hello everyone!

just a few questions to ask, all answers are welcome!

1. I have been reading up on the nitrogen cycle and have been receiving mixed messages. Some people say to cycle a new tank for a month without fish, but others say 1 week is fine, and to complete the cycle with the fish in the tank. Can somebody please set the record straight?

2. I am looking to buy some nice, big, quality oranda goldfish, but I have heard that the best fish come from breeders. I live in canada, can anyone recommend a good retailer or website?

3. I live in a house with water that comes from a well. It has a very high pH i believe (water is slightly yellow). Is it safe to fill my tank with this water, as long as i add water purifier to it? do i need to add anything else to make it safe?

Thanks,
and please anyone feel free to comment, all answers are very much appreciated!

Heya!

With regards to cycling, to completely cycle a tank without fish it takes anywhere from 6 - 8 weeks
I second Vic on the tests, liquid test kits are the best as they are more economical and last far longer than strip tests. See what your PH is first, goldfish are quite adaptable, so you might not have to alter the ph.

As Vic says the tank size depends on what fish would be suitable!

Okay well with 30 gallons.... You could only have 2 oranda's in there as a temporary home. I say temporary because of the following;
As you're already aware of water quality, in a small tank like a 30 gallon it would become difficult to maintain as small fish got bigger.
It also probably isn't long enough to give fish adequate space for swimming and exercise, goldfish like long tanks so they can swim from side to side. The other issue is that Oranda's can grow really quite large and they will more than likely out grow your tank.

30 gallons is around 130 litres I believe, a member here had two fancy goldfish in a 90 litre tank (so only slightly smaller) and they needed to upgrade after a year Just to give you an idea of time scale there.

So if you're willing to upgrade your tank size in the future, then by all means consider the oranda. If on the other hand you don't think you'd want to do that or you're not sure you'd be able to manage that, then there are plenty of other fish we could recommend that could live happily in a 30 gallon tank and not need upgrading. It's entirely up to you and what best fits your circumstances 

As a rule they say not to put fancy fish with single tails as single tails are much faster and will eat most of the food. Also goldfish grow considerably large rather quick I had my two single tails in a 180L and had to rehome them within six months because they had almost out grown it. Plecos also grow very large. Generally the better tankmates for orandas are lionheads, bubble eyes, telescopes or ranchus, but you would really need to know their tank needs and whether the size of your tank is suitable as mentioned they may need to be moved to a bigger tank or rehomed at some point in the future.

Platy's are great little fish and are brill for people new to fish keeping. The only thing I would say is make sure you get all the same gender as they breed like mad.