Is the aquarium water from your tap? Or from the pond? What brand dechlorinator did you use? The 10 gallon tank is way to small for such large fish. The small filter will not be able to keep up with the amount of waste the larger goldfish will emit. Besides mechanical filtering the surface area for benificial bacteria to grow is too small. When this happens things could get ugly in several ways. For those fish the 55 gallon kit or at least the 29 gallon kit would work better. Minimally a good 2nd filter, perhaps a bio-wheel type, would help. Or buy another 10 gallon kit and seperate the 2 fish. It is reccomended for goldfish a minimum of a 30 gallon tank. This is to give them enough room to swim back and forth and enough water to help dissolve waste. Also the Wal-Mart kits that have the "Regent" filters are made by "Marineland", the filters are the old version of the "Penguin" filters before the "Bio-Wheel". There are kits available that attach to those filters the "Bio-Wheel". This will improve surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow.

I definitely agree - 10 gallons is Waaay too small for those fish!!

Thanks for the replies guys. I used tap water to fill it and the declorinator was Tetra aquasafe. It sounds like maybe I need to go get the 29 gallon tank. I guess I should have researched before I started this project as now I have a 30 dollar kit and need to go spend 70 more on a more suitable one, LOL. Thanks for the info, I will look forward to hopefully getting more help from the forum, as obviously I am very uneducated on this.

The 10 gallon will come in handy for a QT/hospital tank. You could also use it to grow some live plants as a food supplement, or source. An aquarium will sometimes have an "earthy" smell. Kind of like leaves and fresh soil after a rain. This is healthy smell for an aquarium. It is more prominent in a newly cycled aquarium, or maybe you just get used to the smell. Also stick with a quality dechlorinator like "Prime" or "AmQuel". Prime goes a longer way so it is cheaper in the long run.

Honestly, for two goldfish that size, you should get a 55 gallon tank and change 25% of the water at least weekly.

I agree, but I guess budget is the issue. To save money I would go to the classified's. A fair price for a 55 gallon used is $45-$65. I got a 125G for $75 this way. Order filtration on-line and use Grani-Grit grower size (it is crushed granite used for poultry, available at a farm supply and you can have a 55G setup for under a $100, about the same price as the 29G kit from Wal-Mart. Sometimes people sell the filters with the tank.

Also, you could use a large rubbermaid tote. Waaaay cheaper than a glass aquarium.

Yes - especially if they're pond fish that will be going back out in Spring. No sense in investing in a big aquarium tank when a stock tank or rubbermaid bin or even a big plastic garbage can will do!

If you get something very big (plastic bins or rubbermaid) I do suggest doubling them up - like one sitting in side the other. It'll help with the water pressure that makes the bin bulge out.

Skygee, that's a good idea about doubling them up. I bought a clear 50 gallon sterilite container, and when filled it does bulge out a little. I was going to use bungie cords to pull the sides in, but the doubled up bins sound good too. I just couldn't see spending a huge amount of money for a glass aquarium, and then only use it during the winter.

I noticed the clear ones are alot more "bulgey"?. I used heavy duty cable ties. A ratchet style tie-down would help support the sides also.

Nobody said this right out, but a 29 is too small for two big goldfish, too. Goldfish will outgrow most home-sized aquariums if they're well-kept, and the bad sell you talk about means they're polluting the water. Do a water change- now! And change out 1/3 of the water every day until the smell goes away! At least half at first, though, and dechlorinate the water BEFORE you add it to the tank- you're asking for burned gills if you don't, and no fish is going to do well with burned gills for very long. Good luck, and consider starting with a bigger tank and smaller goldfish. The fancier ones don't seem to grow quite as fast.