! Link to comment
1fish2fish Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 I thnk the main point of the post is to be careful around your MH DE fixtures and to take appropriate precautions. Whether you decide to take the advice or not is completely up to you. For the more safety conscious of us i'm sure that this post is most welcome and will alter the way we deal with DE fixtures in the future. For those that don't care, that is your perogative. Thanks for the heads up raven. Link to comment
AbSoluTc Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 Thats fine raven. You will never ever convince me that your lighting did that to you. Never. I think it is all in your "mind" and you should get that checked out. Now, everybody STAND BACK while I unleash my 70w METAL HALIDE! IT WILL MAKE YOUR HAIR FALL OUT AFTER 10 Seconds of "exposure". Please. Some delete this thread before it gives any other "special" person ideas. :x Link to comment
jmt Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 I thought to myself, no way, this can't be true! Boy was I wrong. I went over to my tank and held my hand by the 70w DE for 30seconds. Guess what happened.... Link to comment
unsped Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 i didn't believe it either, boy was i wrong. this is what happened when i took my uv filter off my 5g nano with 70w ushio 10k / aromat ballast. Link to comment
Von digity Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 *edit* ^ haha thats sum funny chit!!! It's like my nightmare whenever I DIY something... I remember the first time I showed my dad a DE bulb. He thought it was one of those bulbs they use up in the northern most reaches of like russia, to help supplement the vitamin D that ppl living there lack due to not having enought U.V. exposure. He totally flipped, funniest stuff ever. A two hour rant, from a paranoid chinese dad. Anyways, eyes are pretty sensitive things. Why don't you stare at a bulb instead of holding your arm under one and see what happens (J/k though, thats like one of the stupidest things a person could do). I believed that something definatly might have happen to him, but the pain that one person feels isn't the same as another person. We all have our own tolerances, things we don't feel and things we feel, etc... What am I saying? Well, y'know, that kinda stuff and yada yada.. Link to comment
Von digity Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 Damn, you guys should be careful... Playing with 70 watt DE's is like playing with your life... Link to comment
kalawai Posted March 19, 2004 Share Posted March 19, 2004 This is the funniest thread ever............... LMAO Link to comment
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