Mercury Thermometer Broke

[sahmof2]

Hi,

During cleaning I broke the bottom off a mercury thermometer. Most of the bottom was still attached to the thermometer but a small piece of glass came off in the reef tank. This happened 3 weeks ago. I am having problems with getting coralline algae to grow. I recently have noticed a couple of small patchs of green algae so I have started to put some phosphate buffer in the tank hoping that this takes care of the green algae and promote coralline growth. could a little mercury that may have gotten in the tank from the thermometer also contribute to coralline not growing. I have zoanthids, glove polyps, and mushrooms doing fine and the zoanthids are multiplying so I do not believe that there is a mercury problem but wanted someone elses input. Thanks.

 

[SkiFletch]

Forget your fish I'd be worried about you... Mercury is toxic to humans and contact even with the skin can lead to brain damage. Mercury is less dense than water, so if their is any in your aquarium you'd see it floating on the surface. If you see any, mop it up with a paper towel (while wearing glove) and throw it away.

As for the livestock they should be fine since the mercury will float above the water column and not enter it.

If you're having slow coraline growth, check your alkalinity

 

[sahmof2]

I do not see any mercury on the surface. If it floats, then most likely my protein skimmer will have removed it if any did exist. What is perfect alkalinity for coralline/corals? Thanks.

 

[SkiFletch]

coraline algae tends to grow best when the alkalinity is kept above 10dKH prefferrably even 11-12

 

[sahmof2]

What isn the conversion from dKH to ppm when it comes to alkalinity?

 

[14gtr14]

Ski, mercury is denser than water (roughly 14 times denser) so it will sink. Check your substrate. As far as I know mercury does affect fish as badly, but they can live for a while with it in their systems. Just don't eat your fish ( as mercury moves up the food chain it becomes more concentrated) or touch it if you find any! It can be absorbed by your skin.

EDIT- Was it definitely a mercury thermometer? Thermometers are now mainly made with alcohol now because it's alot less dangerous.

 

[SkiFletch]

Ski, mercury is denser than water (roughly 14 times denser) so it will sink.

Lol, who needs zeros . That'll teach me to try and convert density numbers in my head

And on the topic of "was it really a mercury thermometer", was the indicating solution inside it green or gray?

 

[Danno]

Forget your fish I'd be worried about you... Mercury is toxic to humans and contact even with the skin can lead to brain damage. Mercury is less dense than water, so if their is any in your aquarium you'd see it floating on the surface. If you see any, mop it up with a paper towel (while wearing glove) and throw it away.

As for the livestock they should be fine since the mercury will float above the water column and not enter it.

If you're having slow coraline growth, check your alkalinity

I use to PLAY with mercury beads when I was a kid

I guess that explains a lot.

 

[The-Wolf]

if you brought an approved aquarium thermometer then it won't contain mercury.
if however you have used a greenhouse thermometer or similar then as above,
I'd be more concerned about your own health.

 

[AK77]

My friend used to steal thermometers when we were at school and broke them open to collect the mercury. He used to play with it and kept it in a photofilm container .

Mercury is a very dangerous element. Its a cumulative poision and is where the term "Mad as a hatter" originates from. In the 1800's, felt hat makers would use a mercury compund, usually mercurous nitrate, for processing beaver or rabbit fur. Since the hatters worked in poorly ventillated areas, they collected the mercury in the bodies which causes kidney and brain damage. Its not something your body can rid itself of either.

One has to wonder why the stuff is put in teeth fillings and vaccines - yes I kid you not

 

[14gtr14]

It's not something your body can rid itself of either.

Yup, this is why it's so dangerous if we eat food that has been exposed to mercury. In Minamata, Japan fish were consumed that had eaten shellfish that had been exposed to mercury. As mercury is retained by the body it increases in concentration as it goes up the food chain. This led to people (and cats!) getting "strange disease" or what is now called "Minamata disease". This is really horrible disease where children are born deformed etc etc

...not meaning to scare you sahmof2

 

[sahmof2]

Hi,

The thermometer was a cheap fish tank approved type. The liquid was redish with gray small balls in the bottom. I puchased it recently so mostly it was alcohol filled. Thanks for the info. I still would like to know what is the conversion for alkalinity from dKH to ppm? I have over 100 lbs of live rock in my 55 gal tank. With correct water conditions, how long would it take for coralline to spread from 2 rocks to the other 20 rocks?

 

[Danno]

Ok if the liquid was red then it was a kerosene thermometer. No mercury in it.

 

[SkiFletch]

With correct water conditions and low lighting, probably a month or two. With correct water conditions and high light, 2-4 weeks.

 

[ghettobirdgimp]

Hi,

The thermometer was a cheap fish tank approved type. The liquid was redish with gray small balls in the bottom. I puchased it recently so mostly it was alcohol filled. Thanks for the info. I still would like to know what is the conversion for alkalinity from dKH to ppm? I have over 100 lbs of live rock in my 55 gal tank. With correct water conditions, how long would it take for coralline to spread from 2 rocks to the other 20 rocks?

Hi sahmof2,

Yep, yes those gray balls are DEFINATELY mercury . Here in australia there still available everywhere, cheap but reliable. I use em as well but i'm not anymore after the weekend gone.....

The mercury like someone else said will be in your substrate, its really heavy.

My venustus's (african cichlid - freshwater) broke the equivalant therometer (from mucking around with it) and scattered the mercury through a section of my tank on friday gone. I ended up taking out ALL my substrate completly on the weekend just gone, used rubber dishwashing gloves (brand new) so your not contacting yourself with it. Ironically it was the last to come out cause its so heavy that as you move the substrate around trying to get it out, the mercury balls end up sinking deeper into the substrate. To pick it out by hand would be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack, especially in my mixed gravel/coral sand combo i had. I'd bet you would miss some.

This personally was the best bet for me, get that stuff out completly. Seeing i'm God of my 3 foot fish tank, I say no heavy metals for my little eco-system! : ) nor do i want my fish slowly overtime accumulating known toxins that will eventually impact on there health or it contributing to tank problems that arise that don't make sense (ie your standard water tests won't show any probs etc)

Rob