Home remedy for biocide for short term use?

Titan7171 · 09-28-2009, 01:09 AM

I forgot to order biocide and the last parts of my watercooling is coming tomorrow. Is there anything I could use for the short term to add to the distilled water to prevent any growth?

alacheesu · 09-28-2009, 01:53 AM

You could pick up some biocide from a pet store. I bought a bottle containing copper sulfate pentahydrate (same as used in PT Nuke). I've been running distilled water with a drop of that for a year now. No growth or other problems. Just don't add too much.

Alternatively you can steal some silver jewelry from a loved one and put that in your loop.

Titan7171 · 09-28-2009, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alacheesu

You could pick up some biocide from a pet store. I bought a bottle containing copper sulfate pentahydrate (same as used in PT Nuke). I've been running distilled water with a drop of that for a year now. No growth or other problems. Just don't add too much.

Alternatively you can steal some silver jewelry from a loved one and put that in your loop.

awsome theres a pet store near by

NaeKuh · 09-28-2009, 10:18 AM

2 drops of iodine will do it also.

SoulsCollective · 09-28-2009, 10:28 AM

Bleach. Been using it for years.

You want actual bleach, though, not cleaners that contain bleach, as those will cause your loop to foam up.

NaeKuh · 09-28-2009, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoulsCollective

Bleach. Been using it for years.

You want actual bleach, though, not cleaners that contain bleach, as those will cause your loop to foam up.

that will stain your tubing yellow also.

But yes, chlorine of some form will do it.

Flip_Lx · 09-28-2009, 12:55 PM

antifreeze

millertime359 · 09-28-2009, 01:18 PM

If it is just going to be a week or 2, and you are going to get silver or something other than PT Nuke. You should be able to get away with straight distilled.

If you were wanting to use PT Nuke, then the pet store biocide is same thing.

lesstutrey · 09-28-2009, 02:22 PM

Like Naekuh, i use povidone iodine, a trick i learned from mycology. couple drops last a loops lifetime. Pick it up at your local drugstore next to alcohol and hydrogen peroxide

Otter · 09-28-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flip_Lx

antifreeze

Antifreeze will kill animals with kidneys (like us), but it's not an effective biocide. The reason algae doesn't grow in your car's cooling system is that the coolant gets killing hot every time you drive, and there is no light. And if you're lucky, you can run without a biocide at all, which gives the illusion that antifreeze is killing off the microbes. But I wouldn't rely on it.

BiNGE · 09-28-2009, 02:50 PM

Colloidal Silver water. It's safe to ingest, kills bacteria/algae, and is simply distilled with microscopic silver particles which do not result in sediment. A warning is that it's slightly more conductive than regular distilled water, but it will have no adverse effect on temps. It can be used short or long term. I make my own in my basement next to the rum

Titan7171 · 09-28-2009, 06:15 PM

Thanks for all the replies lots of ideas... I got iodine and clorox bleach here now .....

Johnmark · 09-29-2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan7171

Thanks for all the replies lots of ideas... I got iodine and clorox bleach here now .....

I hope you used the idodine!
If you used bleach (I wouldn't) check the ph of your loop. If it's over 8 get it out of your loop before you damage the metal.

Titan7171 · 09-29-2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnmark

I hope you used the idodine!
If you used bleach (I wouldn't) check the ph of your loop. If it's over 8 get it out of your loop before you damage the metal.

you see this is the type of info that helps people....lucky I didnt run and put the bleach in.

Johnmark · 09-29-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan7171

you see this is the type of info that helps people....lucky I didnt run and put the bleach in.

Thanks.
One thing I've noticed with computer water cooling enthusiasts is that they are into computers and have limited knowledge about water chemistry.
Did you guys realize that water chemistry is a engineering disciple of it's own? Yup guys go to school for many years just to understand how water behaves under various conditions.
I'm fortunate to be working in the Petrochemcial industry (for MANY years) where we see all kinds of problems with various water systems. Closed loop and otherwise. And we still see surprises that cause the experts to scratch their heads then head off to the Labs using sophisticated analysis to figure out what is happening. In a large plant millions of $$ damage can occur within a few hours of a water excursion. And we don't always's know what caused it, this is with several experts working on the problem!

One common misconception I see here frequently is that algae will not grow unless it has light. WRONG, it will grow just fine, even when using distilled water!
Anyway that my two bits worth

Titan7171 · 09-29-2009, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnmark

Thanks.
One thing I've noticed with computer water cooling enthusiasts is that they are into computers and have limited knowledge about water chemistry.
Did you guys realize that water chemistry is a engineering disciple of it's own? Yup guys go to school for many years just to understand how water behaves under various conditions.
I'm fortunate to be working in the Petrochemcial industry (for MANY years) where we see all kinds of problems with various water systems. Closed loop and otherwise. And we still see surprises that cause the experts to scratch their heads then head off to the Labs using sophisticated analysis to figure out what is happening. In a large plant millions of $$ damage can occur within a few hours of a water excursion. And we don't always's know what caused it, this is with several experts working on the problem!

One common misconception I see here frequently is that algae will not grow unless it has light. WRONG, it will grow just fine, even when using distilled water!
Anyway that my two bits worth

Thats awsome, so can I use just the iodine or should I go and buy the biocide?

Johnmark · 09-29-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan7171

Thats awsome, so can I use just the iodine or should I go and buy the biocide?

Personally I'd buy the biocide (Copper Sulfate) and mix 2 drops into 1 liter of water. That will give you about 1 ppm of of Copper Sulfate in solution, which will kill most bugs.
I don't know how much Iodine is needed to kill bugs and have never heard of it used in a water loop. Not to say it can't be, just not used in industry.

NaeKuh · 09-29-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnmark

One common misconception I see here frequently is that algae will not grow unless it has light. WRONG, it will grow just fine, even when using distilled water!
Anyway that my two bits worth

thats called cyanbacteria ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria
its not really an algae... And it can grow in almost no light...

Real Algae needs light to grow. Otherwise no photosynthesis, which means no growth.

Which is also why it never grows in black tubing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titan7171

Thats awsome, so can I use just the iodine or should I go and buy the biocide?

Use 2 drops for now... and then try to add silver as soon as possible.

http://www.petrastechshop.com/sikibyia.html
OR
http://www.jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Tr...1-pr-4397.html

BiNGE · 09-29-2009, 05:37 PM

NaeKuh is right about the silver and algae not being able to grow in light. I don't like those kill coils or fittings because of the silver oxidizing. It completely ruins the anti-microbial properties of the silver once it starts to form a hearty tarnish.

Computurd · 09-29-2009, 09:44 PM

Mouthwash

NaeKuh · 09-29-2009, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Computurd

Mouthwash

has alcohol.

Need we remind u what alcohol does to acrylic?

Computurd · 09-29-2009, 10:00 PM

not in a concentrated form. One teaspoon per gallon of distilled water is something i have seen around...
should have been more clear i guess

NaeKuh · 09-29-2009, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Computurd

not in a concentrated form. One teaspoon per gallon of distilled water is something i have heard around...
should have been more clear i guess

really?

because this is new to me...

Well alcohol ends up drying the acrylic...

I can understand while in solution but what happens after u drain?

The acrylic will dry out from the alcohol and the result is a crack, or many many micro cracks which look very ugly.

Are you sure its okey in mouthwash? because the alcohol concentration is 20% in most mouth washes.