Correct and I dont have to use prime every time I do a water change. Whatever prime would have been interacting with is removed from the water prior to it going into the water storage tank.
Brass spigots on water storage tank?!? Should I
- Thread starter M3AN ONE
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Correct and I dont have to use prime every time I do a water change. Whatever prime would have been interacting with is removed from the water prior to it going into the water storage tank.
I have brass fittings on not only storage tanks but even on drain bulkheads in the actual aquariums. Water changes involve garden hoses to bring in the new water (gravity fed from the storage tanks or direct from my domestic water lines) and also to remove the old (using pumps and hoses to remove from the basement). Maybe I'm a daredevil...or maybe I'm just cheap...but I have never been worried about that tiny bit of exposure of brass to water. I'm changing at least 80% and more likely 90% or more of my water weekly; I suspect I could use valves made out of metallic arsenic with a cyanide coating and still not have any dangerous concentration in the water.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc...both of which could be problematic if in excess quantities. Trace elements of lead in some brass recipes are small potatoes in comparison. But I've raised many hundreds of multi-generational shrimp in my "brass-contaminated" water, for years, so I think I'm safe. It wasn't that long ago that aquarium plants were sold bundled together with pure lead straps, which were often left in place and used as weights in the tank. A couple of those straps would probably introduce hundreds or thousands of times as much lead into the water as a brass valve. And of course many of us used water that was delivered via copper pipes to our faucets and spigots. Copper! A toxic heavy metal...and it came in contact with our water supply, which we used in our fishtanks...and we even drank it!
Worry less...change water more...be happy!
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc...both of which could be problematic if in excess quantities. Trace elements of lead in some brass recipes are small potatoes in comparison. But I've raised many hundreds of multi-generational shrimp in my "brass-contaminated" water, for years, so I think I'm safe. It wasn't that long ago that aquarium plants were sold bundled together with pure lead straps, which were often left in place and used as weights in the tank. A couple of those straps would probably introduce hundreds or thousands of times as much lead into the water as a brass valve. And of course many of us used water that was delivered via copper pipes to our faucets and spigots. Copper! A toxic heavy metal...and it came in contact with our water supply, which we used in our fishtanks...and we even drank it!
Worry less...change water more...be happy!
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