Advice for new tank

[ManInAHat73]

It's still a few months away but I plan on getting a 180g tank and was wondering about what to stock it with, filter types, etc. I'm looking to pretty much DIY the whole way (as in buy the best stuff I can afford for it, my DIY tank is still a year or so away). As to the stock, I'm looking to get some more exotic fish for it, but ones that are compatible with each other. I'll try to post a list of fish I would like to stock the tank with later. My Black Ghost Knife will be moved to the new tank once it is set up and stable. It won't be too heavily planted, yet still have a good number of various plants in it. I was thinking about doing a half sandy half gravel bottom to it, any opinions about that?

Thank you in advanced for all the help and suggestions.