seachem prime

Hi. In light of the other thread, can you please provide more info on the nature of your question? Did any mercury-laden lamps break into your tank? Mercury in tap water or from another source? Please be specific.













**Please refrain from any other conversations from the previous thread being made in this one. Any posts that pertain to the other thread, except in direct response to the OP's question, will be immediately removed.

If the hydrometer actually does contain mercury (as opposed to alcohol), as a good countermeasure, Kent Marine's Toxic Metal Sponge is a good start. It has some capacity and affinity for various metals, including mercury, that have complexed with organics. Some extra carbon won't hurt either. None of these products will be an issue, either. You can also do extra water changes to dilute any mercury in solution.

Do you have to report that occurence to the county toxic waste department?

Technically, yes, when you dispose of it.. But chances are that the hydrometer doesn't have mercury, as most hobbyist models feature an alcohol instead. Some may have precision or lab models that will have mercury. If you do decide to report it, it can get costly, however. It is the right thing to do, though.

Amph is right.. but Nooooooo.. read a story about a lady that broke a CFL bulb screwing it in, called Poison Control because it was in her newborn babies room and the packaging the bulb came in said to do that in case of breakage, they in turn called the EPA, who came out, said Mercury was 1000x higher on the spot on the carpet the bulb landed on, and they ripped out all the carpet and also gave her a $7000 bill for cleanup, all from a 99cent spiral CFL bulb.

Can someone explain this "Mercury/Hydrometer" thing to me? I have only heard of and seen the swing arm type hydrometers. Are we talking about a Refractometer? I have no idea what is inside those.

The floating kind. They are more common in labs, though.

edit: Wait. I feel stupid. There is NO mercury in hydrometers. They are air-filled and weighted with iron. This is one for my supreme fail list. How on earth I managed to not think that much, I don't know.

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no, it shouldnt be on your fail list, some do have a built in thermometer, they may contain mercury, my dad does water treatment for work, and i have access to those types of hydrometers if i ever decide to go with saltwater. very accurate setups!