Possible for PC Lights to Damage Human Eyes?

[snorkel]

I have a 2 foot deep 150 gallon tank with a bunch of 60 watt bulbs all over the top, no hood, just the lights proped up off the tank on pvc pieces, with open air sides about two or three inches tall. My couch is directly under my tank facing away from it. Its been their for a few years, I don't think its a problem, but my girlfirend is worried about her eyes. Any opinions? They are appreciated. Filtered through up to two feet of water it can't be harmfull, but to look up at it and have some light at the top sides only filter through a few inches?

Has anyone ever heard of people who had eye trouble from looking up at pc lights? I figure its to avioded to look directly up into them, such as when I slide the light over at one end to feed the fish... what do you think? Thanks.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I think you should be fine.. since you asked for opinions.. If you stared at them a while .. and were close enough.. im sure you could burn somthing though.. or stuck them in your eye.. that would do it too

Mine if off the water face 4 inches too... no problem here

 

[drbdc]

I've got mine sitting on eggcrate til I build my hood. It is bright but I've put tin foil over it like a big reflector. I don't think it would hurt your eyes because they sell 6500K replacement bulbs for incandescent fixtures that are compact flur. spirals.

 

[Anonymous]

I do not think that PCs give off much UV light. Unshielded MHs(esp DE bulbs) can cause UV damage to your eyes. The intensity alone may cause damage as well.

 

[DOGMAI]

It sounds like a tactic a woman (like my wife) would use to inadvertently get you to cover the lights because she is tired of looking at them. Those women are sneeeeeeky. Lol.

Thanks,
Shane

 

[Fozza]

Exactly what Dogmai said!

 

[Anonymous]

UV can't go through glass. The exterior of a flourescent bulb is quartz, but your tank is glass. If UV is the worry, forget it.

Besides, people sit under flourescent bulbs all day long; I expect we would have heard about any health hazards by now.

 

[Fatal Morgana]

>...The exterior of a flourescent bulb is quartz..

No DannyO. It is regular glass, that' why they coat the inside with the powder so that the UV can be convert into Vis to get out of the tube. UV bulb for the sterilizer, however, is quartz.

 

[drbdc]

Well now actually there are reports of problems with too long of flourescent bulb exposure. But that was with the standard bulbs. Full spectrum bulbs help out on some of those syndromes. We've been giving the fish and corals better bulbs longer than people.

 

[Anonymous]

No DannyO. It is regular glass, that' why they coat the inside with the powder so that the UV can be convert into Vis to get out of the tube. UV bulb for the sterilizer, however, is quartz.

Then the reptile bulbs that emit UVA are different from other bulbs?

 

[Fatal Morgana]

They has to use a different glass material since regular glass has a very high extinction coefficient for UV-A and UV-B.