Saltwater freak setting up panted tank, advice appreciated

[TheOrchidMan]

Hey everyone, I grew up with FW aquariums and have a good understanding of how FW tanks work, but limited physical experience. (One 50 gal/several nano fish only tanks, as well as a crazy awesome 30gal palludarium). I've been keeping impressive SW tanks for years.

My uncle has a retail lounge and mentioned he's interested in getting an aquarium (I'm the aquarium guy in the family.) He nor I can handle the maintinance or costs involved with setting up yet another reef tank, so I thought an Iwagumi tank would be a good idea, here's what I'm thinking so far. Advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

SPECS:
-Rimless 45-60gal long
-CO2 tank (how often do they get refilled??)
-I have one Current Orbit FW LED+ but would like to use two (50-70 PAR total at bottom, lol I'm at like 500+ PAR for my reef)
-No sump (are they usually just a reef thing?)
-Strictly baby tears and maybe Java between rocks to give illusion of trees.
-Livestock (school of ONE of the following) rummy nose, tiger barb, cardinals, or zebra danios, as well as ~10 colorful shrimps (matching color of fish). His shop literally has "blue" in the name so I'm leaning towards the Zebras as long as they school tight.

QUESTIONS:
-What kind of filtration do I need, if any? Lots of gravel/rock/plants so assuming lots of natural filtration)
-I have a new 57W UV sterilizer I have no use for, is this too much? Put on timer? Want clear water/less algae but don't want to over heat.
-How many GPH total for power heads for an Iwagumi?
-Is a "reef controller" like an apex required? I'm so used to them for reefs not sure if they are a thing for simple FW tanks...
-What kind of "soil"? Want a long term simple solution, only experience is organic soil capped with gravel.

I'm trying to go as inexpensive as possible yet RIGHT at first (I hate shortcuts) then upgrade as time goes. Thank you.

 

[tanker]

-What kind of filtration do I need, if any? Lots of gravel/rock/plants so assuming lots of natural filtration)
No special filter needed, I just do not like much surface movement to keep CO2 in the water.

-I have a new 57W UV sterilizer I have no use for, is this too much? Put on timer? Want clear water/less algae but don't want to over heat.
I would not use it unless, I get green water.

-How many GPH total for power heads for an Iwagumi?
I usually try to get about 6-8X tank water turn-over per hour.

-Is a "reef controller" like an apex required? I'm so used to them for reefs not sure if they are a thing for simple FW tanks...
I have no experience with them

-What kind of "soil"? Want a long term simple solution, only experience is organic soil capped with gravel.
I have had success with plain gravel over "Laterite", plain gravel with root tabs, and ECO complete. So IMO, gravel is the least important.

 

[myswtsins]

-CO2 tank (how often do they get refilled??)
Depends on the size tank you get (I rec a 10lb) and how high you set the bubble rate.
-No sump (are they usually just a reef thing?)
For the most part sumps are not used in FW, especially planted tank that use CO2 because they off gas the CO2.
-Livestock (school of ONE of the following) rummy nose, tiger barb, cardinals, or zebra danios, as well as ~10 colorful shrimps (matching color of fish). His shop literally has "blue" in the name so I'm leaning towards the Zebras as long as they school tight.
IME Zebras are not good schoolers. They tend to all hang out at the top of the tank, making them good fillers for that level, so they are "together" but not in a school. Of what you listed I find rummynoses to school the best. And red cherry shrimp (RCS) would match their red noses perfectly and RCS are great beginner shrimp. Cardinals would be my second choice. Other suggestions are ember tetras and harlequin rasboras. All go well with RCS. If you really want blue you could try blue tetras, green neons or even neon tetras have more blue than cardinals. Their are several types of blue shrimp too but they are a bit trickier than RCS, and harder to find and more expensive. I would suggest more of a CUC though. Staples are amano shrimp and otocinclus cats. Plecos are good too but usually pull up carpet plants so stay away.

-What kind of filtration do I need, if any? Lots of gravel/rock/plants so assuming lots of natural filtration)
I like good mechanical filtration on a planted tank. The plants take care of most of the biological but can be a bit messy. Canister filters a highly recommended. I have never owned one but when I need to buy a new filter I will be buying a Sunsun (cheap and good reviews).
-I have a new 57W UV sterilizer I have no use for, is this too much? Put on timer? Want clear water/less algae but don't want to over heat.
I always skip UV filters on planted tanks unless green water happens.
-How many GPH total for power heads for an Iwagumi?
Powerheads are not always needed on planted tanks but good flow to bring nutrients to plants is always important. Some times just the filter can provide it. I like 8-10x turnover.
-Is a "reef controller" like an apex required? I'm so used to them for reefs not sure if they are a thing for simple FW tanks...
Certainly not required and I am also not very familiar with controllers but they can be helpful.
-What kind of "soil"? Want a long term simple solution, only experience is organic soil capped with gravel.
Well, bulletproof but expensive is aquasoil, everyone seems to love it but I've never used it myself. For the cheap option I have used Oil-Dri (found in automotive at walmart) and safe T sorb (tractor supply) with good results. Sometimes a bag can be bad though by being not as hard as it's supposed to be so I do suggest testing it is a bucket of water before filling you tank with it. Although I have never had this problem.

What about fertilizer? Have you looked into different methods yet? Will someone be able to dose the tank daily? Do you have any extra doser laying around?

That's enough for now!