Except for the heater and powerheads if you put them in, there shouldn't really be any electrical stuff in the tank. As long as the tank is big enough (that one is), I just put a power strip in the stand and connect the plugs for the filter, heater, bubblers/powerheads, lights, etc. to it.
All right, so let's guesstimate a roughly 60g capacity (it's probably a little lower, but a gallon or two on such a large tank and what you're trying to set up is negligible).
Filtration: An Emperor 400 would do nicely, as would a Fluval 404 (or 304, but the price difference between the two is negligible..to me, anyway). I actually have always used Penguin 330s on the 55g tanks I've set up over the years, but that's at the very top of their range and I wouldn't suggest you use them on anything over 55g unless you had no other choice, particularly if you end up being prone to overstocking (true of 95% of aquarists
).
Heating: Always use submersible heaters, not the cheap hang-on ones. There's a lot of squabbling over what brand is best. I use Visi-therms in my tanks without issue, but other people have said they've gotten their fish burned. Same with other brands. I would suggest an Ebo-jager, but they're going out of business so I don't know if you could find any. A commonly used ratio here is 5 watts to a gallon, so for a 60g you need 300 watts of heat. You could buy a single 300w heater, or alternately run a pair of 200w heaters in case one breaks.
Aeration: This is especially important in tall tanks. Of the limited surface space you have, you want it to be moving at all times. This is most commonly accomplished with an air pump (I have yet to find one that isn't noisy, so someone else needs to leave a suggestion here) and a "bubble stone." The bubble stone has to be attacked with a needle every few months, as mineral deposits in it will decrease the number of bubbles.
Another option is to use a few powerheads tilted slightly toward the surface. Powerheads are often used to power UGFs, but they are better used for this purpose. What you want is continuous movement on the water's surface without blowing your fish around the tank- if you end up getting a canister filter, some of them come with spraybars that will aid in this effort. Powerheads can also be used to keep "dead spots" from growing in your tank.
Decor: I would buy the tallest fake plants you can find. In my 20g it looks very attractive to have the tallest toward the back and curving around the sides a little. You can also buy or convert your fake plants into floating plants to make your fish feel as if they have more coverage, but remember that it will also decrease the amount of aeration you're able to provide.
To stretch up the length of a tall tank you could either build rock structures- for the fish you have in mind, however, you might want to think about assembling a collection of driftwood. Some is sold with holes cut in it that fish can swim through, and some is sold as if it was just collected off the beach and is very natural-looking. You could make a "tee-pee" of driftwood at the center of the tank or lean the wood against some river stones. Wrapping any mossy-looking plants you have around the wood will increase the "naturalness" of its appearance. If you're really interested in having your aquarium appear very natural, I would suggest finding the book "Underwater Gardens: Aquarium Designs Inspired by Nature." It's very informative and has excellent pictures.
Remember that your tank should have some kind of flow- try not to make it look too cluttered or messy (unless you are really aiming for an "impenetrable jungle" feel), because you will spend all your time glaring at a certain configuration of driftwood rather than enjoying your fish!
Fish: Consider some of the following-
Top: African butterflyfish or silver and marbled hatchets. Be aware that African butterflyfish are fairly intolerant of other surface-dwellers, and many have to be fed crickets when they are first purchased. All of these fish will appreciate modest plant cover at the surface.
Top-Midlevel: Angelfish or pearl gouramis or one male betta or dwarf gouramis. Note all the "or's" here. As far as angelfish go, I wouldn't suggest more than two due to the tank dimensions, but I'm sure other people would say you could wing three or four easily. Pearl gouramis are at the extreme edge of what I would recommend as far as the size of the fishes in the tank (they can reach 5"), but are extremely rewarding and peaceful fish. They can be shy, so make sure you have that plant cover ready. I would suggest 1 if you would like it to be your "showpiece" fish with the rest of the fish being smaller, but if you really desired to and you had the coverage you could probably swing 3. A male betta would certainly appreciate such a large tank, but cannot be kept with gouramis and other relatives, and don't appreciate any fin-nippers. Dwarf gouramis can be tricky- I would suggest you ask around a bit before picking out any of them.
Midlevel: Neon tetras, cardinal tetras, and many other slim-bodied fish would work well here. Keep in mind that these are schoolers and it's best for their health to have 8+, and preferably 10 or more. If you're going to keep angels, I would suggest black neon tetras over neons and cardinals, as they are both hardier and less likely to get eaten. Neons and cardinals both require a mature tank, and you have to be very picky about what fish you choose. Make sure none of the fish in the dealer's tank have hollowed-out gut areas, as this is a symptom of wasting disease in these fish. Also consider platies over tetras, or have both platies and tetras. Guppies are a little risky with angelfish or gouramis, but they can be done. I keep male guppies with an angelfish in the 20g and have had no issues.
Midlevel-Bottom: Consider a single kribensis or a pair of Bolivian rams. These are dwarf cichlids that will relish a cave (you can make one out of rocks or search the forum for one out of
PVC pipe and gravel) and some rock structures to make a territory out of, though anything with gaps and dark places to hide will work. These fish are extremely rewarding both in behavior and in terms of the colors they produce. Kribensis tend to be yellow with black stripes and pink or purple stomachs, while Bolivian rams are a more gold-tan body color with orange-ish bellies, red and blue fins, and hints of magenta. Kribensis can be a little more aggressive toward each other and toward other fish when breeding, which is why I would suggest only one of them as opposed to two Bolivian rams. With the lack of horizontal space, you might even want to go with just one Bolivian ram.
Bottom: Corydoras are an excellent choice. These catfish require company, so get 3 or more. They are completely non-aggressive in my experience and do not bother anybody except when they blunder into them. You could also consider kuhli loaches or some of the other loaches.
I'm not suggesting you put all these fish together at once, but I'm just offering some options.
HTH.
Also, most of the equipment you can find for much cheaper online. Check out the AA sponsors, for example.