UV led lights dangerous to human?

[Nem0]

might be a dumb question, but I just thought of it and was kinda concerned...Is there any reason for concern using UV lights in leds? I feel like all the widely popular brands utilize some type of UV in their spectrum. I've always grown up knowing about the negative effects of over UV exposure and was wondering if there were any dangers with aquarium uv lights lol

 

[oreo54]

Not really. Honestly it's a stretch calling many UV when they are simple violets.
Few have any appreciable amount of TRUE UV.
Some say the blue is harmful and all bright light can be.

Secondly water absorbs a lot and most plastics (splash guards and lenses cut off at slightly under 400 nm) won't pass true UV.

So afaict no worries. There are UV LEDs that are dangerous and expensive.

 

[Aardvark1134]

1) Use a canopy to keep people and pets from looking straight up into the lights
2) There is UV A B and C and even the very best LEDs only barely enter the UV spectrum.
Look at the chart below from a 360x and consider this "Ultraviolet (UV) designates a band of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelength from 10 nm to 400 nm"

 

[TheGreatWave]

This is interesting in regards to all lights. Some tout the benefit of UV in MH lamps, but seem to ignore the at least partial UV blocked by the filters. Few seem to be concerned about the UV output of T5 bulbs that don't have the intermediate shield.

You are right though to err on the side of caution. Lately I've been getting in the habit of putting some sunglasses on when working in and around the lights.

I use UV diodes to cure resin prints. It is definitely not something you would want to look at regardless of it's true spectrum. A bit of a glancing reflection off a shinny surface is enough to leave a sun spot in your eye.

UVC from the sun is blocked by the atmosphere, so it may be the easiest to control. UVB is blocked by glass so you won't get a sunburn, however about 75% of UVA passes right through glass so you will still get cancer.

With regards to T5 lights, most of the UV produced by the bulb is contained in the bulb. Most of the UV gets converted to visible light at the phosphor coating. What UV does escape is pretty low, the UK-HPA states that florescent bulbs are responsible for about 3% of your yearly exposure to UV. (Assume this is white florescent light, the typical blue ATI bulb I would assume puts out a little more UV, I don't know I've never compared the two.)

If you had a way to compare the T5 and LED UV outputs, we might have some context as to the actual risk. For now a pair of blue blockers for working around the tank is probably a good idea. If you get the polarized kind used for fishing, it can reduce some of the glare making it easier to see into the tank.

 

[brandon429]

There have been very detailed threads and articles in the news verse about blue light harm, but in all honesty I’m going on a solid 25 yrs straight blue light daily and nothing is wrong with peepers. Environment vs genetics issue again imo. Affects some, not others.

do believe some are affected by it

I grew up playing outside and crashing my bike and skateboard daily as a kid, so it’s accurate to say all the blue lighting started in late adulthood. My child however grew up under a shining reefbowl however and is now grown up / no visual harm and considering the advent of I devices it’s accurate to say she’s been raised in a complete uv containment system the whole time lol / good strong eyes even still. There are studies online linkable about eye damage but by the time I read them it was 2017

 

[Dana Riddle]

might be a dumb question, but I just thought of it and was kinda concerned...Is there any reason for concern using UV lights in leds? I feel like all the widely popular brands utilize some type of UV in their spectrum. I've always grown up knowing about the negative effects of over UV exposure and was wondering if there were any dangers with aquarium uv lights lol

I personally are much more concerned about stepping out into Georgia summer sunshine without sunscreen. I've got a radiometer with UV-A and UV-B sensors. Haven't used it in years. I'll unpack it and see if it still works.

 

[Dana Riddle]

The UV radiometer will not calibrate - it is the preferred instrument for this type of work since it has separate sensors for UV-A and UV-B and reports in micro-Watts. Instead I used a Spectrum Technologies quantum meter that sees broadband UV (A & B) and reports in uMol.
With that said, I am not a doctor and am in no position to offer any sort of medical advice. I merely present these numbers and let you decide.
The UV source was a LED strip that Fluence Bioengineering custom built for me, and readings were taken at a distance of 6 inches and directly below from the LEDs. This measurement was 20. Moving the sensor to the side and still 6" below, the measurement fell to about 2. Compare this to the measurement I took at noon today outside where the sky is party cloudy and hazy. This measurement (82.8) would undoubtedly be much higher if the sky was clear. It would be interesting to look at UV attenuation at various depths in an aquarium - something I can do but would take half a day to set up, perform measurements, export to Excel and chart. I'll work on it - some day.

 

[oreo54]

You have too many toys...

 

[Dana Riddle]

You have too many toys...

Never too many toys <maniacal laughter>

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

In terms of this I agree it’s probably not smart to stare or look into your saltwater lights, regardless of what they are. However I have found that pretty much anything can or seems to cause cancer. Just when one switched to avoid something, to prevent it, then something else causes it. But I would say that genetics plays a lot more significant role then most realize.

 

[TheGreatWave]

The UV radiometer will not calibrate - it is the preferred instrument for this type of work since it has separate sensors for UV-A and UV-B and reports in micro-Watts. Instead I used a Spectrum Technologies quantum meter that sees broadband UV (A & B) and reports in uMol.
With that said, I am not a doctor and am in no position to offer any sort of medical advice. I merely present these numbers and let you decide.
The UV source was a LED strip that Fluence Bioengineering custom built for me, and readings were taken at a distance of 6 inches and directly below from the LEDs. This measurement was 20. Moving the sensor to the side and still 6" below, the measurement fell to about 2. Compare this to the measurement I took at noon today outside where the sky is party cloudy and hazy. This measurement (82.8) would undoubtedly be much higher if the sky was clear. It would be interesting to look at UV attenuation at various depths in an aquarium - something I can do but would take half a day to set up, perform measurements, export to Excel and chart. I'll work on it - some day.

Thank you for doing this. That little bit of info goes a long way.
I look forward to seeing what you come up with, at your leisure, to see what the UV does in and around the tank.

 

[Nem0]

Great points everyone! Makes me feel a lot better considering I have my tank in my bedroom lol. I have accidentally looked at the lights and got sunspots everywhere...i'll need to consider buying covers. Does anyone know if any for AI primes? or perhaps a DIY solution that doesn't look terrible?

 

[TheGreatWave]

The guy who makes those 3d printed random flow return ducts has some barn-door style shades on his website. Likely has one for your light as it's one of the common.