I've been doing a fair bit of research on this today since I plan on building some DIY projects for my upcoming aquarium (DIY in-line co2 diffuser & DIY in-line heater). There seems to be a lot of mixed reactions on the computability of brass and aquariums use. A fair amount of people say that because brass is mostly copper and cause copper is bad for the aquarium they conclude that brass is a bad choice of materials for fittings.
My application would use brass for the hose barbs (both for co2 in and water in and out). The amount of contact to brass the water would have would be a few inches in it's path at most.
Another concern aside from copper is that brass's second most abundant component is Zinc, which is far more deadly then Copper to fish and inverts. And a third is some formulations have trace amounts of Lead, which again is bad.
Aside from speculation that brass fittings used in the above configuration may contribute to harmful levels of copper, lead, zinc, etc. getting into the water, is there any actual practical (ideally with actual experimental data) to back up either position?
One source I found for copper in a home's water supply is:
As for lethal concentrations I found this source:
As for use in a co2 reactor, the carbonic acid produced is another concern I've seen voiced in the hobbyist forums, that it can contribute to faster brass corrosion and more metals leached, A source I found about that is:
From what I've read copper pipes and some formulations of brass (ones that are not corrosion resistant) can go through dezincification, where the zinc will corrode out of the alloy leaving behind weak brittle copper. To prevent this they add other metals to the alloy. The big chemical that causes this most often encountered is Chlorine found in common tap water. This would seem to indicate that chlorinated water found a homes water supply would be the primary reason why copper levels rise in the pipe when the water sits over night.
Since chlorine isn't found within aquariums (hopefully!) it would seem even not "CR" brass should be more immune to dezincification, even though most plumbing fixtures SHOULD be "CR" because of this reason alone.
Another issue is that citys usually emply copper and lead corrosion controls within the water system (specifc PH's and buffers and additions that reduce and limit the corrosive power of the water on copper and lead.) Specific carbonates will form a film over the pipes that protect and prevent corrosion.
source
Also, during normal aquarium maintainers (Water changes) the addition of most dechlorinators should remove any metals present in the water column. Most dechlorinators have chemicals that bind and precipitate out metals making them inert. (need a good source for this)
Now, the question is, is there any actual evidence that all this adds up to dangerous levels of copper, zinc, lead, etc. building up in the water column from limited use of copper fittings within the filtration system?
The reason for my questioning this is that a brass connection will be stronger, and better then plastic alternatives.
My application would use brass for the hose barbs (both for co2 in and water in and out). The amount of contact to brass the water would have would be a few inches in it's path at most.
Another concern aside from copper is that brass's second most abundant component is Zinc, which is far more deadly then Copper to fish and inverts. And a third is some formulations have trace amounts of Lead, which again is bad.
Aside from speculation that brass fittings used in the above configuration may contribute to harmful levels of copper, lead, zinc, etc. getting into the water, is there any actual practical (ideally with actual experimental data) to back up either position?
One source I found for copper in a home's water supply is:
source
As for lethal concentrations I found this source:
source
As for use in a co2 reactor, the carbonic acid produced is another concern I've seen voiced in the hobbyist forums, that it can contribute to faster brass corrosion and more metals leached, A source I found about that is:
source
From what I've read copper pipes and some formulations of brass (ones that are not corrosion resistant) can go through dezincification, where the zinc will corrode out of the alloy leaving behind weak brittle copper. To prevent this they add other metals to the alloy. The big chemical that causes this most often encountered is Chlorine found in common tap water. This would seem to indicate that chlorinated water found a homes water supply would be the primary reason why copper levels rise in the pipe when the water sits over night.
source
Since chlorine isn't found within aquariums (hopefully!) it would seem even not "CR" brass should be more immune to dezincification, even though most plumbing fixtures SHOULD be "CR" because of this reason alone.
Another issue is that citys usually emply copper and lead corrosion controls within the water system (specifc PH's and buffers and additions that reduce and limit the corrosive power of the water on copper and lead.) Specific carbonates will form a film over the pipes that protect and prevent corrosion.
source
Also, during normal aquarium maintainers (Water changes) the addition of most dechlorinators should remove any metals present in the water column. Most dechlorinators have chemicals that bind and precipitate out metals making them inert. (need a good source for this)
Now, the question is, is there any actual evidence that all this adds up to dangerous levels of copper, zinc, lead, etc. building up in the water column from limited use of copper fittings within the filtration system?
The reason for my questioning this is that a brass connection will be stronger, and better then plastic alternatives.
