Hello all, i'm new here and I have some questions..ok a lot of questions. I just need to be pointed in the right direction with this!

Alright, so just recently my Pimelodus Pictus (silver, dark blue/black spotted catfish) died last night because someone decided to mess with my tank, so I now have a 20gallon aquarium tank to work with. I don't have a pond or anything because I live in an aprtment and since I always wanted to grow Lotus plants, I could possibly use the tank? The dimensions are 24x12x16 (LxWxH).

I have a really good filter (RENA) on the tank still, and still has the filter insert from when the fish were in the tank. Would that help the Lotus grow better because of the fish's bacteria and some waste products? I was going to just change the filter before I start everything but again I know nothing about growing water plants even though I have 7+ years expereince with tropical fish (all self learned, and then for 3 years i worked at a pet store) and a LITTLE self learned experience with growing aquatic plants. When I had the aquatic plants (simple ones like amazon swords, brazilian swords, etc) having the fish in the water and some iron product I used helped them grow OUT of the tank. I have a powerhead for extra flow (adjustable and I could turn it off and on whenever), and a great quality submersible heater.

My next question is to get a little help on growing from seeds or tubers. Firstly, which one have you all had experience with? For those who have grown from seeds, I just want you to help me make sure I got the right idea.

~So i'm supposed to scarify the seeds until I see the white flesh inside and keep them in warm water in a small container *is there anywhere online that sell pre-scarified seeds? lol*

~Then when I see the green stem thing *thus verifying my noob-ness, I don't even know what it's called* I get a tub, fill it with heavy garden soil, atleast 3" high, then stick the seed inside with the green thing sticking out

~Then um..well then what do I do?

My main questions for that part are like, what size tub or pot should I even use? I was thinking, could I simply plant them straight in the tank and let them grow from there, filling up the tank accordingly (with aquarium water treatment for chlorine of course)?? Anything else i'm missing, please fill me in!

Now for the tubler growers, I'm under the impression that after buying the tublers, when they come in I have to wash them off gently with warm water, then place them in a little dish or container and keeping the water clean at all times until the little new white roots grow. Then place them in soil and let them grow. Again, after i have them in the little container, could I just put them in the tank? How much soil should I add?

For any one of those, if I have to use a small pot, so be it. my main issue is space in the tank I guess, but then again, what do I know lol. Now, lastly, my tank is in my hallway, but i'd say probably 3.5 feet from my room and my bathroom, so sunlight shouldn't be an issue. I'll provide a picture taken at 2:44pm today. If anything, I could always get a flourescent light that immitates sunlight *stuff people use for reptiles or birds* but have it hang off the ceiling higher than the tank so it's not exactly on top of the aquarium *i'll have a picture of that too*.

I know i'm probably missing a lot and wrote an army of run-on sentences but I'm really excited to start this off. Lotus plants (red, deep pink and blue) are very special and mean a lot to me. Any help is greatly appreciated, and if anything need to be clarified (which I wouldn't be surprised lol) let me know, i'm going to be home all day anyway haha. Thanks SO much for the help in advanced!

Jai Sri Sri Radha Krishna~