Reef light

[The sculpin]

Are the light we use to grow our reefs bad for our eyes?

 

[thegrun]

An unsheilded MH light is bad.

 

[The sculpin]

What about LED?

 

[organism]

Reef lighting is fine as long as like thegrun said your halides are shielded (which they all are), LED is no worries either. The only issue with your eyes is that when you spend an hour drooling over your tank with the actinic LEDs on then the world looks a little gray for a few minutes after

 

[thegrun]

Not that i am aware of other than the harm looking at any very bright light may do.

 

[The sculpin]

I was working on my old tank that has T5HO lighting and after about an hour my eyes felt very tired, so I was just wondering.

 

[Twistofer]

Looking at any bright light for extended periods of time fatigues the eyes. Certain wavelengths in the ultraviolet (and higher) can cause damage to the cornea, lens and retina over long periods of time. I don't recommend looking directly into Metal Halides especially. A well shielded light source will prevent any damage, but more importantly will be "easier" on your eyes. It also enhances your tank, because the extraneous light won't interfere with whatever you are looking at.