Thanks everyone for being so helpful here! Now on to the fun part - setting up the tank.

First of all -

I want to go barebottom. I moved my commons and commet into a temporary 20 gallon tank that is barebottom and I LOVE it!!  These guys will be going into a pond when the weather is nice. I have it ready to set up and everything!

So for my 55 I want to do the same thing - go bare bottom. I know this will kick another cycle and so I'm expecting a little bit of a wait before I can add my goldies (planning on 2 fan tails) - current filter is an Eheim Ecco 2236.

So now I have a couple of questions?

1 - should I stick to rocks or driftwood and air stones?

2 - should I try potted plants and no air stones?

Personal opinion: I really like the natural looks of bottom substrate, and goldfish love digging around in it for food, so I just feel like it would create a nicer and less sterile environment for your fish to have some. But of course, if you want to have your tank without any grovel, feel free to

But I think you could combine these things! Add some stones and some plants : D Besides, driftwood looks nice. And plants give some cover for your fish in case they get nervous! Airstones are quite important too since goldfish need a lot of oxygen for everything. So don't hesitate to get one! (:

I agree with Nossie; get a little bit of both. Though plants help with the oxygenation process, it's not sufficient for an entire tank. And airstones make bubbles... i like bubbles... buuuubbbllleeesssss....