Black light

[robertpower3]

Instead of installing blue led lights for a moon light I installed a(n) 18" black light. Are there any negative effects of installing a black light other than more power consumption compared to the blue l.e.d.s. from radio shack.

[GaryP]

I had one in my 50 gal. but only turned it on when I had guests over in the evening after the lights went out. I never notiv\ced any ill effects from it, but my usage nwas pretty limited.

I got the idea from a National Geographics article from several years ago where they took pics of corals at night in the Red Sea using a black light strobe.

Gary

[JimD]

I tried it once, it flouresced the corals alright, it also flouresced the plankton in the water along with any suspended organics, basicly, it made the tank look like green milk, pretty fugly. Also, the eccess uv is a concern for long term usage.

[Nano_Steve]

i tried it just about exactly a year ago when i bought my first coral. lemme tell ya, if u have fish in ur tank be prepared for the frantic spaz swim that will ensue. my fish went NUTS! i read up a bit more on black lights and it turns out that it blinds fish so i personally would not recommend installing one. they may look kool for a little while but my corals didnt really appreciate it either and they showed me this by closing up for 3 days afterwards!

hope it helps, steve