First up thanks for the warm welcome.
We bought the tank a week ago it is 3 foot, 120 litres. We spent 2 days cleaning gravel, river stones and driftwood, which we purchased from the shop. We were told if we used the water from the pet shop that it would already have the good bacteria in it so we wouldn't have to wait at all before putting the fish in but we have been running it without fish just to play it safe.
We added a very unhappy goldfish we rescued from a life of misery as we were told that goldfish can live in tropical tanks and he or she is doing very well but then I started reading and everyone seems to say keep goldfish in a separate tank but I am afraid we can't afford another tank and I don't have the heart to put her back in her bowl