Can Brass Leach Toxins?

[Second Hand Pat]

Can brass parts used to connect your pump to the hose returning water to the tank from the sump leach toxins into the water? I believe brass is generally considered safe.

[zchauvin]

Nah pat brass is good to go we use it on plumbing stuff a lot. Maybe once it starts to corrode but that's only if you have really crap water )

[aalbina]

Brass is a composite material:

Naval Brass:
60.00% Copper
38.55% Zinc
0.75% Tin
0.70% Lead

I would think that such a small amount wouldn't be a problem. Soft water is more likely to allow leaching than hard water. Does the water sit in the brass fittings? If it's just passing through them - I imagine getting to lethal doses would be pretty difficult if not impossible.

Adam

[DiscusOnly]

I think brass fitting is a problem for RO parts. I wouldn't think it's a problem unless you are using RO water only in your tank. Just curious, why do you have brass fitting in your sump? PVC fittings are much cheaper.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hey Van,

I have a mag drive pump sitting in the sump and it has a 1/2 inch output and the return hose is 3/4 inch. So the brass part is part of a multi part coupler between the pump and hose. The brass piece was what we found in home depot when creating the coupler.

Pat

[DiscusOnly]

Hey Van,

I have a mag drive pump sitting in the sump and it has a 1/2 inch output and the return hose is 3/4 inch. So the brass part is part of a multi part coupler between the pump and hose. The brass piece was what we found in home depot when creating the coupler.

Pat

Go to Home Depot and pick up a 1/2-->3/4 pvc/plastic barb adapter. It's in the plumbing section usually in boxes on the shelf. Just ask if you don't see it.

[TURQ64]

Without getting into a metalurgical discussion between differences, and more importantly, how to tell them apart, I have a lot of bronze fittings (Naval Bronze,Silicone Bronze), and have been using a couple of them for decades...There's brass, and then for marine apps, there's bronze....different alloys...In sumps, I prefer them over plastic, especially in threaded nipples where there's a possibility of a lot of stress....I have broken or fractured both pvc and nylon in these app's...Gary

[zchauvin]

Without getting into a metalurgical discussion between differences, and more importantly, how to tell them apart, I have a lot of bronze fittings (Naval Bronze,Silicone Bronze), and have been using a couple of them for decades...There's brass, and then for marine apps, there's bronze....different alloys...In sumps, I prefer them over plastic, especially in threaded nipples where there's a possibility of a lot of stress....I have broken or fractured both pvc and nylon in these app's...Gary

Exactly, brass and bronze are harmless so why go with a plastic piece of sh!t that doesn't even hold up in a house at times over something much stronger and more durable, IMO.

[Darrell Ward]

I've used brass fittings, check valves, gates valves, and ball valves on aquariums for literally decades without problems. If they did leech, then I didn't know it, and certainly the fish didn't know it either, because many have went from egg to 6 plus inches in tanks with brass pipe fittings. The quality is far superior to pvc components. Cost more, but worth it, because they don't break, and tend to last forever. I see no reason to change them.

[dbfzurowski]

Go to Menards, they have everything in plastic

[TURQ64]

It'd be a long drive from Florida to a 'nearby' Menard's...just a midwestern retailer...!

[Darrell Ward]

[dbfzurowski]

lol, that, I did not know.

[Second Hand Pat]

lol, that, I did not know.

It's ok dominik, very worthy of a smile.