Before you get home your new cichlids, you need to set up their home: the aquarium. The setting up of this aquarium for your cichlids will require a fair amount of work. Not only will you be required to assemble all the equipment, but you will also need to do some research on the cichlid that you are planning to get home.

To set up a cichlid aquarium you will need to assemble the following equipment: the tank (A 20 gallon tank is ideal. For a beginner, a larger tank is preferred for they are lower on maintenance. Moreover, a larger tank would give more space to aggressive cichlids, and the weaker ones would then be able to avoid their aggression); gravel; a heater; an air pump; a filter (Sponge filters are especially suited to clean the water in smaller tanks, and they are very low maintenance); a cover for the tank (This does not necessarily have to fit like a glove or be airtight. It is merely to prevent the cichlids from jumping out); a thermometer; a chloramine remover (only if the water is rich in chloramine, which keeps chlorine dissolved in the water….needless to say that chlorine is harmful for your cichlids); food for the cichlids.

http://cichlid.infocrux.com/Cichlid-Aquarium.html