fnew tank

Question
hi, i just bought my fish tank. It's about 25 gallon. i got the hagen water home 25 kit. i have't set up my tank yet. i have few question before i set my tank.

1. which is better to keep trophical fish or cold water fish? i heard that cold water fish is easy to keep, it's hardy and never had any problem with a aggression. I also heard that gold fish need a lot space in the tank because they grow big, but if you bought small size gold fish, it's should do fine. My aunt has about 35 gallon about 10 big gold fish for about 5 years and she never had any problem.

2. I also want to know about how to cyle my tank. what are some hardy fish to cycle my tank?

3. I also want to know about cycle conditner, iam planning to use tetra aqua safe as my water conditner for water changes, can cycle be mix together or should i just stick with one water condiner.

thank you.

Answer
Hi,
Firstly, i recommend you join http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/
where you can ask any questions you want, and are guaranteed friendly advice, and fast.
I would recommend buying tropical fish, as you need a lot of space for most coldwater fish. Also, there is not a large variety of coldwater fish available in most fish shops. Therefore, I recommend buying tropical fish for your tank.
Goldfish need, to be happy, around 10 gallons of water each, so you could only put 2 or three in your tank.
I recommend Tetras, some small barbs, Blue and Bolivian Rams, livebearers such as Mollies, Guppies and Platies, and dwarf corydoras like Panda Corydoras, Peppered Corydoras or Bronze Corydoras for your tank.
I also do not recommend cycling your tank with fish, a fishless cycle is best.
Here's a bit of info on fishless cycling:
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm
Choose one or the other water conditioner, do not use both. Use "Cycle" to speed up the cycling process of your tank.
Good luck,
Kathryn