Uh-oh... Mercury in the tank

[Mark1092]

Before you worry about the fish, don't, there is no fish. I broke a mercury filled thermometer and the silver globs went all over my desk, and possibly carpet. A piece flew into the fish tank. I emptied out the water, dug up the gravel and sure enough there was a few blobs of it at the bottom. I tried to get it out, most of it. Can't be sure. It's in the gravel as well (I've sieved through it twice now and found some). Great.

Am I going to have to buy a brand new bloody fish tank? How much is toxic to a fish?

And yes it is definitely mercury, this is not a fish tank specific thermometer, it is a scientific thermometer.

 

[roundar]

How big is the tank? I'd say it's not a big deal if you got out what you could find and cleaned stuff.

EDIT: According to "Ecology Of The Planted Aquarium" The highest acceptable concentration of mercury for a fathead minnow was < .00026 ppm

So I don't know.

 

[Mark1092]

Yeah, it's one of those things I think I'll have to decide. Has anyone else here had nothing but problems during their fishkeeping career?

 

[jetajockey]

last week I was refilling my 29g in my bedroom when I got home from work (work nights) and I got distracted and was messing around in the garage and ended up putting gallons and gallons of water on the floor. 4 hours of running the carpet cleaner.

 

[Mark1092]

Yep sounds familiar. While we're comparing bad luck let me tell you mine (maybe it will make you laugh)

- Bought second hand tank, then betta fish
- Light stopped working. Spent 2.5 months trying to find parts, turns out the fitting was an old model causing much confusion.
- Tank leaked water unexpectedly, took apart aquarium to try and find said leak. Meanwhile, I noticed my desk had buckled from the weight.
- Bought wood to make a plate for it sit on.
- No leak, turns out it was evaporation/condensation running off the back of the lid (and all over my desk).
- Bought plastic lids, cut them up to stop evaporation. Tank was back and working.
- Brown algae issue arrived
- Fish died
- Woke up in middle of night to hear (then see) 4 litres of water dripping onto my already soaked carpet (that leak again?)
- While trying to move something outside of the tank with mercury thermometer, thermo broke sending mercury everywhere including inside the tank
- Took apart tank once again, found mercury under the gravel, took out gravel, tried to remove most of the mercury, there is definitely still miniscule amounts left in the cracks and crevices
- Tank now sits under house empty
- Deciding if I want to pour more money into this. Already bought testing kits, filter media, decorations, various other things that are now totally useless unless I continue.

Challenge someone to beat that.

 

[jetajockey]

Yeah that's a laundry list.

What are you doing with a mercury thermometer, those things are way oldschool.

I think if you empty the tank out completely and scrub the crap out of it, it'll probably be fine, but I can't say I've ever dealt with that particular problem.

If it's not a big tank then I'd think about the cost of just replacing it.

 

[Mark1092]

Yeah and I forgot some things too! Like a Nitrate test kit that was faulty.

It's a scientific thermometer I had from high-school, here in NSW Australia you have to buy one for science, then leave it in the lab. They do it this way because they got sick of kids breaking thermo's every 12 seconds, so if you had to buy your own... Might make you a little more careful! But yeah, they're mercury ones you have to buy.

Anywaaay, even if I quarantined this tank I would never be fully certain, I'd be thinking every day, 'is this fish gonna cark it during the night because of mercury poisoning?'. So I think I'm gonna' have to replace it, mainly for my mental health! There's no way I'm quitting now, what would I do with the tonnes of crap I've had to buy.

Also, I don't know if you ever experienced mercury (can safely say I have now) but it is the most stubborn thing to get out of something... If you wipe it, it splits into tonnes of smaller drops eventually becoming so small you can no longer see it... Plus it's very very maluble, so it fits into ANYTHING with no hope of coming out. The ONLY way to get rid of it is by masking tape, because it sticks to it.

 

[roundar]

It's fun to play with, except for the whole cancer thing.

 

[Mark1092]

Well after vacuuming it up and spending hours trying to get every bit I then discovered you're not meant to vacuum it, and the vapour is highly toxic. But I'd rather just forget about it and move on, then call in HAZMAT and spend 2 grand to have my house ripped apart and quarantined. Who would have thought a mercury thermo could cause so many issues? Let's hope I don't develop mercury poisoning.

 

[roundar]

Well after vacuuming it up and spending hours trying to get every bit I then discovered you're not meant to vacuum it, and the vapour is highly toxic. But I'd rather just forget about it and move on, then call in HAZMAT and spend 2 grand to have my house ripped apart and quarantined. Who would have thought a mercury thermo could cause so many issues? Let's hope I don't develop mercury poisoning.

In the name of science though, please, let us know if you do.

 

[Mark1092]

Yeah, moral of the story, don't break mercury thermometers near fish tanks... In fact just don't own any at all.

 

[pantherspawn]

Yeah, moral of the story, don't break mercury thermometers near fish tanks... In fact just don't own any at all.

Actual moral of the story.. you're an accident waiting to happen and I'm never coming to your house for a BBQ. Haa

 

[Mark1092]

Nah mate you'll be right, I think I've channeled all my bad luck into fish-keeping - if you bring some fish to cook though can't say what will happen

 

[alLexX]

i think you should restart,1 teaspoon of mercury is enough to poisin a 50 acre lake.

 

[rich311k]

There is no way that it was real mercury if you just bought the thermometer for school. They are only used in a few situations even doctors have phased them out because they are so dangerous.

 

[roundar]

There is no way that it was real mercury if you just bought the thermometer for school. They are only used in a few situations even doctors have phased them out because they are so dangerous.

I don't know.... I could be wrong, but I believe they may be way more common than you think. And as far as I know mercury is pretty easy to identify(maybe there's some stuff that acts exactly like mercury I really don't know). We had a couple break when I was in high school.

 

[Homedog98]

It's fun to play with, except for the whole cancer thing.

Most definitely lol. I love the stuff, but getting it off of everything Is darn near impossibly lol. It gets in every single little crevice, and splits every time you try and grab it.

 

[rich311k]

Break your common aquarium thermometer, the liquid inside balls up just like mercury which I can assure you is not. A drop of mercury on your skin can kill you. It is only used when needed or in a minute quantity.

 

[roundar]

I've never heard that mercury is extremely uncommon, especially in thermometers marked "mercury thermometer" like this one I assume was, or that a single drop could kill you. TBH though I haven't done the research to back up my assumptions so like my first edit, I don't know.

EDIT: Ohh and I definitely concede that just because it looks and acts like mercury by no means makes it mercury.

 

[alLexX]

its not only used in thermometers,but some electronic thingy(not sure what its called)the mercury is in a container,with 2 metal things sticking up,and when the mercury is toucg both,and current is applied to one,its transmitted to the other.