Fort Collins, CO tap water
Supplied mostly by City of Ft Collins, plus 2 other utilities. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chlorine
Your water is treated with chlorine. It slowly gases off from standing water, and any water conditioner removes it.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Nitrite (NO₂)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so any nitrite in your tank comes from the tank itself.
From EPA monitoring data (2012–2019).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Up to 0.3 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.3 ppm
Low, so water changes lower your tank's nitrate well.
From EPA monitoring data; City of Ft Collins and Soldier Canyon Filter Plant and City of Loveland, which supplies Ft Collins Loveland WD; Soldier Canyon Filter Plant, which supplies East Larimer County WD (2012–2019).
Water chemistry
General hardness
Not published yet
We haven't found this number yet. A drop test kit gives you your exact reading.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
15–33 ppm
Typical 15 ppm
Little buffering. pH can drop quickly between water changes, especially with CO₂ or an older tank.
From EPA monitoring data; City of Ft Collins and Soldier Canyon Filter Plant and City of Loveland, which supplies Ft Collins Loveland WD; Soldier Canyon Filter Plant, which supplies East Larimer County WD, measured before treatment (2012–2019).
pH
Not published yet
We haven't found this number yet. A drop test kit gives you your exact reading.
- City of Ft Collins and Ft Collins Loveland WD add phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
Who supplies Fort Collins, CO
City of Ft Collins
Serves 73% of residents · Lake or river water · Chlorine
Ft Collins Loveland WD
Serves 19% of residents · Buys water from City of Ft Collins · Chlorine
East Larimer County WD
Serves 5% of residents · Buys water from Soldier Canyon Filter Plant · Chlorine
Our data comes from public records and is still incomplete. Many utilities don't publish every number, so we're adding more all the time. Your city's range is a starting point: testing your own tap is the only way to know exactly what's in it.
Tap water lookup covers US cities only for now. Want to know why it matters? Read our story on tap water.
Compiled by Shoal & Stem from public records. Free to cite with a link.