LED Lights

[Milene]

Hey guys, so I have a 5 gallon tank and have just bought an interpret LED lighting system (bright white 36cm with 2 strips). It gives off 3.6 watts of light and for my little set up is perfect. My tank is planted with Java fern, hairgrass, anubias, bacopa, anacharis and some crypts.
Basically I'm afraid I'll get algae so I just wanted to know how long should I leave the lights on, some people say 6 hours others say 4 and I've also heard of alternate lighting (2hours in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 at night) which disrupts the algae cycle. I have no idea what to do!
BTW I have CO2 in my tank and 4 variatus platys.


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[Fishanatic]

8 is the general threshold, id say around 6 to 8.

 

[Luananeko]

Depending on your CO2 and dosing regimen, planted tanks can be run with anywhere from 4-12 hours of lighting. With CO2 dosing you can get away with more light than you would otherwise. I personally never have shorter than a 8hr photo period because I like to see my fish. Start off with the lighting period you'd prefer (based on how long you like to see your fish) and shorten it from there as you see algae creep.

If you have to shorten it too much compared to how long you'd like to see your fish, consider splitting the photo period in half and do half in the morning, half at night, leaving it dark during mid day when you have natural light and/or tend to be off at work.

I'm no expert of course, but that's what's worked for me