From goldfish to Cichlids

[Leighlou]

So I want to switch from my comets to Cichlids, I had planned to upgrade my goldies to a 75 gal but want to do a Cichlid tank instead. so here is my questions:

What equipment do I need? (I had planned on getting a Marineland Emperor 400 for the tank)

I was interested in the Red Devils, Green Terrors and Convicts. Can I put these together or is it better to have only one species at a time in a tank?

I also wanted to do a planted tank, can I put java ferns and hornwort in it with the Cichlids? (its the only two I decided on for sure)

Will my 75gal tank be big enough for more then one pair? (I heard they were suppose to be put in pairs)

 

[Leighlou]

Or in other words, what can I stock in my 75 gallon tank together and do I need anything different from a goldfish tank?

This is what I planned for my goldfish tank:

2x Marineland Emperor 400 or 1 Marineland Penguin 350 with a external canister filter
Stock lights
Air pump w/ air stone
Black gravel/sand

 

[petluvr]

Gonna need a heater for sure and don't get your heart set on plants.

 

[Leighlou]

Hehe I'm not, I've never had a planted tank so its not much of a heart lost.

 

[Leighlou]

So all I would need to add to the list is a heater? I know for Goldfish its good to have ALOT of filtering, are Cichlids the same?

 

[petluvr]

I would stick with the same filtration you have now, no need to change IMO.