Most of Lake Malawi Cichlids don't get along with plants as most of us have tryed and very little with success. If I was to try it again I'd buy small clay pots to plant in then bury it into sand. Then put rocks around it so the fish can't dig it up. The other problem will be them pulling them out of the pot. So if they have a good strong root system going on you may be ok. Most cichlid keepers say to try anabus and java ferns because they don't like the taste of them. I had them and it didn't go over well. So you may want to save your money on that. You can also try only keeping carnivores and then maybe they won't dig them up or pull them out.
As for cycling here are two links one is for fishless the other is doing it with fish. You can choose and there are many people here that can help you if you need it. I always do fish in cycles because I can't stand to look at an empty tank for weeks. But it does take a lot of time testing and doing water changes.
Fishless cycle
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/the-almost-complete-guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling/
Fish in
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/fishin-cycling-step-dark-side/