Father's Day Walstad Tank

I have permission from both my parents to give my dad an aquarium for Fathers Day/His birthday. I will be getting him the 5 gallon fluval spec in white(he was very specific lol) and will be stocking it with one betta(probably from my CT spawn) and some shrimp.
We(well, I) want to do a Walstad tank. I've done some reading, but if anyone could explain that I would appreciate it
Some questions-
What is the best topsoil for a Walstad tank?
What are good low light plants that work in a Walstad setup?
What color shrimp? Either orange or blue(I'm leaning towards blue)
What is maintenance like in a Walstad?
What are good websites to order plants and shrimp from. I want to try Jetajockeys site(I forgot the new name) for plants, but to save on shipping I might have to order somewhere else. I've heard good things about trinsfish so I might try them.
This won't be a total Walstad, we will have the filter running. I want to limit the amount of times I have to go into work with him, since the tank will be in his office. I will be maintaining the tank, all he has to do is feed them. The tank will have seeded media from one of my current tanks, as well as a bottle of TSS+.
Any advice, comments, concerns?

 

I can't comment on all the Walstad question, but I'd say get a nice color combo between the betta and the shrimp, so if you're doing a blue betta, maybe orange or red shrimp. If you're doing a red betta, maybe blue or orang shrimp, etc.

 

I've had good success with trinsfish for plants. Their shipping isn't too bad either.

I have the fluval spec v as well for my beta. Is he going to be comfortable doing water changes/topping off water because the one thing about this tank is that water evaporates pretty quickly in it and if the water gets below the grates on the side (where the water flows into the filter) then the water level in the filter side goes way down and your media risks being dried out.

 

Thanks guys
Yes he should be fine doing top offs. I will be doing the majority of the maintenance on this tank so if WC's are necessary I will be doing them. I'm sure having gallon or so of treated water next to the tank so he can do too offs wouldn't be too bad, since they don't take long.

 

I'd be prepared to do at least 1-2 top offs a week. At least that's how many mine takes.