[Fishly]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I'm finally setting up, but I'm not sure how to aquascape it. This will be my first real aquascape and I know 55g tanks are very difficult to scape, so I'm kind of at a loss as to how to do this. I'm not trying to make an ADA/AGA-quality scape, I just want something simple for me to enjoy.

The tank will have T5 HO lighting (2 bulbs, still deciding on a brand) and pressurized CO2. The substrate will be MTS, but I have't decided whether I should cap it with play sand or pool filter sand. I'm leaning towards the play sand because it's a brighter white and better at holding down plants. However, I'm not sure if I should use the pool filter sand instead, since it didn't really work well when I tried to use the play sand in another tank (all the visible roots turned brown and developed red bubbles around them).

I don't have any concrete ideas about the scape except that I want it to have an open, beach-like feel. The plants will be the main filter for the tank, so I'll need plenty of them, but I still want a lot of sand to show. Other than that, I don't know what plants to get or where to put them in the tank. Feel free to toss out some ideas or even cookie cutter suggestions.