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Cultivated Reef

PAR 38 Bulb hurting my eyes when looking into tank


RubenZ

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I purchased this PAR 38 bulb on amazon and I have it hanging about 12" over my SPEC V tank.  I don't know why, but when I look into the tank I feel like I'm getting dizzy and my eyes start to hurt.  I think its because the way the individual LED colors move and reflect off the side with the movement of my water.  Is this normal, Is the light maybe too bright, is it maybe a crappy chinese light.  I'm wondering if I should just upgrade to something like a KESSIL A80. 

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Christopher Marks

Welcome to the community @RubenZ!

 

You may be noticing the 'strobe' of the LED diodes, they actually flicker on and off many times per second, and if it's a cheap bulb it's something your eyes may perceive. Try to wave your hand underneath the bulb while it's on and see if you notice a strobe light effect.

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I think it has more to do that the light is just bright and my tank is small. Since it hangs over the aquarium and I look straight into it, I can see the LED's shining up top. I'm also thinking my white rocks are reflecting it.  I probably just need to research how others are lighting their SPEC V's.   It also doesn't help that I had Lasik a few years ago and light shining from above down kind  hurts my eyes. 

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On 9/22/2017 at 11:42 AM, RubenZ said:

I think it has more to do that the light is just bright and my tank is small. Since it hangs over the aquarium and I look straight into it, I can see the LED's shining up top. I'm also thinking my white rocks are reflecting it.  I probably just need to research how others are lighting their SPEC V's.   It also doesn't help that I had Lasik a few years ago and light shining from above down kind  hurts my eyes. 

See if you can angle the bulb slightly so that it faces slightly away from you--sort of pointing slightly towards the 'back' of the tank (or the side you view from least often).  Does your lamp have a shade on it that could help shield the bulb?  I had to do both of these for the pico on my desk as the light was bright in my eyes otherwise.

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Kessil A80 is a great light which will have much more seemless color blending, but it will still supply a bit of light spill to as I think that tank is rather narrow and it will still be superbright, however since it's adjustable you can put it 4" from the water alleviating some issues like light spill 

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