alexander_ktn
New member
Hi! I did some quick googling because I wanted to know if fish will be able to sense the high frequency flicker caused by many of our light sources, especially PWM dimmed LEDs.
I found a study on some fish with different lifestyles (piscivores, foragers) that also included the flicker fusion frequency (FFF), i.e. (in easy terms) the frequency above which two flashes melt together in our perception and are seen as one continuous event.
This frequency varies between animal species and for example birds can display behavioral anomalies because of the stress they get from perceiving the flicker of fluorescent lamps with magnetic ballasts.
The FFF of humans is at maximum 60hz, but I didn't know what range fish can perceive. It turns out that it's actually a very similar frequency with all tested fish species being in the range of 60hz to 80hz as the maximum.
Source: http://jeb.biologists.org/content/213/10/1751.full.pdf
With most T5s using electronic ballasts and LEDs using PWM dimmers that run in the high hundreds of hertz to kilohertz range, our fish should not be able to perceive a flickering from lights.
I just wanted to share this because I think many people that understand PWM or similar technologies might have asked themselves this question.
I found a study on some fish with different lifestyles (piscivores, foragers) that also included the flicker fusion frequency (FFF), i.e. (in easy terms) the frequency above which two flashes melt together in our perception and are seen as one continuous event.
This frequency varies between animal species and for example birds can display behavioral anomalies because of the stress they get from perceiving the flicker of fluorescent lamps with magnetic ballasts.
The FFF of humans is at maximum 60hz, but I didn't know what range fish can perceive. It turns out that it's actually a very similar frequency with all tested fish species being in the range of 60hz to 80hz as the maximum.
Source: http://jeb.biologists.org/content/213/10/1751.full.pdf
With most T5s using electronic ballasts and LEDs using PWM dimmers that run in the high hundreds of hertz to kilohertz range, our fish should not be able to perceive a flickering from lights.
I just wanted to share this because I think many people that understand PWM or similar technologies might have asked themselves this question.
