lightings

[prec]

is 2.4wpg or 24W/10k FL tube sufficient for a 1.5ft tank? 17" x 12" x 14"
co2 : 1bps
fertilisation: 3x Flourish weekly, 2x Flourish Trace weekly
bioload: 3 otos, 5 Crystal red shrimps, 20 cherry shrimps
feeding: 2 algae wafer per 3 days.

[bullosa]

All depends on what sort of plants you have....hehehe...not the ammount of shrimps, I am afraid.

[prec]

foreground: HC, riccia dwarf, nanas & Eriocaulon cinereum
midground: christmas moss & pellia
background: cabomba, Eusteralis stellata 'broad leaf', Vallisneria spiralis

[bullosa]

Hey Prec,

Generally the rule of thumb is about 3 watts per US Gallon for lightings. However, some may require less or more depending on your placements and plant requirements.

Riccia thrives on very bright environment. You may have to do trimming as some plants grow faster and may obstruct lighting need., especially your background plants.

Your tank is quite densely planted I assume frm it's size and your plant list. Watch how if your plants are pearling well. If they do, your lighting/CO2 combo could be just right.

[prec]

sometimes they do pearl abit, sometimes not. but recently my tall plants' leaves seem to turn transparent! what kind of deficiency is that?

[bullosa]

I have found that my plants "pearl" a lot when I set CO2 to 3 bps. But this is subject to sufficient lighting. Possible cause of thin and transparent leaves are trace iron deficency. You can remedy this by dosing iron suppliment.

I do not know what substrate and basefert you are using. If they are not able to meet the demands of the taller plants, you can add root fert like JBL's 7 Ball or similar root tabs.