We can give you all the advice in the world, but it means nothing if you don't know for sure how big a tank you'll get.
If you want the colorful mouth brooders, most are 5". For those you need a 55g or more.
If money is an issue, which it is for the entire country. Try getting your tank from craigslist or your local classifieds.
I got my first 55g for $125.00 with 2 filters, 2 heaters, the substrate and fake plants. They delivered it and set it up for me. All I had to do was add some rocks and caves for the fish to hide in.
If you do get a used tank I would recommend replacing the old silicone. Or you may find yourself frantically finding a place to put each fish at 4:00am while the water flows onto the floor.
Trust me, it's not fun at any time but 4:00am really sucks. Better safe than sorry. And it's fairly easy and inexpensive to do yourself. Well easy if you do it before you have fish in it.
Try to avoid doing it backwards like I did.
If you do get a 55g or larger tank, the Mbunas are a bright jewel colored cichlids, about 5" long. As long as you don't have one that's a bully, they will give you hours of entertainment and joy.They are a hardy breed that is very forgiving of noobie mistakes.
Most of the Dwarf Cichlids aren't as hardy. They can't tolerate much fluctuation in the water parameters.
Most Cichlid keepers only put rocks and caves in their tanks, but I have lots of fake plant interwoven in the rocks. My Cichlids love playing around the plants.
I tried a couple real plants, oops, not a good idea. But the Cichlids really like having some camo around their hiding caves.
I don't know if you ever saw Even Almighty or not, but there is a scene where a big tank full of fish fallow him around the tank, with their little noses pointing at him like an arrow. Well, that's what our Mbunas do when we put our face to the tank. They are great fun.
It's all about personal preference and funds.
The only Mbunas that I would be wary of are the male Red Zebra's. They are a beautiful deep orange, but they are the most aggressive and territorial of the Malawi Cichlids.
I had one, his name was Sonny , and as far as breeding goes he was a perfect specimen. Except that he killed everyone that came over onto his half of the tank. Yes he took over half of the 55g tank just for himself. It didn't matter if they were male or female, if they came near his half he'd rip them open. I didn't know what was going on for a while. I just kept finding dead fish all the time. Then one day I caught him in the act. I was able to save her from him, but it was to late for most of them.
Sonny decimated almost my entire female stock. I sadly had to return him to my FS.
Now peace reigns through out the tank and all my new little girls are happy.
I have Blue, purple, black, white, yellow, some with stripes and some without, they are very colorful.
Good luck and I hope to soon see pictures of your new larger Cichlid tank.