Well, after much thought on this I've decided to not use peat moss and/ or sand.

Instead, I'm going to use only Flourite Black. It's 1 - 3mm sized grains should be small enough to prevent water from passing through the plants roots flushing nutrients away and causing them to cool yet be large enough to stay out of my hob filter system.

I'm also dumping that cliff layout. I'll just have a 3 - 4" layer in most of the rear so I can plant any type of plant (including my existing) and grade it down to an inch or less in the front.

Since this is a change from not using to using live plants, my next step is to STOP and decide exactly what fish I want (including quantity) so I can learn what plants they like and what those plants needs are.

Thanks

P.S. I found this ad on Craigslist today Aquarium Plants - free perhaps I'll see you at the next meeting.

__________________
20 gallon long est. Oct 2009
Flora: 10% Duckweed, Amazon Swords, Java Ferns, Java Moss, Anacharis & Anubias.
Fauna: 18 Cardinals, 8 Pygmy Corys, 6 male Endlers, 3 Otos, & 3 Ghost Shrimp
Filter: AquaClear 50 with foam, fiber, & 2 biomax bags