Does anyone know if actinic lighting can be harmful to other pets? We have an Iguana and 2 Eclectus parrots not far from the tank. My four 48" 110 watt vho actinics produce quite the glow 8O in the room when other lighting is low. :?:
on a similar line of thought how worried should i be about my baby cousin looking up into the halides when she crawls around on the floor by the tank? never thought about it before
i don't think you have anything to worry about, given the distance of the other critters from the bulbs(if there was some wavelength that could harm, i doubt they could travel more than a few feet from the fixture).though, i wouldn't suggest you let 'em look directly at the bulbs-i know MY eyes go bonkers when i look at an actinic, maybe theirs do, too?
8O (for the eye motif!)
The lights do put out a fair amount in the UV spectrum, so they aren't exactly inert. If you stare up into the lights for extended periods, it can potentially cause eye damage, but probably less so than going out on a bright sunny day.
As long as any of your pets aren't basking directly in the light, I don't think there would be any issue whatsoever.
Actinics do not put out any significant amount of UV (virtually no UV-A, and no UV-B). I wouldn't worry about the carcinogenic effects of actinics, but eye damage is possible. I suggest you ask an optometrists the effects of prolonged blue and violet (not ultraviolet) light on the eye.
Halides are a different story. All emit a significant amount of UV-A. For "unshielded" halides (e.g. single ended bulbs) mounted in canopies, as long as you have the canopy closed, I wouldn't worry too much about UV; UV gets attenuated as it travels through water and your aquarium's front glass/acrylic. If you need to work on the tank (even for just one minute), turn off your halides before exposing your skin to it. Better to err on the side of caution.
If you're using open pendants, UV may be an issue, depending on the type of UV-filtering glass that is used by the manufacturer. There are "museum-grade" UV filters that take out nearly all UV-A and UV-B, but I'm not sure if this is what's supplied by the manufacturer. Check out the following link if you're using a pendant and would like to replace the UV filter: http://www.framingsupply.com/museum.htm
