TEST YOUR TAP WATER PARAMETER!!!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Test your tap water! Why? that's because you can never be sure what's in the water that your fish or shrimp may be allergic to! Great examples are Copper and Lead. I mean occasionally tap water does contain them, but you never be sure until you test the water. Not only those two but ammonia, nitrate, and all these other things as well like chlorinate! Yes, tap water can contain ammonia, typically in low levels of around 0.25 ppm, often due to the use of chloramine a mix of chlorine and ammonia by municipal water systems as a disinfectant. While generally safe for human consumption at low levels, this ammonia can register on aquarium test kits and require conditioning. Cities add ammonia to water to create chloramine, which is a more stable and longer-lasting disinfectant than chlorine alone. If you use a dechlorinator that breaks the chloramine bond, you may be left with detectable ammonia often 0.25 to 1 ppm that needs to be neutralized by a water conditioner.

You can purchase all these testing kit through Home Depot or through Amazon. Local Pet Store may only have the simple API Test Kit but not these other features. 

-JMJ Wonder Land