Cichlids is like saying catfish. There are so many different types you need to be a bit more specific. There are South american cichlids, and africans. Those are still large groups that are broken down into smaller cattegories, all with different needs as far as PH(not all like it as high as 8.2), diet, etc. What kind of specific species are you trying to keep, or at least a biotope (E.g malawian, an african rift lake). There is a sticky labled cycling at the top of the newbie forum, I would advise reading it through at least once. You need to decide weather to do a fishless cycle or a "fishy" cycle. The former is easier and has no risk of fish death, since no fish are used, but less gratifying as you have an empty tank for a number of weeks. The latter is a bit mare work, risks the life of the fish you use to cycle the tank, but has the benifit of being able to have something in your tank to look at other than water and gravel. Once you decide on a specific type of cichlid, look it up before you buy. As I stated earlier, not all cichlids preffer the high PH you mentioned.
