I would be
very cautious of going that route.
Brass is a zinc/copper alloy. If it leaches those metals into the water, you will have problems. Even small amounts of copper is lethal to invertebrates, such as the snail in your aquarium info, and larger amounts can poison or kill fish as well. Zinc, too, is harmful in all but the smallest doses.
To quote from Kordon's article
The Importance of Removing Heavy Metals From Aquarium and Pond Water:
Quote:
Now there are scientific articles appearing that are providing some stunning information about how harmful trace elements of heavy metals are to fishes, even when they are only in parts per billion in the water (see the Science News reference at the end of this article). What it shows is that at low parts per billion -- heavy metals, such as copper at or below 10 ppb (parts per billion), and apparently zinc also, can cause fish to lose their sense of smell. What else the heavy metals are doing short of being lethal to fishes is little known and currently undergoing scientific investigation. What is clear is that the aquarist and pond keeper needs to keep their aquariums and ponds free of heavy metals. Therefore, using copper as a health treatment of fishes needs to be seriously considered in light of the adverse research results now emerging.
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Admittedly, Kordon sells products designed to counteract metal toxicity, so part of their article is a sales pitch, but it's worth considering.
I think the real question is: will the brass/zinc leach into your water? I have no idea, though the chances diminish as water hardness and
pH increase.
An alternative that works well and is safe for aquatic life is to get a small slate floor tile from a hardware store, and attach it with a stainless steel screw to the bottom of the driftwood. You can bury the tile under the substrate, and the weight of the substrate over the surface area of the tile is often enough to overcome the buoyancy of the driftwood.
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