Refitting watercooling, is this algae a problem?

Saul

Saul

Saul

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Joined
3 Jun 2007
Posts
218
Hi all,

On Friday night as I was sleeping, the hose on my CPU block slipped off completely and gushed over a litre of (thankfully non conductive) coolant onto my graphics card. After hours of cleaning my PCI-e ports with a compressor, it's booting again.

I took this opportunity to move my radiator into the bottom of my case (I have a Silverstone TJ07-B), and get rid of the current hosing. However I noticed that the pipes and reservoir have a bit of algae in them.

SEE THIS IMGUR ALBUM FOR PICTURES.

I am buying new hose when I refit, but I don't want to fork out £50 for a new bay reservoir because of the algae.

Here's what I'm asking:
Is there an easy way to clean the reservoir? Does this indicate there is a lot of algae in my blocks, too? Is this even a problem?

Thanks in advance guys.
 
If you were using blue liquid then that may not be algae but plasticiser and a bad dose of it by the looks.

I could be wrong but how long was that coolant in for because it must have been more than 1 year from the looks of the drop lines in it.

All so what tubing were you using.What were your temps and pull you block apart and can we see some photos please (just out of curiosity).


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The liquid was completely clear, and in for a year. I would link to it, but there's no official page and the rest are competitors.

I would take my CPU block apart, but won't I have to separate it from the CPU first? In which case, will I have to clean all the thermal paste off then reapply it?
 
7/16" ID tubing on 1/2" ID barbs... with jubilee clamps (I know, right?) The clamp mustn't have been on right at ALL, and my CPU does get extremely hot, so I assume it caused the tubing to come loose over 15 months.

The hosing everywhere else was very tight (I needed boiling water to loosen the pipes off).

I'm getting 1/2" ID tubing with spring clamps (ordered yesterday) for the refit.
 
Nothing I've heard off, but was just thinking if there had been an unusual reaction that had caused the impeller to erode.

As mlwood says, can you pop the top of your CPU block off and also the pump if possible for some photos?
 
Jokester said:
Nothing I've heard off, but was just thinking if there had been an unusual reaction that had caused the impeller to erode.

As mlwood says, can you pop the top of your CPU block off and also the pump if possible for some photos?
Click to expand...

I would do, but:

I would take my CPU block apart, but won't I have to separate it from the CPU first? In which case, will I have to clean all the thermal paste off then reapply it?
Click to expand...
 
How would I go about cleaning it Jokester? I don't have any isopropyl or thermal paste hanging around.

Looking through the pipe holes I see absolutely no green/algae.
 
No I didn't flush my rad. Should I have done? I never saw this in the watercooling loop guide :s

(also, pics of my CPU block coming up. Just cleaned it)
 
You should ideally flush your rads with Hot distilled...
Half fill the rad then use two barbs and a length of hose to seal it....than shake like hell
Use gloves as the rad will be hot and be careful when opening up to drain
 
Thanks for the tips guys! Well my CPU block's now been cleaned, too. I think I used too much TIM initially, so this gives me the opportunity to reseat it.

I'll grab some Tesco Value Distilled on my way home tomorrow... I still have some spare hose, too.

Also: how can I be sure that all the residue has washed out when I drain it?
 
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