Are we killing our eyes!!!!

Ariel110G

New member
So, for a living I’m in the optical industry for the past 10 years, I am a lens manufacture and distributor (lenses for glasses) in the pastfew years’ studies has shown that Blue UV rays from computer and especially from smart phone are harmful to the human eye causing Macular Degeneration.
“Ultra-violet and Blue Light Ultra-violet light is thatportion of the spectrum of invisible light below 286nm to 400nm, and isgenerally understood to be harmful to the eye”
https://www.macular.org/ultra-violet-and-blue-light
In this hobby that we are in, with the lights on the tanks we have I’m sure we are exposed to a lot more than the average person.
In the past 6 months come lens companies have develop lenses that cut down the Blue harmful UV rays almost down to 0 I believe, I got some samples in the office on how it works.
I’m posting this not to make $ by selling lenses, you can go to your local optical store for that, but just to lets you guys know about it



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To my knowledge UV light don't go through glass.

You are probably right, but today most lenses are not made from glass, they are made from
plastic (CR-39), Poly , High Index 1.67, 1.74 & Trivex, I would say that 90% of the lenses that are manufactured today in the US are not made from glass, South America still dose a lot of glass lenses. But not the US, it’s not that safe!!!
 
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To my knowledge UV light don't go through glass.

That is true for UVA but not UVB. However we run only very small amounts of UV light below the 400 nm level. IE > 6 watts LED UV below the 400nm level is recommended for 100 US gal saltwater aquarium
 
You are probably right, but today most lenses are not made from glass, they are made from
plastic (CR-39), Poly , High Index 1.67, 1.741 & Trivex, I would say that 90% of the lenses that are manufactured today in the US are not made from glass, South America still dose a lot of glass lenses. But not the US, it's not that safe!!!

I was thinking in the glass walls of the tank :).
 
That is true for UVA but not UVB. However we run only very small amounts of UV light below the 400 nm level. IE > 6 watts LED UV below the 400nm level is recommended for 100 US gal saltwater aquarium

so you are saying the blue rays from T5 and LED's are not as strong then the ones from digital screens?
 
Regardless of whether or not there really is any danger, the 10 minutes a day that I spend staring at my tank is nothing compared to the 8 hours a day I spend staring at my computer for work, not including mobile devices.
 
Regardless of whether or not there really is any danger, the 10 minutes a day that I spend staring at my tank is nothing compared to the 8 hours a day I spend staring at my computer for work, not including mobile devices.

Very true. But for tanks like mine where alot of light bleeds into tge room from not having a canopy or light block it might be a lil diff. Any tine im in my front room im exposed to the light. . Really gotta make my canopy..
 
Like Ariel, I am also in the optical industry and find this new research intriguing. These new coatings that are being produced are not intended to block UV rays, but blue light between about 405nm to 460nm. Do these wave lengths sound familiar to anyone?

While I agree that we spend WAY more time on computers and other electronic devices than staring at our tanks, I feel that these new lenses are a must for all of us these days. My office is one of the top in the state (at least with the supplier we use) in the sales of these new lenses. I personally use them and do not plan on ever going back.

I would imagine that many on this forum, including myself, spend a good amount of time being bombarded by the blue lights from our LED's without even realizing the damage we could potentially be doing to our eyes. We do not have to be looking directly into our tanks for the light do enter the eye, just being in the same room with the light, you are getting more blue light than you may think. Just try taking a picture of a tank lit by LED's. It is VERY difficult to get one that is representative of what our eyes can see. The camera on the other hand picks up more of the blue light than our eyes are capable of registering. Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it is not there.
 
What would be the solution to prevent this occurence, special glasses?

Basically, yes. The lenses have actually been sold for YEARS, however, in the past they were more of a sunglass lens. Ever heard of "Blue Blockers"? That is exactly what they were made for. They blocked blue light, thereby increasing visual acuity and clarity. They have also been marketed as HD vision in recent years.

There are now coatings that block the blue light without having a tinted lens as in years past. Much more useful for us as we are generally indoors when looking at our tanks (or computers as the case may be).
 
Blue light past dusk disrupts your circadian rhythm which is why blue blocking lenses and coatings are developed and marketed for glasses.

Looking directly into a bright light is definitely a bad idea especially if the light is a frequency poorly perceived as you pupil will not contract as much as it would for say a white light or 560nm light.

UVA an UVB however are a problem and some aquarium lamps emit significant quantities. It's best to be cautious and always useful to educate yourself regarding the hazards of any hobby.
 
Blue light past dusk disrupts your circadian rhythm which is why blue blocking lenses and coatings are developed and marketed for glasses.

This is very true, but not the only reason blue blocker lenses and coatings are used in glasses. Blue light, as well as UV light, is a contributing factor in the formation of cataracts and Macular degeneration. While cataracts are pretty easily remedied these days, and most of us will develop them at some point, Macular degeneration has no fix and can lead to blindness.
 
It will be interesting to see if more research supports or better quantifies eye damage and blue light. Currently, considering all the other potential dangers of this hobby - electrocution, spinning propellers, crushing risk from stand collapse, shattered glass, bacterial infections, stings from inverts or fish, bites, cuts from rock or worm tubes - eye damage from blue light (not uv) is pretty low in my worry list.
 
Don't know about blue light, but I put blinds in front of all my light hoods so that my two boys couldn't look right into the light fixtures. Now they're tall enough that it isn't a problem so the blinds are mostly removed.
 
It will be interesting to see if more research supports or better quantifies eye damage and blue light. Currently, considering all the other potential dangers of this hobby - electrocution, spinning propellers, crushing risk from stand collapse, shattered glass, bacterial infections, stings from inverts or fish, bites, cuts from rock or worm tubes - eye damage from blue light (not uv) is pretty low in my worry list.

Just do a goggle search. There is already TONS of research showing the damaging effects of blue light. You could also ask your Optometrist at your next eye exam. As for the other things, I don't really worry much about any of them. Some of them are beyond my control, others are mostly harmless and may happen from time to time, but I worry about my eyes. They are irreplaceable and if I can do something simple to protect them, I will.
 
Regardless of whether or not there really is any danger, the 10 minutes a day that I spend staring at my tank is nothing compared to the 8 hours a day I spend staring at my computer for work, not including mobile devices.
I've seen photos of your tank, how can you only spend 10 min looking at it.......:fun4:
 
As of today in the optical industry we have to types of blue blocker lenses, one type is a lens that the blue blocker is inherently imbedded in the material be it CR-39, poly or high index.
The other option is you can get an AR coating (anti reflection) that has blue blocker in the coating itself, as of the today this option is the more common one.
(I I'm the lens manufacturing side of the optical business)
Next time someone gets a new pair of glasses all you have to do is ask for the AR coating that can block blue UV rays.
 
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