I was at Wal-mart the other day and saw bulbs for a black light. I've got a couple of light fixtures laying around so I'm sure I could plug in the black light bulb into the fixture and have myself a black light for my tank. I've heard of these being used, but I've never actually seen them. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to using one of these on a tank?
Black lights anyone??
- Thread starter chinnp
- Start date
Yup! It does make them look cool! I think that funny Glowfish thing is meant o be kept under black light… Anyway I ran a 45 hex with a black light bulb in the evenings for 3 years, no problems made the fish look cool and didn’t seem to bother anyone;
I personally think the aquarium and it's management should be geared toward simulating as natural an enviroment as possible, and a black light would'nt look to natural.Also I think that I read something about them emiting a great deal of UV rays, wich reef aquarists seem to make a real big deal about because they burn corals. Not sure if they would directly affect the fish though, but this goes with stunting, fish feeling pain and improperly treating your fish.
Yes, keeping black lights on in a tank starts to affect the fishes eyes, the UV rays it puts out starts to burn the fishes eyes.
Some people use them to enhance their colors, but its not all that good for the fish.
Some people use them to enhance their colors, but its not all that good for the fish.
dorkfish said:
I know what you're saying, but I somewhat disagree. I personally gear my aquarium towards what looks nice and what is visually appealing to me without causing harm to the fish in the tank. I don't necessarily have a "natural" environment for my fish, but they're well fed and taken care. I was more curious how the fish would look at night and thought the black light might be one way to see this and see the fish who prowl at night. In general, we tend to see only the fish who are active during the day and don't see any of the "night shift".
You're better off using the Hi-Lite system which has up to 5 LED lights that you can place with suction cups around the tank...As far as I know, those lights don't bother the fish and you can watch your night crew without potentially harming or stressing your fish
chinnp said:
IMO,a natural looking tank always looks nice, and any wild caught fish you may have in your tank will feel more at home with this kind of decor. Another reason I also prefer to have my tanks look natural is that I read once that blue gravel and other supernatural decor for your tank can shorten the lifespans of the fish. However there was no info to back this up, but I would rather be on the safe side here. Also, it's cheaper, for a natural tank you can go and find a rock for your tank and test it with an acid (for lime), versus going to walmart or petsmart and paying $20 for a bright orange ceramic cave. Within my knowledge there is no proof that a natural tank is better, but it's what I prefer.