On the topic of lighting

The reason people get sunburn is because of UV radiation, the typical lighting we use do not emit UV energy at all. There are lights which emit UV rays, the ones which emit UVA radiation are used in sterilizers which kills everything it shines on.

So aside from freaking out fishes until they get used to it, aquarium lighting is quite harmless. The fishes will get used to it, I have several fishes that are approaching a decade old under quite intense lighting.
 
how many hours a day do you spend looking directly at the sun?
lol

i have to agree with everybody else on this one.
the point about reefs being deep in the water is a good one too..
i think your fish are safe..well at least from the fluorescents. ;)
 
maybe ill go draw a picture..


you need to understand that while the sun may not always be in the same position... it is still always the same distance from earth-- therefore the intensity doesnt change when it is bright

the sunlight may be hitting the fish on the side of its head in the wild... and always above it in my aquarium- but irreguardless the only effect that is going to be different is the position of my fish's tan-lines lol

sunlight, and fishtank light are not 100% Identical... but they are alike enough that fish cant tell the difference, and plants certainly dont mind

Think about it... there are parts of the ocean that are so crystal clear.. and if you dive down MANY feet underwater-- it is STILL bright enough to grow high-light corals. that means it is at about the concentration of 4-5 WPG MINIMUM (not watts because its the sun.. but in comparison that is what is needed to grow such corals).
 
aww comon! This was an entertaining thread... and now.. its DEAD! ahhhh

RIP
 
Lol, how many fish do you see looking straight up at the light? It's fairly uncommon, even for my surface feeders. They look up just long enough to feed and then go about their day. They don't care what position the light is on the rest of the time.

I have a section in my tank with floating plants that blocks out quite a bit of light. It covers about 1/4 of the tank currently (75g tank). Plus there are spots where my taller stems block out light and also where the light just doesn't shine because it only covers part of the tank (low-medium light). Ergo, there are plenty of swimming spots that have little to no light in the tank, but my fish still prefer to swim where the light is directly shining. If it really mattered to them, I'd think they would stay in the less intensely lighted parts of the tank.
 
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