no offense... I have a 5gal guppy tank with a 25 watt bulb. its not on a timer but I turn the light on around 11*30 before I go to class, and it is usually on for about 12-14 hours. the plants would be in a few inches of tank gravel, and my water specs are:
nitrAtes (too high)
nitrItes 0
ph 7.4
hardness (approx) 120 ppm