Montclair State University, NJ tap water
Supplied mostly by New Jersey American Water – Little Falls, plus 1 other utility. Here's what the water means for your fish.
Disinfectant
Chloramine
Your water is treated with chloramine. Unlike chlorine, it doesn't gas off when water sits out, and many pitcher and fridge filters aren't rated to remove it. Conditioners that list chloramine on the label break it apart, which frees about 0.28 ppm of ammonia here. Some utilities switch to plain chlorine for a few weeks a year.
Safety for fish and shrimp
Ammonia (with conditioner)
Estimate0.28–0.58 ppm (Low)
Typical 0.28 ppm
This is what a conditioner frees when it breaks the chloramine apart. A cycled filter clears it within a day.
Estimated from the chloramine level Passaic Valley Water Commission reports (2024).
Nitrite (NO₂)
Not detected (Low)
Not detected in testing, so any nitrite in your tank comes from the tank itself.
From EPA monitoring data (2014).
Nitrate (NO₃)
Supplier's figure0.5–13 ppm (Low)
Typical 5.5 ppm
Water changes can't take your tank's nitrate below this level.
From the utility that supplies yours: Passaic Valley Water Commission and Montclair Water Bureau, which supplies New Jersey American Water – Little Falls; Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report (2012–2024).
Copper at home taps (first draw)
0.06 ppm (Low)
The 90th percentile of first-draw samples from homes: water that sat in household pipes for at least six hours.
Low. Water that sits in household pipes overnight can carry more than this.
Published by your utility: Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report.
Chlorine or chloramine at the tap
1.2–2.4 ppm
Typical 1.2 ppm
At tap levels, chlorine and chloramine are toxic to fish, shrimp and the bacteria in a filter. Water conditioners are made for this range.
Published by your utility: Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report.
Water chemistry
General hardness
Supplier's figure52–154 ppm
Typical 52 ppm
Soft. Good for tetras, rasboras and most shrimp. Livebearers, snails and African cichlids prefer harder water.
From the utility that supplies yours: Passaic Valley Water Commission, which supplies New Jersey American Water – Little Falls; Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report.
Carbonate hardness (alkalinity)
Supplier's figure32–172 ppm
Typical 84 ppm
Moderate buffering. pH should stay fairly steady.
From the utility that supplies yours: Passaic Valley Water Commission and Montclair Water Bureau, which supplies New Jersey American Water – Little Falls; Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report (2014–2024).
pH
Supplier's figure7–8.5
Typical 7.8
Most community fish do well here. Stable water matters more than the exact number.
From the utility that supplies yours: Passaic Valley Water Commission and Montclair Water Bureau, which supplies New Jersey American Water – Little Falls; Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report (2014–2024).
Total dissolved solids
Supplier's figure80–445 ppm
Typical 80 ppm
A rough measure of everything dissolved in the water. RO water reads near 0, so TDS is a quick way to compare waters.
From the utility that supplies yours: Passaic Valley Water Commission, which supplies New Jersey American Water – Little Falls; Passaic Valley Water Commission's 2024 water quality report.
- New Jersey American Water – Little Falls and Passaic Valley Water Commission add phosphate to protect pipes. It can feed algae in tanks without much plant growth.
- New Jersey American Water – Little Falls softens its water at the plant, so it may be softer than the local groundwater.
Who supplies Montclair State University, NJ
New Jersey American Water – Little Falls
Serves 48% of residents · Buys water from Passaic Valley Water Commission · Chloramine
- 2024 water quality report
Passaic Valley Water Commission
Serves 25% of residents · Lake or river water · Chloramine
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.