hi pls any help???...old years ago i had tropical aquariums and bred many types angeles,guppies, etc...now{aftr marriage} i have space for my old 5 feet aquarium in the yard...can i make it there cause i wish to begin golfish keeping...how much can i keep and any heater needed......wish i can keep it in the yard...pls help me....?

By 5 feet, do you mean 5 feet wide, 5 feet long.... if you don't know how much it can hold, can you post the exact measurements? Thanks!
Like Nossie said, 10 gallons per goldfish. (my tank is overcrowded, as most of you know, but I do weekly water changes. But it's safest and healthiest for goldfish to have 10 gallons each)

Like Nossie said as well, I would like to know more about your idea - just one more thing. If you plan on keeping it outside, make sure you keep it in a level spot so that none of the sides of the tank is lower than the other!

What kinds of goldfish do you plan on keeping?

My tank is 140 cm wide (Which is also close to five feet) and that's 300 liters And if a tank is 2.5 feet deep... that's pretty huge actually Close to even 400 liters maybe... but I am really bad at standard measurements for tanks since we follow a completely different system with our domestically made tanks.

I wanted to add that keeping a tank outside is pretty much more challenging than keeping it indoors. For instance, what will you do with it during the winter? Will it keep a constant temperature outdoors? Will you keep it protected from sunlight and wind? What if it will rain on it? What do you exactly mean by keeping it "in the yard"?
The more info we'll get, the easier to help you plan it

Having kept an outdoor tank all of last summer I have a few pointers:

1) Keeping your tank partially underground helps maintain smaller temperature fluctuations. The earth surrounding it helps to insulate the water and your fish.
2) Cycling your tank is essential because even if your tank is in the shade your nitrate levels will rocket up without doing so. Airstones are nice but not as nessesary because the wind blows the surface of the water (like in ponds in the wild) and the pump helps oxygenate the water, along with any live plants you may have. Heaters are not manditory unless you live in a very cold climate. Remember that goldies can withstand temperatures almost to freezing. (They are cold water fish, not warm water like tropicals.)
3) You should put a lot of decorations in to protect the fish from predators depending on where you live. Bears, racoons, water snakes, birds, and felines of any kind are always a danger. If you want to be frugal, try using some old flower pots turned on their sides. They make nice hideaway caves and are fish friendly. In general they do not affect the ph. Plants will also provide shade and shelter for your pets, as well as attract insects which your fish love.
4) Flies, gnats, mosquitos and insect larvae will make up most of your fish's diet. However they still need some food supplements such as a flake or pellet food fed once every other day.
5) Every once and a while you should skim the surface of the water to remove dead leaves, algae, twigs, and other crud.
6) When setting up your new tank, use dechlorinated water or any other brand of chemical reducing formula. Measure the parameters once every day while setting it up, then once a month once the tank is established. See Hanna's thread on Tank Requirements.

Hope this helps to some degree!

Goldiegirl