How long should my Nova T5 run daily?

[flyingfish 2626]

I have a 55 gallon tank that has been running for 6 months or so and have started to add some corals. I am running a Nova T5 light with the 4 bulbs. 2 actenic and 2 10K 54 watt bulbs. I was wondering how many hours a day most people run them. Right now they are on for 8.5 hours a day. Is this too long? I have added some hairy mushrooms, a couple of recordia mushrooms, a 3 head frogspown, a green cup coral, a nice green flowerpot, a button polyp, some green polyps, and a few zooanthid frags. I have 65 pounds of live rock. Everything is doing great, but since I replace the light (around 2 months ago) I have seen some algea starting to grow and I was wondering if the new light is just on too long. Thanks for the help and sorry for the long run-on.

 

[roka64]

I can't really help with the coral questions, but you can run them 8-12 hours. Some reefers rune them 10 hours.
The algae bloom is probably from the new bulbs. As time goes on, the bulb's spectrum shifts and when the bulbs are replaced, the right spectrum that helps algae grow will stimulate new growth. Of course it could be excess nutrience in your water.
What are your nitrAte and phosphate readings?

 

[Ziggy953]

I agree with Roka. 8-12 hours, though I would stick closer to the 8 mark rather then the 12. My Actinics run on my tank for 11 hours a day but my MHs are only on for 6 hours.

 

[melosu58]

I run mine about 11 hours. If you are having algea problems check this out.

FantasyReef Databases-Viewing item "10 Step Plan for Nuisance Algae Control"