Help me with substrate please!

I've gone back and forth and back and forth on this. I have a 55 gal tank that was filled with fish. due to a bad ich outbreak, I lost nearly everyone. So I've decided to go another route with my tank once the ich is all cleared up. I'm adding baby blue gill if we can catch some. I'll raise it/them in the tank until they're too big then will release and maybe catch more. I've got a huge piece of driftwood that's been in a bucket with hot water getting rid of the tannins and have rocks and some new plants on the way (ordered a bunch of hardy ones).
Can I do a base layer of Fluval Stratum and then cap it with Carib Sea Super Naturals Crystal River sand on top? Maybe a 17lb bag of stratum and then a 10lb bag of sand? If I do that, will the stratum stay on the bottom or will it mix up through into the sand?

https://www.amazon.com/Carib-Sea-Natural-Moonlight-Aquarium/dp/B003JVU03O/ref=sr_1_5?crid=48EMBDT78WYQ&dchild=1&keywords=carib+sea+sand+for+aquarium&qid=1622589236&s=pet-supplies&sprefix=carib+sea,pets,149&sr=1-5&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JMA9S52/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

 

Honestly if your using stratum i wouldnt cap it. Id only cap soil or dirt.

 

is there such a thing as light colored stratum?? that's why I was thinking of capping it, I prefer to have a light substrate

 

Have you seen Ultum Nature Controsoil? It comes in a nice light brown. You can find it on Amazon. Lots of fish show better colors on darker substrate though. Not sure if that is the case with blue fill or not. I don’t know much about that particular fish.

 

is there such a thing as light colored stratum?? that's why I was thinking of capping it, I prefer to have a light substrate

No all aquasoils are a similar brown colour. For me, It would be a waste of my money to cap aquasoil and your also not getting the full benefits too.

 

hmmmm what about diamond blasting sand? any opinions on that as substrate?