Oh no! MERCURY?!

[jazzybell]

I just bought a new tank and before putting anything in it (literally empty) I dropped a thermometer and it broke on the bottom. The tank is undamaged and the Mercury is cleaned up/disposed of following state recommended guidelines.... The question still remains tho; is the tank still safe to use for fish? Anyone think of an extra cleaning step I should take besides removing all the mercury and a detailed rinse?

 

[wierdkid]

Relax. Most analog thermometers are alcohol nowadays (and have been for some time). If the liquid was red, it was alcohol, nothing to worry about. if it was silver in color it could be mercury but most likely is galinstan if it was made in the last ten years or so. if it was truly mercury, washing and several rinses should do the trick. If you are still paranoid, just don't use as a breeding tank or for feeder fish as mercury primarily affects neurological development and bio-accumulates.

 

[jazzybell]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. It would just be my special sort of luck if this was something that made the tank unusable. Im pretty positive that it was mercury given how it acted and that the thermometer was 30+ years old... I'm just greatfull it happened before I got yhe substrate and water in.