cheap led lights causing algae?

[OceanJack]

When it comes down to lighting for our tanks, the old age question. Do cheap LED lights from eBay, Amazon etc cause unwanted algae issues?

I have a cheapo light on my FOWLR tank right now, looking to replace it shortly with a more familiar brand (Ecotech) which will be quite the upgrade. But anyone have experience or a study that backs up, those cheap black boxes or whites and only blues LED lights cause unwanted algae issues?

I'm not really battling anything in my tank now, but it seems like 7 hours was the max I could run before I started having issues with GHA.

 

[cdemoss01]

What are your parameters? I once switched lights and it made it worse. If your looking for new ones go with kessils or nicrews for budget lights.

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

I think any LED light has the potential to cause unwanted algae regardless of brand. Not trying to sound like a smarta$$ but I don't think algae are concerned with the LED brand when they're absorbing light energy and photosynthesizing.

 

[OceanJack]

What are your parameters? I once switched lights and it made it worse. If your looking for new ones go with kessils or nicrews for budget lights.

Nitrates hover around 5ppm, just checked phosphates tonight and they're 0.04ppm both checked with hanna

 

[OceanJack]

I think any LED light has the potential to cause unwanted algae regardless of brand. Not trying to sound like a smarta$$ but I don't think algae are concerned with the LED brand when they're absorbing light energy and photosynthesizing.

I'm thinking about going back to metal halides and t5s for blues. I hate the disco effect

 

[nickng]

I'm thinking about going back to metal halides and t5s for blues. I hate the disco effect

Yeah I hate it too but those halides and T5s are hot. How about the Philips coral care led? I read those produce a closer to daylight type light. Never seen it in person though

 

[nickng]

When it comes down to lighting for our tanks, the old age question. Do cheap LED lights from eBay, Amazon etc cause unwanted algae issues?

I have a cheapo light on my FOWLR tank right now, looking to replace it shortly with a more familiar brand (Ecotech) which will be quite the upgrade. But anyone have experience or a study that backs up, those cheap black boxes or whites and only blues LED lights cause unwanted algae issues?

I'm not really battling anything in my tank now, but it seems like 7 hours was the max I could run before I started having issues with GHA.

I have had 3ppm nitrates and 0 to 0.02 ppm nitrates in the past but hair algae still pops up in small tufts. After I started keeping a large 5+ gallon refugium pack with chaeto and red goo and red graciliria with a small egg crate weir to attach some hair agae the GHA no longer appears in my main tank. My phosphates at ~0.1 and nitrates 10 to 12.
Also I got a bristle tooth tang and small yellow tang that picks on the rock now