New tank and ideas

I finally went out and got a nice 60 gallon long tank, and I suddenly got a couple of ideas on what I could do with this tank. I only have one fish request, and that was a couple of Bala Sharks because my boyfriend fell in love with them. I don't want a community tank since I already have a 10 gallon community. So...

I was thinking about using aquatic sand instead of gravel. Probably something white or the light beige beach sand color. What are the pros and cons of using sand? How would you go about cleaning it?

With that in mind, I also wanted to use real plants. I asked someone at petco and he told me alittle about plants, but not really what I wanted to know. He told me which thrived in cooler and warmer water, and that some fish may have a harder time living well in a planted tank. Could anyone tell me the pros and cons of using real plantlife?

One last thing, what would the best way to cycle my tank?

Thanks alot!

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that tank is too small for bala sharks.

For the sand, if you want plants, you'll probably have to get some special plant sand (it provides them more nutrients than regular sand). And if you want live plants you'll have to upgrade the lighting because most standard lights don't provide enough.

To cycle the tank, I strongly recommend the fishless method.
http://www.flippersandfins.net/Cycling.htm
You can speed things up a little if you take a little bit of the media from an established filter and add it to the new filter.

-Chelle