New Tank, Cycling, And Which Fish To Get?

[Sycklid]

Hey everyone, new to the hobby here and just have a few questions about cycling and what fish I could add to my tank.
First thing is I need to know if I'm doing my cycle right, I was given two goldfish by a friend and he also have me a bottle of Tetra Safe Start, (The tank has only been up for two day's and the readings are .25-.50 ppm ammonia, 2.0+ ppm nitrites, 20 nitrates, and my pH is 8.0) I haven't added the Tetra Safe Start yet but I will really soon.... I'm also using a API Liquid Master Test Kit to test my water parameters. (I have been doing 5 gallon water changes for the past two days though to keep everything in order kind of)... I don't know what I'm doing at this point to be honest. Was told what to do by a friend who moved so now I'm just lost.

Second thing is that my tank is 48" long, 15" deep, and 20" wide. I'm not sure how big the tank is in gallons because I was given it by a friend who is moving and they don't even know how big it is, so I'm going to guess 55+ gallons because it's 48" long.

And now I'm lost on what fish to get, I want everything but it won't happen. I would like to have a nice schooling aquarium were fish won't be breeding constantly so I'm not sure how I can prevent that, if I even can. But also with my pH so high, will that limit me to certain fish? At first I wanted some Lake Malawi Mbunas but now I'd just like a nice schooling tank with no or little aggression.

Also one more question about equipment. Right now for the filter I have an AquaClear 70 filter for it, I know I need more but I don't know what other kinds of filters to get, the tank is Acrylic and is drilled in the back.

Will give more information when I remember it or get asked for it.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Sycklid.
With only 2 goldfish in a 60 gallon tank, I am a bit surprised that you are seeing any ammonia or nitrites unless they are fairly large goldfish. Instead of the Safe Start, your friend could have done you far more good by cleaning his filter in your new tank. That would have seeded your new filter with the right bacteria for a biological cycle to become established quickly. The Safe Start, along with most of the other popular cycling products are a waste of a perfectly good bottle.
With a pH of 8.0 in a new tank, it begs the question of how hard your tap water is. Mine only gives me a pH of 7.8 but my water is hard enough for even mollies to thrive with no salt or other chemicals added. Since mollies are among the most demanding fish in terms of needing a high mineral content, I must assume mine is hard. I have measured GH and KH at well over 12 degrees and TDS at over 225 ppm so I am sure it has a decent mineral content. Chances are, with typical chemicals we find in tap water, that your water is even harder than mine. It would mean that the Africans and the typical livebearers would thrive in your water but the South Americans would not do as well. If you can measure the mineral content in some fashion it would help us help you more with your fish selection.