Hi fiskey_1
Carpeting plants should be avoided as to make them grow lush, most, if not all of them need CO2, and lots of it.
As far as substrates go, I used this one
Tesco's Cat Litter, but it does take a lot of rinsing because it is scented. On my last set up I left it submerged in a barrel in the garden for a week and changed the water daily. This certainly reduced the final rinsing time. Word of warning though, it is very light, so bottom feeders will certainly stir it up
I only have mid and upper level occupants so I don't have any problems.
fiskey_1 said:
but should i be doing any water changes at the start?
No. But I would suggest you have some gentle surface ripple created by your spraybars or powerhead.
fiskey_1 said:
Also when you say that what i posted would be too much flow how much flow would you suggest for a 190 litre corner tank?
You can easily get away with 50% flow per hour in a low tech tank as the pace of life is a whole lot slower for the plants, just make sure it's evenly distributed, if you can.
The plants won't die on you providing you feed them. I only have to feed mine once a week in my low tech. Keeps everything nice and simple