Comets in indoor pond

Question
QUESTION: Hello Jon.  I hope you can answer this.  We have bought 5 'feeder' comet goldfish and so far have them in a large Rubbermaid container with substrate/water used from various tanks including our fancy goldfish tank.

These fish right now are about 2 1/2" long (guessing) and are doing fine.  We live in a rural area and bought a 150 gallon livestock tank (Rubbermaid) which we are going to bring indoors and upgrade them to that.  I am purchasing an Eheim Canister filter tomorrow for it.  Right now I'm using an Aqua Clear filter.  

Will I have to stay with just the 5 comets in the new 'tank'?  I don't want water quality issues in the future and want these fish to thrive.  The livestock tank is about 36" wide x 57" long.

I've read so many different opinions about how large these fish get and surface area compared to volume, etc. etc.  I go by 30 sq. inches per inch of fish but someone said that's only for 1" goldfish NOT when they're adults, oh boy.

Thanks so much if you can shed any light.

Paula

ANSWER: Hi Paula, well you can definitely put more than 5 fish in the 150 gallon aquarium. I wouldn't do it all at once of course, you are trying to stay away from water quality issues, not invite them. Just remember that the water in the new aquarium will have to go through its cycling process before the water quality is stable. So it will be a little work at first until the cycling is complete and steady. Then, when adding more fish. Don't add more than 3 at a time. But 5, ya that's a bit low for a 150 gallon tank. But, you know what you want. So don't let anyone make up your mind for you. Just take the advise and use it wisely. I'm here to help with anything you may need. Sounds nice though! And one more thing, the whole fish to aquarium inches is just a reference to help average aquariasts determine what to purchase for their type of set up. Anyway. Good luck. And happy holidays.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jon and happy new year to you (soon).  I just wanted to re-affirm about comet goldfish getting to be up to 14" long and needing a lot of oxygen and room to swim.  I did give the dimensions of the stock tank above.
Do you still think I can safely put more than 5?  If so, how many more overall?

Thanks,
Paula

Answer
Well, as I said, it all depends on what you want. At full growth they "can" reach that size. If the aquarium is filtered proper and you intend on maintaining it a little more ythan usual, than sure you can add more. All on what you want to do. Even if you put a lot in now and move them to a different tank or pond when they get bigger. There's many ways to make it look great. Its up to you. Depending on them being full growth, I would only add 3 more. But if you want to stock it up and move them later on, double the original amount.  With a little more filtration and ample oxygen, you can make it work however you want.