20 gallon shell dweller cichlid community?

HI there. I'm turning my old axolotl tank (20h) into a community tank, and I love cichlids, so I'm thinking shell dwellers. So far its a cycled coldwater tank, with sand as substrate. What would I need to turn this into a Shellie tank?
It'll be a couple weeks while I finish the new axolotl tank build lol. Thanks!

 

No advice on the cichlid build - but I would love to hear what you're doing for the axolotl !

 

Haha I'm working on a 40 gal setup for him his 20 is getting kind of small. Its going to have a 3d background and fine sand and a new canister filter so far. I just applied the first coat of drylok.

 

I'll post a Pic of the drylok coating when I can

 

Shell dwellers require a specific pH, what's the pH of your tap water?

This is my current shell dweller setup for multies:

15 Gallon - 24x12x12
Finnex PX-360 MinI Canister (good for up to 25 gallon tanks)
Aqueon 50W Heater - Set to 80F
Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate 5 ppm, pH 8.6 - 8.8 ppm
CaribSea African Cichlid Mix Sand (1.0mm - 2mm grain size) - This is special and specific to cichlids in that it buffers the water to prevent pH from dropping below 7 ppm. It's also small grained with no sharp edges so that the cichlids can easily and safely get it into their mouths.
2 pieces of Texas Holy Rock that act as section dividers. This specific type of rock also acts as a buffer.
24 Escargot Shells, 11 Turbo Snail Shells

Extras:
New Life Spectrum 1mm Cichlid Formula (food)
Seachem Cichlid Trace (vitamins and minerals needed by cichlids)
Seachem Cichlid Lake Salts
Seachem Tanganyika Buffer
Seachem Prime
Kordon Fish Protector

API Liquid Test Kits for pH, KH, GH, and Nitrite
Salifert Liquid Test Kits for Ammonia and Nitrate

 

I'll get back to you on the tap water ph. How many fish do you have in that tank? Any inverts or just a species tank? Pictures? Thanks so much

 

I bought 11, but somehow ended up with 14. The store manager and I think that the others had been hiding in the shells that they gave me. Going by behavior we're thinking I have 3 males. I already have someone who will be taking new juvies from me should they successfully breed, so I will be thinning them out a bit or possibly doing up a second tank for them. Edit: Species only tank.

Here's a video of my tank. I wish I had a more professional video camera!

 

I want them so bad. I went to my LFS today and they usually have a great selection, but they said they have trouble getting multis.. ( the kind guy (who is always knowledgeable and helpful) said he is reluctantly going to tell me to order online. But I'm so nervous about that. Anyone have ideas?

 

I purchased 6 about 3 months ago and put them in a 22 gallon long with about 50 or so shells plus some holey rock in the middle

Now I have about 20 or so babies and they are growing quickly

They are truly wonderful fish to observe
I have regular PFS as substrate and keep the temp at about 78 F