Sounds like a good plan with the root tabs.

I figured as much about the plants, since you only planted them in the foreground. ;)

Sorry to hear about your Rena, but I think in the long run, you will enjoy the XP4 as much as I do my XP3....which is pretty much every time I clean it. I see just how much it filters and how well the flow is controlled (little to no bypass) compared to some of my other filters.

__________________

--->Pictures of my 75g Amazon tank<----