40 gal planted set up, specific questions

[hmt321]

I have a 40 gal breeder that i am going to convert to a mineralized substrate planted tank.

First some info

I added a stone background to the tank (it is some sort of slate, I silicone it to the back of the tank on the inside a few months ago)
here is a thread about the DIY background:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?540546-Stone-background

here is a picture:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rutitih5sp...2016.03.25.jpg

Here is all the tech info on the tank:

Height: 17"
Width: 36"
Depth: 18"

Light: Coralife T5 dual - 1 lamp is ACTINIC, 1 is 10,000k
Fish: 1-6" bluegill
Plants: 3 amazon swords in pots, 1 ocolot sword in pot, 1 aponogeton sp ( I think that is what it is anyway) in a pot.
substrate: 1/4" course heavy sand (I got it off of the beach on Mobile Bay, good heavy sand)

PH: 6.8-6.9
KH: 1 (or less, it turned on the 1st drop)
GH: 4

My filter is a Fluval 205.

I have a drip system running on the tank, I drip about 60 gal per week into the tank.

There is no heater on this tank, temp ranges from about 60-70 F

Note on the plants in pots, they have 1.5" of miracle grow potting mix, capped with 2" sand capped with 1" of gravel. Plants are growing like crazy in the pots but i don't really like them(the pots, i like the plants)

The Grand Plan
Create enough mineralized soil to cover the bottom of the tank by 1"

Cover the mineralized soil with about .75" to 1.25" of course sand (same type i have now)

Plant the tank with:

Amazon swords - 4
Ocelot sword - 1
cork screw vals - back of tank
wide leaf sagittaris (sagittaria platyphyllia) -back and midground
dwarf sagittaris - mid-forground
aponogeton sp - back of tank

This winter, 3-4 months after planting I will add fish. shiners, bluespotted sunfish, pygmy sunfish, grass shrimp, ect. (all peaceful community fish)

Questions:
1.) When i make my mineralized soil what should I add to it? given my PH,GH,and KH parameters? I think I need to get my KH up but I am unsure.

2.)I want to stick to rooted plants (i have more luck with them) what other plants will do well in this set up.

3.) is my lighting ok? I can get new bulbs or new fixture if need be.

4.)Am i missing anything?

I want to get away from having to do heavy scheduled maintenance on this tank, I have done the high tech, co2 injection, fert dosing, ect. and that is not what I am after.

My goal is to have a lush, algae free tank w/o consent fert dosing.

thanks

 

[xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx]

I would get two 6500k or 6700k bulbs, and ditch the actinic & 10,000k bulbs. You can raise your KH with arm & hammer baking soda, use in 1/2 teaspoon increments to new water in a bucket for a water change and test the tanks water and repeat until to hit 2dkh-3dkh then monitor your tanks water during water changes to see if there's any change in the KH.

Any Co2 source?

 

[sexyandiknowit]

Don't use baking soda, that's as ghetto as it gets. Use equilibrium, it is designed for plants and it is completely stable.


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