Algae everywhere

madmatmadmat
edited November 2003 in Hardware
I just took a good look at my Exos and my god, it looks like a science experiment.
I've got some form of hair algae growing in both the reservoir and the waterblock so I need to know, is there a product that I can add to my system to get rid of the offending growth?
I'm running the supplied Koolance coolant so I had figured the ethanol in it would have prevented the growth but I guess I was wrong.:grumble:
Any help would be appreciated
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Comments

  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    A little lime a and Miracle gro will do wonder's :D

    I couldn't resist! ;)
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    Thanks. I'll keep it mind. :P
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited November 2003
    Check with a pet store. I used to be a big tropical fish nut (before I had to move every couple of years) and I know there are products available to kill algae. Since they're designed to not also kill the fish, they should be safe in your system.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    I considered algae destroyer but I am not sure how it'll react to the aluminum heat exchanger.
    I'm an ex-aquarist too so I had thought of that, I'm just afraid of chemical reactions.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited November 2003
    I would empty out all the water in it right now and replace it with a mix of water and bleach, which will kill the hell out of that algae. Let it run like that for a little while and then flush the system well with water and check and see if the green crap is gone. If it is, then replace it with distilled or R.O. water and some water wetter. My watercooled dually has been going for 1 1/2 years with water wetter and distilled with no algae growth.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    I'll try that if I can't avoid it but I don't know how my pumps will like the bleach.
    I'm running distilled water mixed with Koolance coolant so I never expected a growth of any sort. I am not sure where I can get water wetter at.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Algae destroyer will kill the algae, but like you guys said, I don't know what it'll do to the aluminum (I'm not an ex-aquarist; just an aquarist :))

    Bleach will work as well, as that's what I use to clean my tanks.
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited November 2003
    When I was planning on going watercooling, I was going to use denatured alchohol (rubbing alchohol) as my bedroom (in the basment) tends to grow brown mold in anything holding water. The alchohol should run cooler, too.


    @Geeky1:

    You use cleaning solvents in your aquarium outside of what's "Fish approved"? Shame on you!
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    Yeah i was going to say don't use bleach on a tank, it soaks into the sealent, use white vinegar it kills algea and cleand great and is fishy safe.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    I've always been told to use bleach. Never had a problem with it getting into the silicon, for two reasons:

    1. It's diluted to the point where it shouldn't be a problem
    2. The tank is both soaked in and rinsed out with HOT (~140*F) water afterwards; by the time I'm done with it, there's no bleach smell.
  • botheredbothered Manchester UK
    edited November 2003
    But all his fish have blonde hair!
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited November 2003
    BTW madmatt, I'd flush out/clean the tubes/rez/waterblocks out really, really well, along with using something to keep the algae at bay. That stuff would just become a clog hazzard.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Napalm. Works wonders.

    NS
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited November 2003
    NightShade737 had this to say
    Napalm. Works wonders.

    NS

    Heh, jellied gasoline, very toxic, works well at clearing foilage among other things;D
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Take a little bowl of water and put a couple of sprays of tilex in it and then ciculate it through the system and watch the algae disappear. After it's gone use clean water to flush it out. The diluted tilex will not hurt any of components. Another product you can use that is for removing algae is monosodium hydrocloride. It's the same thing that makes laundry detergent hot when you put some in your hand and wet it. You can find it in half gallon paper milklike cartons at the hardware store. Mix a 1/2 teaspoon in a small bowl of water and repeat the flushing process. It will not harm metals, plastics or plants. It works very well for removing mildew and algae from outside of homes and rooftops, without damaging the plantlife or water tables also. :cool:
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    Thanks for the info, I think I'lll have to go get some Tilex today.
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    No prob, Glad I could help madmat. BTW, Love that avi. Stick-em up!
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I was about to come in here and say " send Hawk a PM cause he knows all this " LOL Guess you found it before me!

    @Hawk Do i have to ask you to PLEASE remove that av again! ( me and hawk get into the Buffalo vs dallas convos at work all the time ;D )
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Gnome, Nahh, The cowboys cooked buffalo for dinner around the campfire this yr.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I agree with mud here. Empty it all and run bleech through it for some time. Then use distilled water and Zerex Super Racing coolant. 90%/10% mix.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    I'm going to try taking some of the coolant out and adding some Tilex and see what happens then, from there I might flush it with bleach but as it's an Exos system it's a real pain in the neck to drain it due to the nature of the way the system is setup so I'm not going to do anything until my gpu block gets here because I'm adding a drain fitting to the system when I drain it to install the gpu block.
    Thanks everyone for all your input I really appreciate it. You're a great bunch of guys.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    I'd suggest disassembling the system entirely when you get a chance, and flushing the radiator and waterblocks with some higher pressure/velocity water (garden hose)
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    I really want to avoid pulling my CPU block if I can as the last time I removed a sink (I hadn't got my waterblock when I first built the system as it was back ordered so I used an aircooler to get the system up and running initially) from my CPU it pulled the CPU out of the socket with it and bent 2 entire rows of pins in the process which was a complete bummer straightening out as a couple were almost laid over flat.
    If I can't get the algae to disolve by any other means then I'll end up doing it but I'm kind of concerned that I'll end up killing my CPU if it gets yanked again.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Um, also pool clorine works, as well as bleach, if you do not put Antifreeze type coolant in it at same time. you could flush half pool chlorine and half water through it, then pump it out by adding water to open tank as you go (if need be, make a bucket set on top of case a GRAVITY tank to help with inflow into tank, but put a small shutoof valve on end of hose in tank\resevoir end (comnputr water cooling resevoir). USE the pump if you do not want to disassemble, and drain just the resevoir than flush with clear water to remove excess residue. If real bad, replacing hoses might be easier than pulling cooling blocks. Algaecide can help also if SMALL amounts are used (pool algae killer, three-in-one, lees than an ounce per gallon so buy smallest container you can find-- if this is an aquarium mod, forget this above amount, just slightly add a teaspoon per 10 gallons algaecide).

    Nice thing is, what you add to pools can be added to water cooling systems because the plumbing for pools is mostly plastic also. The thing to watch with auto coolant in clear hose water cooling systems is hose deterioration, car hoses are not mostly vinyl-- they also use a substance high in carbon, aka partially a rubbery content added to mix.

    John.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    There's a trick to taking the P4 heatsinks off without taking the chip with it (I've done that myself several times, so I know all about it...)

    First, start up the computer, and heat up the CPU (run F@H for at least 1/2 an hour). This will make the thermal compound gooey and the heatsink/waterblock will come off more easily. To heat yours up to the point where it makes a difference (>100*F), you'll probably have to disconnect the fans on your radiator or something.

    Regardless, once the the CPU is heated up, and the heatsink/waterblock is as well, shut the system down, and immediately unclip the heatsink/waterblock. DO NOT PULL ON IT. gently twist it until it loosens up a bit, then continue twisting it, but rock the heatsink/waterblock as well.

    You'll feel it loosen up completely, and you'll be able to pull it off without a problem.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Um, I take the foam off first before putting Ceramique on my P4 heatsink builds. 91% Isoprophyl Alchohol removes and leaves the nice metal sublayer that is hyper smooth on the heatsink bottom. Essentially, the vehicle in the heatsink compound and the foam chemically react, forming a nice glue which can be heat liquified as Geeky1 said or simply eliminated in toto by removing the foam first chemically. Your choice, my heatsinks are NOT glued on at all, they simply are clipped on. Arctic Silver was WORSE in this resepect than Ceramique, if you think maybe what I said does not relate to your problem. Heatsink compund REPLACES foam as pad\filler of minor scratches, etc and conducts heat better with NO foam pad. NO heatsink goop, use pad, with thin layer of heatsink goop, use NO pad.

    John.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    There wasn't any foam or pad or glue, it was just good old AS3.
    I'll try the method you suggested Geeky1, Running 3 instances of F@H for a little while get's my chip up to 108 degrees F so I think it should loosen the hold well enough.
    Thanks for the tip.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    np... I've ripped my 2.4 out of my laptop twice now... the first time damn near scared the crap out of me. The second time it was just plain funny.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    ...First, start up the computer, and heat up the CPU (run F@H for at least 1/2 an hour)...
    Good man! I think you've given us an idea for our next Team 93 recruiting drive. :thumbsup::fold:

    Geeky1 had this to say
    np... I've ripped my 2.4 out of my laptop twice now... the first time damn near scared the crap out of me. The second time it was just plain funny.
    You seem to adapt to stress much better than I do. What's your secret? :D
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2003
    Yeah I think I'd really and truly need to change my shorts after ripping my P4 out of it's socket a second time.
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