HELP!!! my thermometer broke in my tank!

[HungDang]

Not enough in a thermometer. Give it up...
If you ever drink enough mercury for it to be toxic on purpose, you are either mental or suicidal.

And no, the person who died from drinking mercury in hope of eternal life isn't a chinese emperor. They know long ago that mercury, or silver water as they call it, is toxic. The person who died drinking it in an attempt to find enteral life is Isaac Newton.

Newton? man, I read a lot about him but never hear about this or maybe they skip this part?

 

[J.Lake]

I wouldnt play with mercury. I leave that to the smarter ppl./

 

[Arojuana]

Thanks guys. I pretty sure that you guys are right and its not a mercury thermometer but just to be safe I removed all those little metal balls with a long magnet. I think my fish will be alright I'm having people check on them and feed them when I'm out of town.

 

[muffywrx]

If you removed with magnet, not mercury. Grats Make sure you got all the glass too.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Good outcome. The fluid in the thermometer may have been alcohol, but at such a small volume as to not cause any problems.

 

[lipadj46]

Newton? man, I read a lot about him but never hear about this or maybe they skip this part?

They did find a lot of Hg in his system but he was an alchemist and did much experimenting with Hg, not sure he actully drank the stuff though. While Hg is toxic, liquid elemental mercury is not readily absorbed through the skin. When you start looking at organometallics like methylmercury and the like though, they are very readily absorbed and are the compounds you are trying to alarm us about. Nice try though.

 

[Younglin]

Hangdang give it up lol. It wasn't mercury and even if it was it probably wouldn't kill the fish, let alone a human.

 

[knifegill]

My parents had mercury as a toy when they were kids. Big cups of it. It's bad stuff, but not that bad. I played with it, too, when an antique thermometer broke and we scooped up the pieces.

And yes, the little steel weights at the bottom of most floating thermometers are harmless. Any thermometer that uses a red line to indicate temperature is likely to be alcohol-based. No big deal if one breaks in a tank, just do a water change and get the glass out.

 

[theippster1]

I dont believe tbey the technology to determine the level of mutcury in newtons system inin 1724 and he died In his sleep at 84 from old age murcury can be absorbed through the skin but you have to have prolonged exposure it all depends on the person to and age and size and as for eating it with no affect an inert in liquid form that is so wrong it funny lol chemical properties do not change whether in solid liquid or gas but mercury is more readily absorbable in gaseus state and since murcury has a boiling point of about 675 degrees F. Thats pretty unlikly to occur lol and it was deffintly not murcury and if it was released into your fish tank youd have to call in a hazmat crew to collect the water cus youd co.taminate the water around you by dumping it down the drain

 

[Younglin]

Learn to use periods. Holy crap.