AHH what do i do!!!

saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
maybe i am over-reacting, maybe im not!
last night the timer on my 35g hex was switched to ON mode instead of timer, so i went to go check the temp and the damn floating thermometer was caught in annoying spot i couldnt get to, so i lightly used a toothbrush to get it untrapped, and all of a sudden i see the bottom of the thing break!!
it still took me a few minutes to get it out, but in the mean time i lost about 4-6 of those little metal pellets into my tank!!!

these things are so small i cant even see them - but now i am afraid i just dosed my tank with metal of some form with no way to get it out!?!
the red rising fluid did not break or leak. any suggestions?!?!
 
xdave

xdave

Active Member
Don't know what the make them out of now, but they used to always be lead. I'd really try to find them.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
i thought they used to be mercury ? maybe i will do a small water change and try to vaccuum the top of the rocks and maybe get a few of them ?
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
i believe only old thermos are mercury and they changed to something else - lead ? - after people were getting poisoned by them...
problem is , that only 5-6 of the pellets came out. they are almost impossible to see where they are / where they went , maybe a general syphon cleaning would get some of them though....
 
saltyvt

saltyvt

Member
They used mercury in the glass tube it's self, the red stuff. The metal balls just help tranfer the temp faster to the "mercury" so it will read better and faster. Don't think they would use lead though. Maybe just metal bearings, don't see what lead would do over steel or what ever it could be? Mercury is a liquid metal anyways not solid.......
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
right, but i have seen mercury and it is liquid , but looks like melted silver, not translucent red. thats why old thermometers were metallic on the inside, not red.
 
saltyvt

saltyvt

Member
IMO I wouldn't worry about it, but thats just me.......you could try and contact the manufacturer and find out what those bearings are made of. I have the same kind of thermometers in my tanks, they would be almost impossible to find in the sand.....If it is a Topfin prduct it does not contain any mercury so no worries about that.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
yea but even if they are steel ball bearings, the metal would leach into the water, potentially killing Inverts, LR, LS...
 
S

saltfreak4

Guest
Originally Posted by saltn00b
i thought they used to be mercury ? maybe i will do a small water change and try to vaccuum the top of the rocks and maybe get a few of them ?
the little weights at the end use to be lead, the stuff inside the thermometer used to be mercury. It's the little lead balls that came out.
 
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saltfreak4

Guest
Originally Posted by saltn00b
i thought they used to be mercury ? maybe i will do a small water change and try to vaccuum the top of the rocks and maybe get a few of them ?
the little weights at the end use to be lead, the stuff inside the thermometer used to be mercury. Now it's colored alcohol. It's the little lead balls that came out. Phew, the lead balls are in the thermometer so it floats upright and down into the water.
 
I

ironhead

Guest
I don't know if there lead or what but see if the other ball are magnetic if so
run a magnet over sand
hope this helps
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
I had one break and drop those metal balls into my 75 gal reef afew yrs ago and i know I didn't get all the balls out. I tested for several types of metals in my water, and nothing showed, so I would say you are ok. If you have one of those magnet thingys on a long stick, they use them in auto shops to take dropped screws and such out of hard to reach places, and run it over your rocks and sand bed if it makes you feel better.
 
saltn00b

saltn00b

Active Member
well thats a relief puffer! i will try the magnet thing , but i dont think lead is magnetic?? worth a shot tho
 
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saltfreak4

Guest
Originally Posted by shogun323
This thread inspired me to go out and by a digital thermometer last night. Best of luck saltn00b!!
 
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saltfreak4

Guest
Originally Posted by saltn00b
well thats a relief puffer! i will try the magnet thing , but i dont think lead is magnetic?? worth a shot tho
I am pretty sure they are stainless steel and the magnet will work. GL
 
hatessushi

hatessushi

Active Member
The balls are lead and the red liquid is alchohol and not mercury (aka;quicksilver a liquid chrome looking metal we used to play with as children before anyone knew it was dangerous)
IMO - these thermometers should not be sold since the way they are made is cheap, with easily breakable glass and toxic enough ingedrients to kill fish.
 
saltyvt

saltyvt

Member
they are really flimsey, just like those damn glass hydrometers I keep breaking........ hopefully the stainless steel is cheap stuff the really good stainless isn't very magnetic......
 
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