Bogwood

In answer to the bogwood - you just need to soak it for a while to get rid of the tannins that colour the water. pop in a bucket with boiling water that you change daily or more and eventually the water will start to look clearer, then it's ready to go in the tank!

Some wood leaches tannins more than others. If you still find the water going brown after all the soaking, carbon in the filter will remove it. Having said that, a lot of fish like the tannins, it's us humans that have the problem 

You mention getting a few fish to start the cycle - have you considered doing a fishless cycle? It is much easier than all the water changes you'll have to do with a fish-in cycle.
Since you have been out of the hobby for several years, you may not be aware of the necessity to keep both ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm during a fish-in cycle by doing daily water changes, sometimes several water changes a day. It is now known that levels of these two above 0.25 damage the fish and even if they don't kill the fish immediately, their live span is reduced and they are more susceptible to disease.
If you still want to do a fish-in cycle, there is thread here giving the way to do it with minimum damage to the fish.

Make sure you test your tank water at least twice a day and do a water change whenever you see a reading for either ammonia or nitrite. The amount you need to chnage will depend on the size of the reading and how quickly it got that high. Neither ammonia not nitrite should ever be allowed to get as high as 0.25ppm.
You do have a test kit don't you?

When you say you did a fishless cycle for a week, were you adding ammonia to the tank as you are meant to do? If you were, I hope you did a water change before putting the rummies in.......