How long should i leave my light on for my 5 Gal planted tank?

[Luizin]

I have a 5 gal planted tank with the following plants:

- banana plant
- amazon sword
- green cabomba
- micro sword
- rotala indica
- glossostigma

My question is how long should i leave the light on for this tank. Currently is on for about 7 hrs. is that to much or too little? i have one 14w cfl bulb 5000K on it right now.

[Chulios66]

I usually just turn the light on at 7:00 in the morning(or when I wake up) and turn them off when I go to sleep. My plants still grow with or without a lot of light

[Dx3Bash]

If your plants look healthy and they are growing then it is enough. If you are not satisfied with their growth, color, etc. you may want to bump up your photoperiod to 8-9 hours. However, with more light and longer photperiod comes increased risks of algae, so buyer beware!!!

[Luizin]

thanks for the responses. only thing i notice is some leaves on my amazon sword and banana plant the leaves look brownish and kind of like ripped i don't know if that make sense. what could that be and how to fight it?

[Dx3Bash]

Are you feeding them with a fertilizer?

[Luizin]

not at the moment

[Dx3Bash]

Don't forget to feed your plants

[Yankee]

Originally Posted by Luizin

thanks for the responses. only thing i notice is some leaves on my amazon sword and banana plant the leaves look brownish and kind of like ripped i don't know if that make sense. what could that be and how to fight it?

Seems like a nutrient deficiency. Try some comprehensive ferts.

[Rigio]

Yeah, I agree with BX3 and Yankee. Give them some forts. I use seachem flourish comprehensive and api co2 booster w/DIY CO2. I have my lights on from 11am-10pm but I'm going to reduce it because I've noticed some algae growth.

[herns]

Originally Posted by Luizin

I have a 5 gal planted tank with the following plants:

- banana plant
- amazon sword
- green cabomba
- micro sword
- rotala indica
- glossostigma

My question is how long should i leave the light on for this tank. Currently is on for about 7 hrs. is that to much or too little? i have one 14w cfl bulb 5000K on it right now.

I have the same size tank and running 2-18watts T5. very high 6wpg.
The lamp is about 3-5 inches from the water. The space is just enough my hand to crawl into it. Im running 5 hrs a day and slowly increasing an hour every 2 weeks when I see no algae.