Heater breaking in tank ,Need advice

[DEEPWATER]

One of my customers called me this morning saying the heater cracked in the middle of the nite ,,yup that means ,it was in the tank most of the nite ,with the crap in the tank ,,The shrimp she had in the tank died ,and corals not opening ,fish are somewhat ok ,,,i told her to do a water change ..and put in some bags of carbon or chemi-pure ,,anything to do ?

 

[Deanos]

Unplug the heater!!

Dean

p.s. Am I getting a cut of your profits?

 

[herman]

If the water heater contains mercury in the thermostat then youre kinda screwed! Most marinelife can not survive this. If that is the case then she needs to do the following.

Make a 2 tubs with saltwater. Transfer all surviving livestock into one tub and the rock into the other. The lr would be a goner do to the mercury particles being thrown around from the pumps. It settles in the tiny pores and will continue to poison everything.

Try to find out what brand of heater it is. Then call the manufacturer to see what the ingredients are. Chemicure etc will generally not help when it comes to heavy metal poisoning. At the temperatures in our tanks the mercury is liquid.

Generally mercury in the tank would call for a restart of the entire thing. Sad to say. You know what a bit of rust can do to a tank. Mercury is exponentially worse!

 

[DEEPWATER]

Unplug the heater!!

Dean

p.s. Am I getting a cut of your profits?

LOL,,,did that long time ago ,,,,lol ,,,
i mean anything else to do,

 

[DEEPWATER]

If the water heater contains mercury in the thermostat then youre kinda screwed! Most marinelife can not survive this. If that is the case then she needs to do the following.

Make a 2 tubs with saltwater. Transfer all surviving livestock into one tub and the rock into the other. The lr would be a goner do to the mercury particles being thrown around from the pumps. It settles in the tiny pores and will continue to poison everything.

Try to find out what brand of heater it is. Then call the manufacturer to see what the ingredients are. Chemicure etc will generally not help when it comes to heavy metal poisoning. At the temperatures in our tanks the mercury is liquid.

Generally mercury in the tank would call for a restart of the entire thing. Sad to say. You know what a bit of rust can do to a tank. Mercury is exponentially worse!

I was scared of that ,,

 

[herman]

That is why I recommend the titanium heaters only. Still does not cost much and a lot harder to break!

 

[beyondnp]

I know I read somewhere that:

One gram of mercury is enough to contaminate all the fish in a lake with the surface area of 20 acres.

In your old school human thermometer (used to measure fevers, etc.) it contains approx. 0.7 grams, if it came in contact with human beings or wildlife, it negatively affects the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver, consequently hindering one's ability to see, feel, taste and move. Long term exposure to mercury can result in symptoms that get progressively worse with time and lead to personality changes, stupor and a coma.

Before you all look at me as chronically insane for knowing this, i deferred medical school many years ago before I got into advertising!

So Ronin, please make sure you use some caution if your planning on helping your client on this, proper gloves, etc...

 

[DEEPWATER]

I know I read somewhere that:

One gram of mercury is enough to contaminate all the fish in a lake with the surface area of 20 acres.

In your old school human thermometer (used to measure fevers, etc.) it contains approx. 0.7 grams, if it came in contact with human beings or wildlife, it negatively affects the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver, consequently hindering one's ability to see, feel, taste and move. Long term exposure to mercury can result in symptoms that get progressively worse with time and lead to personality changes, stupor and a coma.

Before you all look at me as chronically insane for knowing this, i deferred medical school many years ago before I got into advertising!

So Ronin, please make sure you use some caution if your planning on helping your client on this, proper gloves, etc...

I tols this lady 5 time to buy a titanium heater ,and a digital temp ,,no luck ,,like talking to a wall ,,i did everything in my power to get it in her head ,i cant buy things for my customers with knowing im getting paid for it ,,
sometimes you can talk untill your blue in the face ,yet they wont understand ,,,
i always tel my customers to get the best stuffs ,heaters ,ph monitors ,chiller ,skimmers ,and so on ,,but i can only direct them ,
what do you do if ppl dont listen ,

 

[DEEPWATER]

well im off to work ,then going to check up on her tank ,,s ofar the fish are still alive ,,,,il keep you guys posted ,

 

[DEEPWATER]

So Ronin, please make sure you use some caution if your planning on helping your client on this, proper gloves, etc...

alway do nick ,,as you saw ,i come in look at the tanks ,and right to work ,i dont play games with other ppls tanks ,I want all my customer to have a good healthy tank as i do ,,only could direct them thou ,,what ppl do after i leave is beyond my controll

 

[bad coffee]

I don't thing any aquarium heaters bought in the last 5-10 years would have mercury in them. I bet they're using bi-metal blades to track the temp change. I think mostly from cost, but also from a safety standpoint.

I'd like to think somewhere up in the ranks of Hagen, Ebo, Tronic ect there's someone who would say "if our heater breaks it could kill the whole tank with merc poisoning. THEN They're going to dump it down the toilet and further wreck havoc on the water system. All from a drop of mercury. On second thought, let's just use these 2 metal strips, they cost less, and I don't have to get EPA involved."

I think chemi clean/ poly filters would be fine. I'm sure there's some copper and other metals that would get into the water. But not Mercury.

And doing a water change a couple times this week would help too.

 

[Gmandese]

Did anyone consider the damage to the livestock could have been caused by ELECTRICITY? Some years ago I had a freshwater tank, and some stray lightening surge hit the house, fried the cordless phone, and killed all my fish. about 20 sunnies and pumpkin seeds, and catfish in a 55g.The only thing left alive were the snails. Even some of the plants had curled leaves.
Now, saltwater is HIGHLY conductive compared to fresh, so any crack that allows contaminants out ( By the way, I agree there's no mercury, any heater I've seen had bi-metal strips) would let saltwater in, and voltage out. In that case, a water change won't help. As soon as the voltage was turned off, or hopefully the breaker popped, the water returned to normal. Just a single zap is all you need!

 

[DEEPWATER]

Did anyone consider the damage to the livestock could have been caused by ELECTRICITY? QUOTE]
very good point Gman ,,,didnt even think of that ,duh
so far so good ,,she only lost shrimp ,which i will replace at my cost ,
Ihoping thing will be ok ,,she did a 15 gal water change ,it a 55 gal ,
and another one tomorrow ,I also told her to put 2 bags chemi,pure ,and carbon ,and a poly filter ,Ill go ove tomorrow ,and see how thing are going ,
one thing a can say ,,i wish ppl would consider the cost of this hobby before getting into it ,sometime ppl think i telll them to ge tthe best stuff to make money on them ,but i dont even sell it ,they have to buy from marine depot or someplace like that ,,THIS IS A CLEAR EXAMPLE FOR ALL NEWBIES (and for all you dont have)>>Buy the best stuff now before things go worng ,PLZ :approve: