Anyone checking their tap water?

[mataichi]

I have been having issues with the PH (8.4 today) of my tap water for a while and today I decided to check ammonia 1ppm nitrite 0ppm and nitrate 10ppm. I was really suprised by the ammonia. Both my tanks have 0ppm ammonia.

I wanted to hear if anyone else is checking their tap water and if so what kind of reading are you getting? I looked up ammonia in city water and couldn't find any numbers for it but I did find that it's not regulated. There is no max level for ammonia in our tap water.

 

[mrvincent]

I check it when I move to a new home/appartement. I check it for KH/GH primaryly.

For ammonia in the tap, it's normal (not normal to have ammonia in the tap) that you have ammonia in the tap and not in the tank. BBs (Beneficial bacterias) in the tank filter media convert the tap ammonia into tank nitrates.

It means two things;
1. Your filter is great working and you have strong cycle
2. Your water facility have problems.

If you make a 50%WC, you'll get 0.5ppm ammonia in the tank breaking down rapidly to nitrates, so that's not too much bad for the inhabitants.

 

[hennaartist]

I have to check my tap monthly if not more. I have city water and often times the ph is about 6.2 kh near 20. However, sometimes the ph goes up to almost 8 and kh to almost 180. It can really suck that it isn't consistent. Although I'm glad it doesn't have nitrite or amonia.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I have dissolved gases that cause my tap water to bottom out my PH test at 6, but if I let it sit, it rises to 7-7.2 0ppm ammonia, never tested for nitrite or nitrate.

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[jlk]

It's actually quite common to see people with ammonia in their tap water as many municipalities are switching from chlorine use as a disinfectant to chloramine (chlorine bound with ammonia) because it is more stable.

As chloramine is not considered harmful to humans, it's not under strict regulation. Our bodies create and process ammonia at low levels very easily. I have seen people with 4+ppm of ammonia registering in their tap as well as nitrite (allowable to 1ppm) and nitrate (10ppm max for public water supplies). Well water, which is not under EPA regulation, may have higher numbers (typically nitrate).

It's a good idea to keep tabs on your tap water for changes in parameters. Once you test it and have base numbers, recheck it every month or so or anytime something seems amiss in your tanks. Water companies are not required to tell you if they change disinfectants or the amounts they are using as its seen as a public safety and health concern. Changing water sources for public water or how it's processed can also drastically affect parameters.

The good news here is your tank is handling the additional ammonia without an issue!

 

[Davep]

The nitrate from my tap water varies from 7.5-10 ppm and ph is 7.5, i am ina hard water area so nothing really i can do except having several pieces of bog wood to naturally lower it