Newbie Questions!

[bms314]

Hello!
I am new to the site and to aquariums... I was hoping someone would be kind enough to check over the equipment I bought so far and fish I wanted to get, and answer some questions that I have read conflicting information on. I am open to advise, recommendations, and making changes before I set things up soon!

Equipment already purchased ...
75 Gallon Mainland Tank 18”L X 48”W X 21”H
Fluval FX4 Canister Filter
Aqueon Pro Adjustable Heater 250 Watt
Tetra Whisper Aquarium Air Pump
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
Seachem Prime, Stability, and Pristine

Fish I was hoping to get...
2 Angelfish
2 Pearl Gouramis (open to other Gouramis)
1 Gold Severum
German Blue and Gold Rams (unk how many)

Questions...
1. Are all of these fish usually okay together? I know the angels can become aggressive and the rams can be somewhat hard to keep alive. But all of that aside, everything else seemed compatible from what I have read so far.
2. Would that stock max my tank out? I have read for cichlids that slightly over populating can keep aggression down. Is that still the case with the fish I have chosen, or just the higher aggression cichlids? If I have room for a few more, does anyone have any suggestions!?
3. I know the Rams need a "well cycled" tank... is that a few days, weeks, months...?
3. Sand or gravel substrate?

Thanks in advance for any help you may have!

 

[coralbandit]

Welcome !
You have good equipment and may not even need the air pump.
Pearls are the nicest gourami IMO.. Stay away from Dwarfs ...
I would add the rams after a month of the tank being stable[no spikes or noticeable ammonia / nitrite ] at least .
You could possibly do 2-3 pairs of rams depending how tank is scaped ..
You want to look into Sterbai cories for the bottom..
Tank needs to 80 + for rams to do their best IMO [I am the ram guy ,check out my link below]....

 

[nooboftanks]

Welcome glad to see your going big for your first tank!

In my experience with rams they are extremely hard to keep and often times genetically weak when purchased from LFS so make sure to find a very reputable breeder if your going to be purchasing a good amount of them

For substrate I would say sand because gravel can b a pain to vacuum in the long run especially with your tank being so big

The angels and gouramis could have aggression or could b fine together just monitor and give plenty of internal structures to break up sight lines which will help diffuse aggression I would not recommend trying to overstock the tank to diffuse aggression as this does not always work and if it doesn’t you could cause some major harm to tank

 

[John Franzwa]

You may want to get some bottom dwelling fish