I can not tell what Nitrate is from the test.

[pettygil]

I can not tell what Nitrate is from the test. It looks to be 80 ppm. I do have a Nitrate pad in the tank for a few weeks. I am going to put a photo in this post and see if any of you can guess at the number for nitrate. i also did a 50 percent water change. Since 2 days ago.
I also use spring water for my Bettas tanks.
I also have the sponge first, then the Nitrate sponge in the back of the filter. I also shake the bottles really well, before using.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Its really difficult to tell what test readings are from a photo, if you see it as 80ppm then thats what it is. These tests, especially the nitrate one arent all that accurate, so there is no point in worrying about getting precise. Its a home test kit, not laboratory testing. Even in a lab, nitrate testing is very difficult. Your nitrate is higher than it should be following a big water change.

What precisely is the nitrate sponge you are using? They generally only last a week or so before they need to be replaced. You can periodically recharge some of them by soaking them in salt water and then they might last a couple of months.

 

[pettygil]

Its really difficult to tell what test readings are from a photo, if you see it as 80ppm then thats what it is. These tests, especially the nitrate one arent all that accurate, so there is no point in worrying about getting precise. Its a home test kit, not laboratory testing. Even in a lab, nitrate testing is very difficult. Your nitrate is higher than it should be following a big water change.

What precisely is the nitrate sponge you are using? They generally only last a week or so before they need to be replaced. You can periodically recharge some of them by soaking them in salt water and then they might last a couple of months.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1QLSDU?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

The filter on amazon says the flowing.
Helpful Instructions:
Please rinse thoroughly with cold water before placing in filter.
Never use soap, as the residual soap particles can harm your fish.
For best results, replace filter media every 4 – 6 weeks.

 

[pettygil]

I just changed the Nitrate filter on my tank, hopefully that helps. I will do another water check tomorrow. Thank you for your help.
The salt you are talking is aquarium salt or the salt you put on french fries. I have aquarium salt I can use.
I put some aquarium salt in the filter and on the sponge, just a little bit I used. I have a 6.5 gallon tank and a small sponge for my filter, cause the filter is small.
Here is my filter I bought from Amazon for my fish.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DW577GB/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A3GBVFUEHMF7WW&psc=1

 

[Andy Sager]

I just changed the Nitrate filter on my tank, hopefully that helps. I will do another water check tomorrow. Thank you for your help.
The salt you are talking is aquarium salt or the salt you put on french fries. I have aquarium salt I can use.

Keep in mind that the rating for the nitrate pads is for the whole pad so with you cutting it down to fit your filter, you are also cutting down the lifespan. Keep track of how long the cut pad lasts and when you are finished with the current pads, I suggest getting the Poly Filter pad and testing how long that one lasts then compare the results. You may find that one lasts longer than the other so keep using the one that lasts longer.

AS for soaking them in salt, Aiken is talking about aquarium salt but not to place the salt on the pad but to make a solution of salt and water in a container and soaking the pad in the container. That said, I'm not sure your pad can be recharged so I'd contact the manufacturer to confirm this.

 

[pettygil]

Keep in mind that the rating for the nitrate pads is for the whole pad so with you cutting it down to fit your filter, you are also cutting down the lifespan. Keep track of how long the cut pad lasts and when you are finished with the current pads, I suggest getting the Poly Filter pad and testing how long that one lasts then compare the results. You may find that one lasts longer than the other so keep using the one that lasts longer.

AS for soaking them in salt, Aiken is talking about aquarium salt but not to place the salt on the pad but to make a solution of salt and water in a container and soaking the pad in the container. That said, I'm not sure your pad can be recharged so I'd contact the manufacturer to confirm this.

How long should i let the new pad sit in salt water? A few hours, or so? I have the Nitrate pad soaking right now, with the aquarium salt. .

 

[Andy Sager]

How long should i let the new pad sit in salt water? A few hours, or so? I have the Nitrate pad soaking right now, with the aquarium salt. .

Let it soak overnight but contact the manufacturer in the meantime because you may be wasting your time ( and salt) .

 

[Aiken Drum]

80g of aquarium salt to every 250ml of water. Make sure you rinse the pad before returning it to your filter.

 

[pettygil]

80g of aquarium salt to every 250ml of water. Make sure you rinse the pad before returning it to your filter.

My nitrate wont come down, even with water 50 percent water changes, What do I do? My nitrate is 4o to 80 ppm.
Do I do another WC, and if so how much?

 

[Andy Sager]

My nitrate wont come down, even with water 50 percent water changes, What do I do? My nitrate is 4o to 80 ppm.
Do I do another WC, and if so how much?

Is this the betta tank or the 40 gal?

 

[pettygil]

betta tank

Is this the betta tank or the 40 gal?

Betta tank. I just checked my water and Nitrate is 0 right now. So the 50 percent WC worked in my betta tank. In my 40 gallon everything is fine. And my other betta tank is also ok. I checked all my tanks, like every day.

 

[Andy Sager]

Betta tank. I just checked my water and Nitrate is 0 right now. So the 50 percent WC worked in my betta tank. In my 40 gallon everything is fine. And my other betta tank is also ok. I checked all my tanks, like every day.

Okay, that means that you weren't at 80ppm if 50% change brought it to 0.

 

[pettygil]

Okay, that means that you weren't at 80ppm if 50% change brought it to 0.

It is hard to tell, because the colors look the same. So my water looked to be 40 ppm. Not sure if that was the case, or not. Also this time I used tap water and that has 0 nitrates and 0 Ammonia. I checked it out, before using tap water. I have been using spring water for a long time.
I just wanted to see if that made a change in my water, in which it did. So my water Nitrates went down to 0

 

[Andy Sager]

It is hard to tell, because the colors look the same. So my water looked to be 40 ppm. Not sure if that was the case, or not. Also this time I used tap water and that has 0 nitrates and 0 Ammonia. I checked it out, before using tap water. I have been using spring water for a long time.
I just wanted to see if that made a change in my water, in which it did. So my water Nitrates went down to 0

The issue with your tap water is not nitrates but the ammonia from the chloramine in it. When you use the water conditioner on your tap water, you break the ammonia chlorine bond so you are putting into your tank ammonium ( what the water conditioner converts the ammonia to) which is not toxic to the fish but your bacteria bed converts it to nitrates. THAT is why you get high nitrate readings so fast. You only needed to check the nitrate level when you first got started for us to know if your nitrates were coming from your tap water or your tank. When you didn't show any nitrates in your tap water, we knew it was coming from your tank. Now it still is coming from your tank. If you continue to use tap water in these small tanks, you will continue to have nitrate issues more quickly than if you use the bottled water. So it's up to you how much work and money you want to spend fixing that. Obviously the nitrate pads are not working fast enough or long enough if you are showing nitrates that quickly. OR maybe you reduced the existing nitrates through the water change which is why you got the zero reading but don't be surprised if they return quickly. That would mean your nitrate pads aren't working. As I said before, you need to give the water a chance to circulate after a water change before testing it. I'd wait at least an hour after the change before testing.

You can test for yourself how much ammonium you are adding to your tank by doing the following:
Measure out either pint or a quart of tap water
Add a drop of your water conditioner and stir
When the water settles, test for ammonia with the API liquid test. ( API test doesn't differentiate between ammonia and ammonium. )
Multiply that number by either 8 if you used a pint or 4 if you used a quart then multiply that result by the number of gallons of water you added to your tank.