Cleaning old watercooling-equipment

[ShadowXP]

Was given some watercooling-equipment from a friend yesterday, and when checking the gear out, it's pretty obvious that it needs a thorough cleaning. Both of the two water-tanks I got had algae in them (one of them was starting to exhibit signs of intelligent life and the beginning of a civilization), and there was some corrosion on two of the four blocks I recieved. Also got a Black Ice II and Black Ice III Extreme-rads, plus a single Thermaltake (probably from the Bigwater-set) that I would assume could use a thorough rinse.

Now, the question™ that I hope that the resident Guru's can shed some light on: What's the best way to clean things (detergents/Algae-killers etc)? I know that soap is a bad idea due to residue (plus the fact that I don't really think it'll have the genocidal effect on the algae that I want it to have). All the old piping will be dismantled and thrown away, and one of the tanks and all but one of the copper waterblocks will be taken apart and cleaned individually, plus that everything will be thoroughly rinsed with distilled water after cleaning, then dried before reassembly. Plan on polishing the waterblocks if I can find a way to to it without introducing contaminants.

Any tips?

[calvary1980]

for the water block if it's slightly corroded ketchup and a brissel will do. if it's badly corroded submerge them in water, lemon juice and salt for a couple of hours. for the tubing any biocide and distilled water solution will do.

- Christine

[ShadowXP]

Thanks =) Will try that =)

[calvary1980]

your welcome. :)

- Christine

[ShadowXP]

Little update: After picking apart the waterblocks, I've found that it's not corrosion that is the problem. It's mold and algae, and the same was found in large quantities inside both the BlackIce II and III, plus the 120x120mm Thermaltake-radiator. One of the watertanks had, as posted earlier, developed it's own civilization and religious system. So, I tried different approaches in order to clean things.

Tried various forms of biocide that I had, but none of them worked all that well (not even a corrosive liquid that's used to kill mold). I could go to the step of using chlorine or one other type of strong detergents, but was afraid to damage the copper/plastic. My eyes fell on a bottle that probably will make people think that I'm insane and/or rather stupid (and I'm both :D): Jif WC Cleaner, Ocean Fresh-scented.

The watertank was the first thing to get dose of undiluted cleaner. I let it sit for a few minutes, then poured it out through the hose-openings. The goo that came out looked like black snot, pretty much. A good dose of 85c hot water helped things nicely. Mixed up a good dose of cleaner with very hot water again, then had the pleasure of watching the algae-civilization getting eaten by the cleaner. After the last traces of algae was completely disappeared, the tank was first rinsed 5 times in hot water, then rinsed completely 9 times with distilled water and left to dry overnight. No damage seen to the plastic in the tank, no traces left of any contaminants. Gave it another rinse in distilled water just for the hell of it. Will post some pics of the procedure and results when I get home from work later.

Today's task will be to clean the two disassembled waterblocks in the mix that Calvary1980 mentioned and, if needed, a dose of WC-cleaner to get rid of the algae (might not do this, as I'm unsure of how it will react to the copper). The bases will be polished with a Dremel with a soft polishpad, and if needed lapped to get rid of any nicks or grooves. The Aqua Brazing-waterblock will be left in it's own bath to clean properly, then rinsed and blown through with compressed air to get the last of the contaminants out.

Lastly, some questions. I bought a Laing DDC-1T-pump, but recieved an Asetek WaterChill Xtreme-pump/Reservoir when I got the other parts. Which one is considered the best one, and is it possible to get hold of or make the USB-cable that fits the Asetek-pump?

[ShadowXP]

Here's some images of the Thermaltake Aquabay watertank before and under the algae-genocide.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Fjordmonkey/IMG_1531.jpg
Algae Civilization soon complete

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Fjordmonkey/IMG_1532.jpg
I can hear them chanting...

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Fjordmonkey/IMG_1533.jpg
Algae and cleaner-snot

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Fjordmonkey/IMG_1547.jpg
If you listen real close, you can hear them screaming.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Fjordmonkey/IMG_1564.jpg
Chemical genocide of Algae almost complete.

[aspire]

OMG that is absolutely disgusting.

That would be headed straight into the garbage if it was in my house.

[OzzmanFloyd120]

Wow... how did your friend ever let it get that bad in the first place? There's no way that could have been doing a good job cooling his system.

[ShadowXP]

Absolutely no idea, as he said that he only used distilled water mixed with Zalman ZM-G200, but I suspect there's no way you'll have algae-growth like that in such a mix. I suspect that he's used regular tapwater mixed with ZM-G200 instead, if that. Found a lot of residue ZM-G200 in one of the radiators and one of the flow-indicators.

The tank looks clean after the cleaning, and I plan on giving it another good rinse with cleaner before rinsing it with distilled water before putting it into use in my better half's computer. Need to look at it, though, as the pipe-diameter is small (1/4", I think). Not sure how to branch that out to 3/8" without loosing a lot of flow-efficiency.

[echo75]

Go to your local pet shop or pet supplies depot and get some aquarium algae control drops. That stuff is soo strong that its usually a few drops to keep a whole fish tank free of algae, thats what i use in my water cooling rig. 75% deionised water (from the tank station) +25 % radiator antirust/antifreeze (also from tanks station) and 4 drops of Aquarium antialgae. No problems til now.

[ShadowXP]

Plan on using Feser F1 when I reassemble the liquid-cooling system on my Kandalf. Ran with the stuff that came with the case before, but since it's both toxic and conductive, I don't trust it :P Besides, I don't trust my own measuring-skills when it comes to liquids like these.

[intel igent]

i would use some CLR to clean the insides of the rads and distilled with a biocide for coolant.

for the block ketchup & a brush (as calvary1980 suggested) works great

lemon juice & salt soak is a NO-NO IIRC