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I've been watercooling for many years and have never used anything but dyes and zerex in my loop.
currently I've been reading the forums and see a lot of you guys grabbing PT nuke from petras, but no thread ever really surfaced about this..
Is it really necessary? Do living organisms(hence the word biocide) really grow in water loops? Does it help your tubing from staining?
Only if you use CCL. Aka cold cathodes.
The copper itself is a great antimicrob agent. However, if you give water enough light, somehow algae will get in there and start messing stuff up.
That is why the PT nuke is copper sulfate.
So if you dont use CCL's i dont see the need for the bionuke. If you do, then i highly recomend on you using it.
Also ethyl glycol is another anti microbe agent. So it all comes down on how much light your case has internally.
Yeah. Hense "algae reducer" lol. But seriously, it prevents microbes from living in your loop.
hmm that was quite informative, thanks naekuhQuote:
Originally Posted by NaeKuh
Not necessary but I highly recommend it and it is not as if there will be any adverse drop in performance, you only need to use approximately 2 drops
if you're planning on pitch black tubing and there are no lights of any sort within your case you should be fine though shouldn't you?
My case has no windows, clear tubing with only hydrx and its been running almost 2 years with no sign of algae.
Having said that, try mixing a clear bottle of distilled water and hydrx and leave it out in sunlight or pretty much any sustained light/heat and you end up with algae/bacteria.
If your going to show off your loop with a window, or your case is near a window then your probably going to have problems unless you add some kind of biocide.
The level of problem is also dependent on how contaminated the loop was when it was built, and also how much contamination enters when you refill or disconnect your tubing.
Copper is massively toxic to bacteria and the like. deionised water will contain some as it will dissolve some off your waterblocks (only talking a tiny amount here, but you dont need much). Remember if you use the PT nuke you may need to add a bit more inhibitor as you are deliberately introducing aqueous copper ions into the loop.
Regardless of whether you use CCFL's or not, light in general makes algae/microbes grow in any sort of water. If you used the black Tygon tubing that blocks out all light, you would never have to worry about algae growth because it doesn't have any light to grow in! However, if you introduce any source of light (In our cases (no pun intended), CCFL's are the most common), it's necessary to use a biocide of sorts. I am ordering a bottle from Petra, along with some Pentosin UV Blue to see how it works. Hopefully I won't see green stuff in my blue mix any time soon :D
I have no case window or lights, I run HydrX and I have algae forming in my t-line. What can I do about this? I would have thought coolant would have been enough to prevent algae growth, but I guess not.
If I'm not mistaken, HydrX has ethelyne glycol in it (antifreeze), how much is in there? The concentration might not be strong enough.
If you want to wait a couple days, order some PT Nuke and put in a few drops.
anybody know of any garden variety biocide i could grab at home depot instead of spending 10 bucks on pt nuke?
I mixed it exactly as the bottle advised, 1 container Hydrx to 1 liter distilled water. I think I'll try the PT Nuke.Quote:
Originally Posted by Burn
I wouldn't think that PT Nuke would turn the water any color because of such a small amount, but is there any Pentosin type coolant that comes in clear? I am thinking of switching to watercooling this fall and would like clear liquid to go with a black case and window, is there any Pentosin type stuff that is clear? Sorry to slightly derail.
If you don't want to turn your loop any color, don't use any Pentosin! Or buy Pentosin and use a very small concentration, to the point where you only can see a tint up close. You still need something to prevent corrosion.
Pentosin doesn't prevent corrosion? Or are you saying that Pentosin does?
I think hes saying that such a small amount of pentosin would not prevent corrosion, what are some good clear alternatives?
Pentosin, like any other car coolant, does prevent galvanic corrosion (the only type of corrosion we see internal to watercooling systems). However, like Chewbenator pointed out, such a small concentration of Pentosin in order to maintain a clear loop might not provide enough corrosion inhibitors, in which case a full-on clear solution would be necessary.
just order some primochill pc ice it comes in clear and protects against algae and corrosion also has good lubricaters which are good for the pump
Right, I forgot about Primchill Ice! Yes, there is a clear flavor that you can add that shouldn't require any PT Nuke at all. Nice one :D
Check for it at Frozencpu and possibly Performance-PCs.