Good to hear you have learnt about cycling, that is pretty much what I also use to do until I learnt about it and believe I have a much healthier and happier fish

Aquarium salt can be used when your fish has some sort of infection like fin rot etc. But if there is nothing wrong with your fish then I believe there is no reason to use it as goldfish are fresh water fish. I've heard about people doing salt dips every so often. However, I would just leave to this to more experienced fish owners and maybe ones that have communities tanks. It's not necessary.

Hi,

Thanks for your posts.  You are all so kind and helpful.  It's great to talk to some persons who have actual, real experience.  Even tho different parts of the world have different types of bacteria in their tap water, I'm guessing most of the same advice would apply to most people/fish.

I do weekly water changes, and test the water every time, and am pleased to say it has been doing very well.  I started cycling last March, so it has been going well for a while now. 

I have been doing a lot of research since March, learning as much as I can about cycling, and goldfish, and now I guess I have to read more about diseases, although I really don't want to, yuck.

I'm a little worried about the Melafix that I just put in (which I used for 3 days), and I put in 1 dose of Pimafix, and 1/2 Tablespoon of aquarium salt for my sick fish, who has recently passed.  These medications claim that they don't mess up the biological filter.  Since the medication, I have done one large water change of 25%.  I have also returned the carbon back to my filter.

I want to bring my tank back to a salt-free environment.  I guess this will eventually happen with my weekly water changes.  Unless I should do it more quickly.

I've considered changing 1/10th the water every 2-3 days to get rid of the salt more quickly, but I am not sure how critical this is.  Unless I hear differently, I am planning to stay with my weekly water changes.

Should I try to remove the salt a.s.a.p.?  Or is a gradual reduction better?

Shouldn't the carbon remove the salt? Oh wait maybe not because I guess they use carbon in saltwater aquariums and that would be a bit of disaster if that's what it did!

But Nossie has it right, it won't cause any major harm. I imagine most of it is gone anyway. If your tank is all cycled and tests come back positive well then I'd say it is ready for a fish.

Salt will not cause major harm as Nossie said and as Andrea confirmed. So do I. Keep doing your normal waterchanges, so the tank stays cycled. You're doing well. Also you must not be worried about using Melafix and Pimafix as they are natural remedies.
All is fine.. 

You get LESS true results if you test it after the water change. Because you have added new water, so the possible nitrate results may be less alarming than they should. Besides, the water in the tank, is allover the tank, and not just on the surface d:

Anyway, 50% water change is completely safe in a cycled tank (ammonia and nitrites= 0), because all the beneficial bacteria grow on the filter media inside your pump/filter and in the gravel And don't be afraid to clean the gravel, because that's where all the leftovers go! And that's where most of the nitrates are building up.

That's another way to do it in that case d:

Do you regularly clean the gravel? That's where all the dirt and leftovers of food are, and these may be the reason your nitrates are increasing

Okay, that's good