How do you keep your water CLEAR?

[Trice]

Is it at all possible? I mean geez all I want is ice clear water. lol

[Bail_w]

just use plain distlled water?

[coyotetu]

a properly cleaned loop, using the right, preferably NO additives (all copper/non corrosive metal loops), distilled/deionized water, etc. relatively simple.

[Trice]

I'm using distilled, soaked and flushed it big time but it seems as though Im getting a slight white milky film already.

In any case I dont now what it is, I have nothing but copper in my loop. weird.

[<Wouter>]

I also got that white stuff on my hoses. I'm using tap water so i'm not really surprised. I bet cleaning them will be difficult though.

[Viktor]

Cleaning them is impossible, I've cleaned my radiator for more than 3 days, and it still isn't clean. I've rebuilt my loop 2 times and I still get the slightly milky color in the tubing, so this time I'm gonna do it thoroughly.

[Smalltimer]

Cleaning them is impossible, I've cleaned my radiator for more than 3 days, and it still isn't clean. I've rebuilt my loop 2 times and I still get the slightly milky color in the tubing, so this time I'm gonna do it thoroughly.
This has been covered, there are products that work very well to clean your loop from film and other forms of alge. Do a search in the forums for Scrubbing Bubbles

[ak_47_boy]

Just add a teaspoon of copper sulfate to your water and nothing with grow in it.

[Trice]

This has been covered, there are products that work very well to clean your loop from film and other forms of alge. Do a search in the forums for Scrubbing Bubbles


I bought some, looks like a foaming action sort of thing, how exactly do you apply it?

[dietwaterrr]

I bought some, looks like a foaming action sort of thing, how exactly do you apply it?

dude... he said do a search. Why dont you try searching "Scrubbing Bubbles". Only two post comes up when you search that. Yours and the other one.

[Trice]

Editedtetreeeeeeeeed

hi

[dietwaterrr]

"scrubbing bubbles worked AMAZING

Not only does my res look literally better than new, it cleaned out the tubing to be crystal clear. Just sprayed about .5in layer of it on the bottom of res, put a few ounces of water in, and shook the res for about a minute straight. It literally looks perfect now, even got rid of the waterline stain.

Flushed the res with water and then distilled then re-installed in loop and it looks beautiful.

Just to see how powerful it really is, I tried it on 3 year old tubing that had been stained when I was a noob and used an entire bottle of dye in the loop....made it look like brand new. This stuff is serious, doesn't harm plastic, and is great for places where you can't reach yourself because of the "scrubbing action" of it.

http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pict...d/bdra3451.jpg"

[Trice]

Ok fine you win :D

Although not sure how he could see if its .5 in inside the rad?

[Viktor]

This has been covered, there are products that work very well to clean your loop from film and other forms of alge. Do a search in the forums for Scrubbing Bubbles
Since I live in Sweden I doubt that I'm gonna find that stuff here, unfortunaly.

[SaFrOuT]

same problem here in Egypt

maybe we can try using DishWasher's Soap ???

[Trice]

This is after less than a week.

http://www.dmp-racing.com/king/tube.jpg

Oh and I added a CAP of Zerex and the whole loop instantly clouded up! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS


Good thing in a week or so I will be getting new barbs.

[Viktor]

Looks exactly like my tubing did. Also, I added Zerex and the same thing happened, though I've read that the foam goes away after a few minutes.

Hopefully, my loop will be alright this time, otherwise I think I'll switch back to good ol' aircooling.

[Radical_53]

I had the same smoky white staining with Zerex :( Maybe because the rad wasn't cleaned enough?

[Viktor]

I had the same smoky white staining with Zerex :( Maybe because the rad wasn't cleaned enough?
Yes, almost shure it was because of not cleaning the rad properly.
Though cleaning the rad properly seams to me like a really hard process. I've flushed mine with vinegar numerous times, distilled water etc etc and its still small particles and slightly miscolored when i pour water/vinegar from the rad.

[<Wouter>]

I also used zerex in my loop the first time. :S.

[Trice]

Yes, almost shure it was because of not cleaning the rad properly.
Though cleaning the rad properly seams to me like a really hard process. I've flushed mine with vinegar numerous times, distilled water etc etc and its still small particles and slightly miscolored when i pour water/vinegar from the rad.

I just used some Scrubbing Bubbles on the rad Im selling and wow. I filled it up with vinegar for HOURS, flushed it MANY times, and after I put this stuff in, I got a bunch of blue/green color coming out.

I think vinegar sucks. lol

Good for the new rad, but sucks that my new rad is doin the same. Scrubbing Bubbles to its face when I have to redo it here in a week.

[epion2985]

if you want it clean use distilled water cut with ethanol alcohol, that will hold off the growth and keep it sterile.

[Trice]

Isnt that like fuel?

[epion2985]

Isnt that like fuel?


...no, its like what you drink when you want to get drunk.

You can use it as fuel if you wanted to, it would have to be pure in that case, not cut with water, some contries in south americal have switched over from gasoline to ethanol completly.

You shouldnt be any more worried about it then your beer.

[Trice]

Ok, well I dont drink ;)

[Trice]

Umm would you want a flammable liquid near heat?

[Viktor]

You know there is a edit button...
Besides, its not dangerous at all, what kind of stuff do you use in your car for example, gasoline and the car gets very hot too and it works fine. :)

[epion2985]

Umm would you want a flammable liquid near heat?

Um would you want beer next to your monitor? it just might explode and take out the whole country... oh wait beer doesnt do that... I said Cut with water not pure ethanol, as you lower the % in your mix the flash point goes down, but regurdless you tell that to all the people drinking vodka etc in front of their computers which is almost 50% by volume, ohz nozes...... :rolleyes:

My chiller in the upgrade works right now is on pretty much 60/40 distilled water/methanol alcohol.

[Trice]

Thanks smartasses.

[epion2985]

you are welcome

[ReD.SkY]

lol... so, did the scrubbing bubble actually work?

[Trice]

Yes it took out something out of the previously "clean" rad I am selling.

[tw33ter]

has anyone tried anything like easy off oven cleaner? or would that be too harsh?

[ReD.SkY]

yes way too harsh...

[Shpoon]

Oven cleaner has a pH of like...13+ lol

[delas52]

How exactly do you clean the rad with Scrubbing Bubbles?

[ReD.SkY]

squirt it into the water you put into it... or just spray it in and then wash it in with water

duh

[delas52]

jeez you jerk ;)

[jaguarking11]

Ok, well I dont drink ;)

I think its time you started. Never to early to learn a new trick or habit....LOL

This thread kinda makes me chuckle. I can imagine a person geting drunk off their watercoooling loop and frying cpu/gpu and chipset. :banana:

[ReD.SkY]

oh no... thats what maxxx is doing... using his rad to cool down the hot beer that is tube fed into his mouth

all power by an RD-30 :D

[tw33ter]

:woot: ewwww... flat beer :woot:

[Viktor]

I'm going to go to the store to day to see if I can pickup a substitute to Scrubbing Bubbles like some other bathroom cleaner.

[Kallenator]

I'm going to go to the store to day to see if I can pickup a substitute to Scrubbing Bubbles like some other bathroom cleaner.

Could you please take a picture of what the bottle contains? so I can find similar in Norway. :)

[KaptCrunch]

"scrubbing bubbles worked AMAZING

http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pict...d/bdra3451.jpg"

correct link for scrubbing bubbles (http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pages/item-dra94308ct.html)

[eXa]

si ifra hvis du finner noe!

(tell me if you find something)

[Viktor]

si ifra hvis du finner noe!

(tell me if you find something)
Tihi förstod det första faktiskt. :)
Anyways I didn't find anything like Scrubbing Bubbles, but the search continues. :)

[Kallenator]

There thanks for link, I could have just searched in the begining :slap:
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=4003008

Its pretty harsh soap ^^

Jeg tenkte og poste det på hw hvis jeg fant noe som virkelig var noe og som en fikk tak i i Norge.
Er i Frankrike nå kommer hjem til lørdagen, men jeg skal sjekke om de har det her.

[Viktor]

Well I think I'm done cleaning my rad, I've done it so many times I lost count, still really really small white particles in the water but what the heck.

[delas52]

Well I think I'm done cleaning my rad, I've done it so many times I lost count, still really really small white particles in the water but what the heck.

Meh, that is what I did when my rad wouldn't come clean aftwer many days of sticky guide cleaning, a cloudy loop, and then many more days of sticky cleaning. Next time I will use scrubbing bubbles though.

[Viktor]

Meh, that is what I did when my rad wouldn't come clean aftwer many days of sticky guide cleaning, a cloudy loop, and then many more days of sticky cleaning. Next time I will use scrubbing bubbles though.
Scrubbing Bubbles is impossible to find here in Sweden and I've been looking for a substitute but that too seems impossible to find.
So I think I'm cursed with milky tubing for the rest of my life.

[eXa]

hva med plumbo? finnes jo både kopper rør og pvc og man kan jo bruke plimbo i det!?

Is there "plumbo" in the states?

[Kallenator]

Sounds scary using plumbo, but you are more than welcome to try ;)

When I clean the tubes in my watercooling I use a plastic cable and thin women stockings.(You know those thin cant remember the English name)
After that I hold my finger in one en of the cable and then I fill it up with Alcohol, to really clean it. (Løsningsmiddel :p husker ikke hva det er på engelsk)

[a5h]

just the thread im looking for ... my loop hasnt been cleaned in a year hehe ...looks v bad now.
is it safe to just empty my loop and pour vinegar in the loop and let it pump the vinegar around ...im to lazy to unhook all the barbs etc.

[Viktor]

I'm wondering if maybe this will do, or will it hurt the rad?
http://www.neosyntheticoil.com/cleaner.htm

[Kallenator]

Application

Follow these easy steps.

Simply drain your cooling system and flush your radiator to remove as much dirt and grime as possible. Refill with one pint (16 fluid oz.) of NEO Radiator Cleaner for each 3 gallons water cooling system capacity. Start the computer and pump and let it run for one to one-and-one- half hours on load. Drain and flush with clean water. You may have to do this more than once, depending on condition of radiator. Then refill with destilled water and whatever else you use for keeping algee away.

A little modded :rolleyes:

This is the kind of stuff I am looking for to clean my own rad, I bet its worth a go.

[ReD.SkY]

hmmm not sure for that one.. as its made for rads,,, but i personally wouldnt use it

[Viktor]

I looked around a bit more and found this:
http://www.alphacool.de/xt/product_info.php/products_id/1189/cPath/5_54_57/water-additives/cleaning-agent-sysclean-hpd-50ml:.html
I don't see why it shouldn't work...

[Yoad]

Alright, people I Have to ask... all this 'dirty' water and dirty rads and stuff, do you use plain regular water or some anti-freeze special coolant liquid?

I'm a noob at this stuff, and i'm considering water cooling and I wanna know what im facing at, cause i'm going to buy a special anti-freeze anti crest coolant if i do buy a w/c kit, would that give me such troubles too?!

-Jo.

[delas52]

Read the sticky. If you are not running mixed metals you are pretty safe going with pure distilled/de-ionized water. However if you have some alu in your loop it would be wise to use a little zerex.

[MikalCarbine]

I went to Lowe's and picked up some of that Scrubbing Bubbles stuff, I am going to give it a go today, my loop is in horribly clouded. I'll post how it goes

[a5h]

i also cant find scrubbing bubbles here ...
still no one found an altenative chemical thats available worldwide? since now i read vinegar dont take away stains ...

[snowwie]

I used smooth-bore high purity tygon tubing and distilled water for 6 months...no film on tubing (still crystal clear) like on r3603 tygon. my res (tubberware), however developed the film.

[MikalCarbine]

Just used the scrubbing bubbles to clean my tubes (which were in worse shape compared to the one shown on post #16) and it worked wonders. The only problem is that I can't get that cleaner smell off of them :o I am soaking them in some hot water right now with hopes some of the smell will get off. Trice, does your rad smell like that cleaner now?


Edit:

This is safe to use on the plastic peices of a storm correct? My Zerex did a job gunking up the jets and water with a toothbrush isn't getting it off that swell

[scwam]

figure out the shipping costs via UPS from America: Jacksonville, FL zip code 32233 and paypal me for the shipping cost and product and I'll send it to you. It's about $5-$6 for 16oz of it.

[Warp]

Yes, SC(w)AM, I'll prolly do that... NOT!!! ;)

[qdemn7]

You people slay me. :rolleyes: You can tell you have never cleaned a bathroom. :rofl: Scrubbing Bubble is ONLY the best stuff in the world for removing soap scum, and anything else in cleaning the necessary room.

[Kunaak]

we sell those scrubbing bubbles at costco in a 3 or 4 pack, for about 12 dollars. I stock them almost everyday.
I was suprised to see some online prices for those, were over 20 dollars for a single can...

when it comes to cleaning tubing, I like to take a big pot, boil some water, and just leave the tubing in that for about 10 minutes.
boiling the tubing kills algea, and then makes it alot less likely to come back if you use some cleaner on it.

I've had the same vinyl tubing for about 2 years now, and cleaned it about once every 6 months.

besides that, I use Dangerden MCT-5.
it's expensive I guess, but the water looks the same today, as it did when I got it almost a year ago. good sealed system, good cleaning when changing parts, and fresh water each time you change parts.
thats what I learned over the years with watercooling parts.

leaving the radiator in boiling water, and barbs too is a good idea if you can.
luckily, I have pots around here big enough to strip meat off deer, so cleaning a little tripple rad, is no problem ;)

[MikalCarbine]

I bought my can at Home Depot for about $2.30 USD

[Marci]

I used smooth-bore high purity tygon tubing and distilled water for 6 months...no film on tubing (still crystal clear) like on r3603 tygon. my res (tubberware), however developed the film.

Aha... someone touching on the main problem for a lot of folks... Half the problem with tubes clouding up is the choice of tubing more than the coolant in a lot of cases. Some tubing is more porous than others, and it is the more porous tubing that stains / acquires film more easily.

[Torin]

Yep, the real cheap stuff... clearflex and the like will often be a lot less resiliant to developing some kind of film or stain. Tygon and silicon tubing will not, in a lot of the same situations.

[dietwaterrr]

Yep, the real cheap stuff... clearflex and the like will often be a lot less resiliant to developing some kind of film or stain. Tygon and silicon tubing will not, in a lot of the same situations.
is masterkleer in the middle of clearflex and tygon in terms of staining? ive never used anything else but masterkleer and its never turned cloudy. plus masterkleer is cheap =D

[Viktor]

Yep, the real cheap stuff... clearflex and the like will often be a lot less resiliant to developing some kind of film or stain. Tygon and silicon tubing will not, in a lot of the same situations.
Just bought 4meters of clearflex tubing... :(
Though the last time I used tygon tubing and that clouded too.

[Marci]

Tygon r3603 and Clearflex will both stain equally... Masterkleer is standing the test of time at the moment for me personally, lasting longer than either of the above without clouding... but no major conclusive evidence as of yet... Need a plastics expert to advise on what the least porous transparent tubing material is, and whether it's suitable for our application... (bend radius, resistance to kinking and the like)

[JoeBar]

Masterkleer? Hmm...
What about bend ratio and kinking compared to a tygon 7/16"?

[scwam]

Yes, SC(w)AM, I'll prolly do that... NOT!!! ;)

Whatever dude! Who was talking to you anyway?

I've used vinyl tubing for years in chemistry for refluxing reactions thru chilled water baths and it ALWAYS turned cloudy . It would always turn cloudy after a month or several uses. First I thought it was possibly the fumes managing to get into the water bath. But always ended up doing this even when the water bath was isolated from the reaction fumes. I never used tygon tubing but I do know it's has the best chemical resistance (this may or may not include clouding) but tygon that i've seen has never been clear either. I've got more masklateer tubing that has again turned cloudy just with ethylene glycol and deionized water.
I just looked at the ingredients of that Scrubbing Bubbles, I though it used to have sodium hydroxide in it but It's EDTA (eethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) which is the active ingredient cleaning the radiator. It's a chelating agent used for removing metal salts from solutions, works really well for copper. When I used it it was a powder mixed in certain ratios with DH20. We would use in for cleaning up a solvent that contained the chemical we wanted to purify, esp removing metals. It was fairly mildly caustic, ph 9-11 and IIRC it required a lot of water washes to get rid of any residual amounts left. If you use this stuff make sure you remove all of it as any residual left could affect copper water blocks.

[BWR]

What kind of iodine should I use to keep bacteria/algae/other nasties out? Should/can/could I use a different product like dishwashing soap to keep the tubes clear/clean?

[BWR]

bump

[SiGfever]

What kind of iodine should I use to keep bacteria/algae/other nasties out? Should/can/could I use a different product like dishwashing soap to keep the tubes clear/clean?

http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=302247&navAction=jump&navCount=0&id=prod385321

I use:

99.?% distilled water
1 oz antifreeze
4-5 drops of the Iodine listed above

[thunderstruck!]

That must make a very odd color liquid.

[scwam]

"Nonoxynol-9" !! That's a spermacide!

[Got Chow]

"Nonoxynol-9" !! That's a spermacide!
Hey, I guess he's just playing it safe. :D

[ghent915]

If you NEED spermacide in your loop...you've got issues.
'Nuff said.

Anyways: Another compound to try is Silver Azide. We use it in my lab (IIRC, need to double check it) to kill nasties in all out water baths. Copper Sulfate will work well too;. Both will give you that spiffy, clear, color you are looking for.

Also, recent Mercedes cars use clear anti-freeze. Some of that in your loop would also make sure that nothing is growing. Dunno about cost and whatnot though.

-Ghent