brass/copper question

[gopens]

well last week, i noticed that i had TONS of water flow in my tank from my return pump from my sump/refug. i was talking to my uncle, who is a plumber. he told me to put a valve on the return line to control flow. he said he would be over in a few minutes to help me out. he came over and installed a brass valve. it looked copper to me. so i told him that i can't have copper pipes/fittings in my tank. he informed me that it was 100% brass. and the ball vale on the inside was stainless steel and nylon. he has helped plumb many huge fish stores in the LA area. so i went with what he said. i spoke with a few local reefers and they all said it was fine as long as there was no copper. but i just wanted to hear from ya'll about this. thanks

[Paintbug]

if im not mistaken brass is comprised from copper, and other metals. i would swap it out with a PVC valve. but wait for some others to add.

[theatrus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass is a Copper and Zinc alloy. If the interior of the valve is stainless steel and nylon it should be ok though.

[Paintbug]

it still comes in contact with the brass at one point right?

[Agu]

the ball vale on the inside was stainless steel and nylon.

If he's correct you're OK, but I'd replace it anyway. Even medical quality stainless steel doesn't stand up to saltwater long term in my experience, replace it with a pvc valve.


jmo,

[diemaker]

the nylon is just the seal or washer around the ball i would switch this out asap befor to much copper leaches in to the system always use pvc and it's cheaper

[bertoni]

I'd remove that valve now, although it might be sealed well enough for the moment. Also, restricting the flow that way can shorten the lifetime of the pump. I'd make a T in the return line instead, and use a PVC ball valve to direct part of the flow to the tank, part back into the sump. Or I'd get a smaller pump.