new install problems

Yes so my first time doing water cooling I decided against getting a kit and ordered all the piece individually i wanted
I got a CSP Magnum pump, Thermaltake Aquabay M1, Black Ice Radiator, and a Zalman CPU and GPU cooler.

The way I have it hooked up is Pump > Aquabay > CPU > GPU > Radiotor > back to pump. I am having a horrible time filling it and getting all the air out. I thought I had filled the lines enough and so I turned it on and all sorts of air showed up in the lines and it not flowing at all . What am I doing wrong ?
Please help ! Thank you.


PS God I feel like such a newbie.

got any pictures at all / more info ?
thought id ask before anyone else did

i'm a noob too but why don't u switch the loop to pump>cpu>gpu>radiator>res>pump?

I think it makes it easier for the pump if the water is located right b4 the pump. iono just a guess.

if there still isn't any signs of water flow why not turn the case over on its side and let gravity work its magic? iono it worked for my friend b4

One of the few instances where component order matters to me is res before pump. Reconfigure so that the aquabay feeds into the pump. This will make it much easier to fill and bleed.

Choose the path with the least amount of hozing. The res before the pump is optimal also.

If you have the res before the pump and the res is full the pump will suck only water in, no air, your going to kill your pump if you try and bleed your current setup.

ok the tank before the pump does make more sense so i will definitely make that change

My main problem is how to fill and bleed. Really no clue or instructions on either.
The Thermaltake Aquabay M1 I got because it combines their Water Tank and Flow indicator. But it came with no directions on filling or bleeding.

This has turned out to be a headache but hey at least I'm learning.

That's because the aquabay isn't a resevior, it's a fill indicator, it lets you know the level of water you have in the system, you need to buy a t-line or a an actual resevior to be able to fill and bleed the system.

Yeah I just looked at it and when you have the loop completely assembled there is no way to fill the system with any type of liquid, so you need to buy a t-line or resevior, and that flow indicator isn't really a good feature, because if you had a drive bay resevior then you could tell its flowing by the churning of the water, I would say sell the aquabay and look at this http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=53&cat=27&page=1

Done !

Home Depot is great !

Went to Home Depot and got a T piece and some extra tubing.
I redid all my lines. Now it runs T-line > TT Aquabay > Pump > Radiator > CPU block > GPU block > back to T-line. Filling and bleeding the T-line was soooo easy.



The Front panel



The side view with the side panel off



Side view with side panel on


Since I took out all my old fans with the lights on them the case is REALLY dark. Now I need to orders some LEDs or Cold Cathodes to throw in there. The noisiest thing in my case now is my chipset fan (unplugged it and the case is so quiet) so I might plan on adding a chipset block in the future.

Before you all comment on some stuff. Yes that is a 80mm radiator. I got he case a few years back when all I used was 80mm fans and so there was no way to mount a 120mm radiator onto the case. On the outside of the case is a 120mm Scythe S-Flex fan hooked up to a 120mm-80mm adapter. Also yes the line going from the GPU block to the T-line is on the outside of the support bar. It was the best way to run it where I had no bends and believe it or not the side being on does restrict the line any.

Damn it felt good to cap the T-line, close the case, turn it on, and watch it go.

All that matters is if it meets the goals you had when you decided to go with watercooling. A nicely cooled cpu and vidcard, or silent case if that is your aim, beats neato lights or picture-perfect tubing placement, IMO. You are happy with it, and that is gold. Good job!