Originally Posted by MinaMinaMina (Post 984732)

That's so exciting for you, that you'll finally be able to set up your tank. And very exciting, too, that its a 75g. That's a great size, and you'll have plenty of choices!

A tank will not cycle in 24-48 hours. You can read more here: http://http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-articles/bacteria-freshwater-aquarium-74891/
It won't matter, for the purpose of cycling, whether your substrate or filter material has been used or not, because its dried out and any beneficial bacteria will be long dead. You can seed from another, HEALTHY tank if the seed is kept wet in tank water, not expose to untreated water, and transported with in a short amount of time.
You may want to reconsider your choice on having plants. A heavily planted tank is beautiful, natural, great for the fish in many ways, and reduce or remove cycling hassles. We can help you figure out what kind of lighting to get, and what types of plants to get.
In the aticle above, take note of the different methods of "fish-less cycling", as these are the most humane. In this day and age, there's really no excuse for "fish in" cycling.
Before you decide on a type of fish or geographical area (which is a great idea, but let's back up for a moment), what are your water parameters (pH, hardness)? You can test your pH out of the tap and after having sit out for 24 hours with a testing kit. (You should get an API Master Kit, anyway, you'll need it later). The hardness (look for GH, KH) of you water can be found by either looking at your city's water works website, or by calling them. Knowing those numbers, we can see what species would like your water.

And, most importantly... WELCOME TO TFK! :-D

Originally Posted by FishyParents (Post 984779)

I really would like to use live plants. Would the plants do better in sand or gravel? It doesn't matter which one really, just what looks best to you. Play sand is your cheapest option, at about $3 per 50# bad in the US.
How long would my tank need to cycle? Please read the link above. It depends on which method you use. If you chose to plant the tank heavily from the get go, and stock slowly, you may not have to worry about it at all since the plants will suck up the Ammonia from the fish before it has a chance to cause a problem.
Which fertilizer do you recommend for the plants? I was thinking on getting one of these: Seachem™ Flourish Tabs™ - Plant Care - Fish - PetSmart Seachem Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium - Plant Care - Fish - PetSmart Is this needed for the plants? Aqueon Aquarium Plant Food - Plant Care - Fish - PetSmart It depends on the plants, but you'll like need a comprehensive liquid fert, like Flourish Comprehensive, for sure. If you have plants that are heavy root feeders, then a root tab is recommended. Of the list below, the only one that would need root tabs is the Amazon Sword. You can use the "Tropical Fish Profiles" tab in the dark blue navigation bar above to research the plants you want. It will tell you what type of water they like, what temp, how big they get (important for placement in area of the tank), etc. If a name is shaded like Scalare Angelfish then you can click on the shaded name to go right to that profile.
You can also use the box at the top right of the page to run a search on any question you may have to see if its been asked/answered before.
What is Substrate? Substrate is the covering on the bottom of your tank. It could be sand, gravel, fluorite, EcoComplete, soil, laterite, or a combination of these, or others. You'll want to stick to either gravel or sand.
The plants I'm considering:
Green Cabomba Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Hornwort Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Anacharis Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Frill Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Moneywort Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Anubius Plants - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Amazon Sword Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
Java Fern Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart
We can't really say anything about how well these plants might work for you, because we don't yet know about your water, and your lighting. But I can tell you to count on adding a floating plant, and Water Sprite is a great one.
The taller, bushier plants I'd plant in the back and the smaller larger leafed ones I'd plant more in the front. You have a good eye for scaping, just make sure that you keep in mind the plant's adult size. The "smaller large leafed" ones may be small now, but perhaps not later.
I've had fish since I was really young. 1st tank was 2 fan tails that lived for 5 years. The normal lifespan of a fantail Goldfish is up to 25 years.
2nd tank had a shubunkin that i rescued from wally world (was terribly sick), 1 fan tail, 2 cories and a pleco. SOMEHOW the fish lived for almost 10 years. Since high school I've been owning betta after betta after betta. Along the while dreaming of the big tank set up.
I really had little to no knowledge of proper tank set up for whatever fish. Still kinda know little to none. But know a bit more. Especially after going through bettas. There are many very knowledgeable people on this site that are here to help!

I had a pH kit. Ran out of it last week. I am considering purchasing water test kits to do periodically on my own. What test kits would you recommend? The API Master Kit is the gold standard. Dip tests are notoriously inaccurate, and the stick-on-the-glass types are, too. The Master Kit is an invaluable tool when starting up a new tank. You'll be testing so you'll know when your Ammonia or Nitrite is over 0ppm (do a 50% water change) or your Nitrates are over 20ppm (do a 50% water change). To repeat, because its vitally important- do a 50% water change any time your Ammonia or Nitrites are over 0ppm, your Nitrates are over 20ppm, or weekly... whichever comes first.
Would you recommend stocking on any tablet treatments should my fish contract ick, fungus or other issues? If you follow the cycle advice in the link, do your water changes as outlined above, employ a QT tank, pick appropriate fish, and don't overstock... you shouldn't have to worry about disease. Medications go bad quickly, anyway, so its a waste of money to buy it ahead of time.
The Cichlids I am considering are: Jack Dempseys, Black Convicts, Red Devils, and Blood Red Parrots. Any and all of these cichlids are very likely to destroy a planted tank in about 3.4 nanoseconds. I don't recommend any of these for a planted tank!
75g is a tight fit for Red Devils.
But before choosing fish, we need to find out about your water parameters.
I don't think I'll be adding all 4 of those breeds. I may also consider just getting some assorted african cichlids. Africans will also destroy a planted tank.
Bottom feeders are FOR SURE going to be 4-6 Corys and possibly a pleco. Corydoras need to be in a group of at least 5 (preferably more). Corydoras species cannot be housed with larger Central America cichlids, or with African cichlids. Besides needing different water parameters, the Corys would be lunch in a second. (And Corys have lockable spines that are likely to get them caught in the bigger fish's mouth or throat, killing both the Cory and the cichlid.) A Common Pleco is more versatile, but if you get one, I would encourage you to get one from someone who bought if for a too-small tank and needs to re-home it. Plenty of people do this, trust me, so ask around and check on local lists (like craigslist.com). Also, click on the shaded name. The Common Pleco needs driftwood in his diet, gets huge, and they only really eat algae when they're young. It may not be the best choice.

Sorry for all my questions:oops: BTw, in case you haven't noticed I'll be shopping at PetsMart the most xD If shopping at a large chain like this, I encourage a few things- 1. Get and use a quarantine tank (AKA QT tank or hospital tank). Fish, inverts, and plants more often carry diseases from these chain stores. Its much cheaper in the long run to go with the added expense of a QT tank, than the expense and heartache of disease in your main tank. 2. Ignore any advice the employees give you, and ignore the little blurbs about "needs x number of gallons" or "peaceful" or any of those little blurbs about the fish/inverts/plants. They lie. Come talk to us first. 3. Research any plant before you buy it. They are notorious for selling semi-aquatic plants as fully aquatic. Then they just slowly die. Not cool.

Originally Posted by MinaMinaMina (Post 984785)

That's all I can think of for now...

Originally Posted by FishyParents (Post 984951)

I'll definitely be considering getting a water sprite. When looking at it's profile it seems to be a very hardy plant :) I'll purchase an API test kit today when I get the dog's food as well. Why are the test strips commonly inaccurate?

Thank you for the helpful advice :)