365nm UV LED

[Bengals888]

Hi,

I am working on a DIY led light for a 2.7 gallon tank. It will have a single 3W 365nm UV led running
at 650mA, about 2 watts.

My question is if the UV is harmful to my eyes whenever I look at the tank. I have seen in retail lights for aquarium that use UV LED’s but not sure at what strength and what wavelength.

Thanks

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hi,

I am working on a DIY led light for a 2.7 gallon tank. It will have a single 3W 365nm UV led running
at 650mA, about 2 watts.

My question is if the UV is harmful to my eyes whenever I look at the tank. I have seen in retail lights for aquarium that use UV LED’s but not sure at what strength and what wavelength.

Thanks

I believe it's around the 390 to 420nm that the uv lights in the retail fixtures use 3 watts

 

[TheEngineer]

365nm is UVA, aka "black light." There isn't a specific safety regulations around UV exposure limits. As with all light sources, you shouldn't stare at them

 

[mcarroll]

Hi,

I am working on a DIY led light for a 2.7 gallon tank. It will have a single 3W 365nm UV led running
at 650mA, about 2 watts.

My question is if the UV is harmful to my eyes whenever I look at the tank. I have seen in retail lights for aquarium that use UV LED’s but not sure at what strength and what wavelength.

Thanks

It could be anything from fixture to fixture, but the ones I'm familiar with call 420nm "UV". True enough I guess.

The shorter the wavelength, the more damaging the UV can be though, generally speaking. That might be one reason they tend to use 420nm and not something lower.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Some of the lower nm UV 3w diodes made in china have plastic lenses and will discolor/darken, even melt over time. Some are made with glass, but are more expensive, if you can find them.

 

[Gareth elliott]

UVA is typically required by reptile and amphibian species. And is present in small amounts in nearly all white grow lights. The amount needed is rather small and used for setting their circadian rhythm and breeding schedule.
Its lower than 320 nm you might encounter bad side effects.

 

[Bengals888]

Thanks for the replies. I read on one sight it’s harmful if you stare directly at, not reflective off surface, not too sure of this either.

I am using cheap 3W UV from China, nothing fancy. Shorter the wavelength, more harmful to eyes makes sense.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Lamps containing mercury (metal halides, mercury vapors) will produce lots of UV-A due to the mercury line spectra. Although fluorescent lamps also contain mercury, the UV is usually absorbed by phosphors to produce visible light, and the UV-A making it out of the glass envelope is usually minor in comparison. 365nm UV can be absorbed by photopigments (chlorophylls, etc.) and can be beneficial, photosynthetically speaking. It can probably induce at least some coral coloration, but it is still UV, and staring at the lamp is a poor idea, but under the circumstances of its use in aquaria, it is likely a minor concern.