I will also add that you should really decide on what water conditions you are prepared to maintain. Fresh water can be soft or hard, and there is brackish.
As Cap'n mentioned there are different types of cichlids. South American cichlids like Angelfish and Discus prefer soft water while Africans usually prefer hard conditions. So even though they are similar species, you can't really maintain them in the same tank.
Water conditions in the BC lower mainland are predominantly soft (rain water). Hard water usually comes from well sources; it disolves and absorbs minerals. The good news is that it is quite easy to make softwater hard, whereas it is tedious to make large volumes of softwater from hard water.
BTW have you read up on cycling the tank?
It's a good idea to do as much homework ahead of time so to minimize headaches down the road. One last caveat: be very wary of information that you get at the pet store. Many stores that sell FW fish also sell other pets and may not know what they are talking about but will act like they do and steer you in very wrong directions.
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