Stocking A 200L Community Tank

[Boingboomtschak]

Hi all, I'm as new to this forum as I am the hobby, but I've been lurking a little while, as I've become pretty obsessive in my research; I really want to create a lovely environment for my fish, I've always loved them. I've got a few questions I couldn't find precise answers for in my reading, so I was hoping some of you knowledgable folks could help me out a bit.
 
So, for my first tank, I'm setting up a 200 litre community tank (if you hadn't guessed from the title!), which I'd like to keep peaceful. I plan on installing one Fluval U4 and a fluval U1 as an additional kicker, because I want to keep my water as good as possible, I'd like to over filter if anything; will this be adequate? I'm building tunnels into the tank for the creatures to hide in, some running along the side of the tank so you can see in, but they're going to be quite long, so i'm planning to create a slight current through them to help move out any detritous, and I think some of the inhabitants will like it. Will I be able to connect anything to one of the filters to do this, or will a powerhead be necessary? The tank will have a black sand substrate, with some gravelly areas for added texture, and will be a mix of real and synthetic plants. Where I live (Leeds) the water is soft and slightly alkaline I believe? I'm waiting to hear back from Yorkshire water regarding this.
 
So, with that in mind, the first inhabitants I have settled on are:
Rummy Nose tetras (large school, I'm thinking 20?)
Bristlenose plecs (3)
Pearl Gouramis (1 male, 2 female)
Cherry Shrimp (10 for now, but I'm sure they'll grow in number with moss to hide babies in!)
Giant african filter shrimp (1)
 
From all I've read, these should go together perfectly well, and thrive in my set-up. Does everyone agree? I don't want to over stock, but I'd love to include one or two 'showpiece' fish with this group, something a little larger perhaps (kribensis maybe?), but I'm struggling to find something that will peacefully co-exist with the above. Would it be possible/advisable to add more to that tank? And does anyone have any ideas for largish (nothing that gets massive!) fish that fit the bill? Preferably middle-top dwellers, with the shrimp and plecs, I think there'll be enough going on on the bottom. The stranger the better, I love oddballs, but something more traditional and beautiful would be great too.
 
Sorry for the ramblingly long first post! Any advice is massively appreciated.

 

[the_lock_man]

You might well find the tunnels are more hassle than they're worth - you will have to get decent flow through them, otherwise it'll be a haven for algae, and I don't really see what will go into them, to be honest.
 
With regard to a centrepiece fish, you don't want anything much larger than what you've got, as they will just treat themselves to the cherry shrimp. You may find that with the pearl gourami. You definitely would find that with Kribs. How about a small shoal of Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish?
 
WIth regards capacity, I must admit, I'm not great on larger tanks, I specialise in little ones, but with a shoal of Rummynose that size, you can afford to drop quantities to fit in something else.

 

[Boingboomtschak]

Thanks for the advice. I've probably over-egged it with the tunnels, I'm talking about 2ft maximum, I just thought they would be great hiding places for the giant shrimp and the plecs, they're going to be one entranced, I wanted some flow coming from the blocked end out. Would a giant shrimp not enjoy this?
 
As for the gourami eating shrimp, does anyone have experience of this? Would the size fo the shrimp colony be able to balance perhaps through breeding? Dwarf neon rainbowfish are beautiful indeed, they'll definitely be considered!