Actinic and Lasik Surgery Help

[JCOLE]

It has been a long time since I posted anything. I recently got back into the hobby after taking 8 years off.....My last tank was in 2010 and I just set up my newest tank(55 gallon) a month ago. I have had 3 previous saltwater setups all with Actinic bulbs.

Around 2014 I had Lasik Eye Surgery and ever since then, my eyes have been more sensitive to light than normal. I hear this is common with a lot of people after surgery.

My lighting is pretty straightforward. I have 2x54watt T5 Coralife bulbs(1x10k and 1xActinic) and 1x250watt 14k metal halide in a metal enclosure one foot above my tank. I think the color and spectrum looks really good. However, I have noticed a big issue. When I am in the area of the tank for a couple minutes my vision starts to become affected. Last night I was around the tank for about 20 minutes, or so, and afterward, I noticed it was hard for me to focus and see things on my t.v, etc clearly.

I started to worry and did some research on Google and found numerous sites and forums where Actinic light does affect people with eye diseases, etc. Long exposure to Actinic with these conditions can lead to blindness.

I am going to change my T5 actinic bulb out to another T5 10k bulb tonight to see if that helps. I really love this hobby but I love my eyesight more. My question is will removing the Actinic and placing another 10k help with my eye issues, and also will it still provide adequate coral/anenome growth and response.

I have always had Actinic supplementation so this will be a new avenue.

Thank you!!

 

[Smokey Stover]

I can't say for sure but I don't, Or try not to let the LEDs reflect off the surface of the water into my eyes. Had a different kind of surgery, Cataracts, But I have gotten my first ever migraine headache from working in the frag tank with the lights reflecting in my eyes too long. Plus a dark spot that lasted a several hours while driving long distance, That was scary. And sometimes after looking into deep blue actinic color too long I see everything shaded orange for a few minutes. As long as it's filtered through the water it seems ok and I know better now what not to do. One of the reasons I built the canopy also.

 

[JCOLE]

I can't say for sure but I don't, Or try not to let the LEDs reflect off the surface of the water into my eyes. Had a different kind of surgery, Cataracts, But I have gotten my first ever migraine headache from working in the frag tank with the lights reflecting in my eyes too long. Plus a dark spot that lasted a several hours while driving long distance, That was scary. And sometimes after looking into deep blue actinic color too long I see everything shaded orange for a few minutes. As long as it's filtered through the water it seems ok and I know better now what not to do. One of the reasons I built the canopy also.

Yeah, same here. I was seeing what looked to be a haze that lasted an hour or so. After reading things on google about the dangers of Actinic light and vision, I really started to worry last night. I went in this morning before work to feed the fish and the lights were on. I made it a point to not look directly at the lights and was in the room maybe a minute. Afterwards, I had the haze in my eyes again. I want to switch the lights tonight to see how everything is. I was also thinking about building a canopy because the way the Actinic lights are positioned. The Actinic light is at an angle and reflecting off my back wall behind the tank.

I know changing the bulb, lowering the lights, or building the canopy will probably fix the issue. I just want to make sure that taking the Actinic light out the equation wont slow down growth rate, etc.

 

[gargoylenest]

+1 on canopy. Had Lasik too 6 years ago and as long as I dont look directly at actnitic, I have no issue. Mine is an inwall, and I can look at it for long period without having any discomfort.

 

[JCOLE]

+1 on canopy. Had Lasik too 6 years ago and as long as I dont look directly at actnitic, I have no issue. Mine is an inwall, and I can look at it for long period without having any discomfort.

Yeah, I am going to look into building a canopy tomorrow.

How about switching out the Actinic to 10 or 12k T5's? Will this make a big difference towards the Corals?

 

[SRAD750C]

https://www.preventblindness.org/blue-light-and-your-eyes

 

[JCOLE]

I found a temporary solution. I put my Costa polarized glasses on while near my tank and it seems to block all the blue light. The tank actually looks a lot more white now instead of blue. I love the blue look do hopefully this is a temporary solution until my canopy is built.

Does the Actinic or 420-460 spectrum get filtered out when it cuts through the water. I am asking this because I am wondering if I still am going to have this problem after the canopy is installed.