Dad has come back from hospital, he will have another operation soon but he has to recover from the first one first. let us hope he is able to improve his cardiac status so that chemotherapy can start on time. thanks for your good wishes.
Here is a description of my experience with vermicompost as per your suggestion:
I purchased compost worms (eisenia fetida) for Rs. 500 for half kg or so from Abu Fazl Enclave vermicompost seller, so that i could make my own vermicompost and be sure it was good quality. this was two years ago. I fed the worms leftover food and foood scraps from kitchen and in 3 months i had first class compost (manure). I had already researched on vermicompost subsrates for months. I wet the compost, then rinsed it, again and again a few times. then when the leaching brown material reduced to manageable levels, i put a two inch layer of it, put a two inch layer of pin-head sized good quality gravel (Rs 20/kg bag, from Anand Parbat, also sold in Vikas Marg Shop) on top. Since i have grown up keeping fish and trust my experience, i put the fish and plants in place. this vermicompost substrate grew plants well for at least one year. i had cryptocorynes, apongogetons, vallisneria, many plants i got from friends especially Rajiv (Scorpio), no issues. sometimes the water turned brown in the beginnning but with a 20% water change, it was taken care of
I dont remember using any micros but i did use macros if i felt i got a new plant from RAjiv that was extra demanding 
After a year, the vermicompost just kind of disappeared (plant roots took it up?), so i started making small vermicompost balls and putting them in the gravel next to the roots of apongeton and cryts, bunch plants, and today, after more than 2 years, that is how i used vermicompost. i dont have the time to take teh gravel out and put a new layer of vermicompost, so i just keep doing the vermicompost small balls and putting them where needed.
So far, so good! i think those 500 rupees for worms were more than worth it!
If u want to research further, i think a man called Aaron Talbot has also used a smilar process of making a DIY substrate. Diana Walstad is another great natural substrate expert, i loved her book.
for people who care for the environment, it is great to make your own substrate. i have used Red Sea Substrate also, i think that was around Rs 2,500 for 2 kg. there were small clay balls in it, but the packng itself said their nutrients last only 6 months, after which the nutrients are all finished. I guess, i didnt want to take that road. i dont want a hi tech tank, just a healthy natural low maintenance one.
