Adding Colour To My Loop

[Saihossoku]

Okay, first and foremost, it seems clear that a lot of people FAILED biology, Algae CANNOT grow without sunlight!! It's simple photosynthesis! So please, unless you're planning on placing your rig in direct sunlight you DO NOT NEED BIOCIDE!! You can argue this to me till hell freezes over and I'll stick to it, my uncle is biologist in the UK and explained to me in detail about this.

Okay, so I got that off my chest, what would you guys suggest for adding colour? I've talked to many people with WC rigs that have used food colouring with no ill effects, but over time however, well that's another story. I thought of trying to find blue anti-freeze (obviously I want a blue loop. :)), but is there another alternative WITHOUT ordering online?? Thanks in advance.

P.S. Sorry about the earlier rant, but I'm really tired of hearing about it. :P

[JDXNC]

I sucked the liquid out of a yellow highlighter and put it in my loop, its been in there for 3-4 years now with zero issues, perhaps try a blue highlighter :D Oh and a plus is that it's UV active!

[Diddyu]

Asparagus grows without sun, as do several chemoautotrophs, so I think the biocide may be helpful. Just ask someone with a clogged waterblock from the resulting slime. Not much other harm will come from it, so its really a personal choice, but youll tend to have to change the water more often, or suffer in performance.

As for the color, ive seen some success by taking a highlighter, and removing the ink cartridge, and then placing it in the water for a while. You might want to test this in a cup or something similar to see if you like the color in the water, but watch if you use alcohol, because some inks fade in it.

Edit: Beat me to it...

[DigitalMonkey]

Try Fluid XP+ Extreme Midnight Blue (http://fluidxp.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=26&category_id=19&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1).

[Saihossoku]

I sucked the liquid out of a yellow highlighter and put it in my loop, its been in there for 3-4 years now with zero issues, perhaps try a blue highlighter :D Oh and a plus is that it's UV active!

Okay cool, highlighter eh, sounds cool, would a blue highlighter be dark enough? Also, would that be better than food colouring? I had no idea that blue highlighter ink is UV reactive!? I know that the florescent ones (yellow etc.) are. Suck the fluid out!? Sounds messy! lol Dipping it in and soaking would be better no? Thanks guys.

[Saihossoku]

Try Fluid XP+ Extreme Midnight Blue (http://fluidxp.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=26&category_id=19&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1).

Waaaay too expensive and unnecessary, besides;

but is there another alternative WITHOUT ordering online??

[JDXNC]

Okay cool, highlighter eh, sounds cool, would a blue highlighter be dark enough? Also, would that be better than food colouring? I had no idea that blue highlighter ink is UV reactive!? I know that the florescent ones (yellow etc.) are. Suck the fluid out!? Sounds messy! lol Dipping it in and soaking would be better no? Thanks guys.

I don't know about the blue being UV reactive, but the yellow sure is. I used a syringe to "suck" it out, pop the seal off the end and suck away, only say 2ml was plenty to color my loop a bright yellow.

Here's a pic, well it shows up green, my hoses are blue.

[Diddyu]

The best way to get the ink out imho is to pop the back off if possible, if not, just cut through the case of the highlighter. There should be a cotton tube inside, and some liquid ink stuck to the sides of the case which could be rinsed out for extra darkness.

[SolidxSnake]

I used FrozenCPU red dye for my loop. They have blue dye as well. The red dye is a purple/red color, orange under UV. Blue is actually blue :) Both are UV Reactive. BEWARE, they will stain ANYTHING they touch. So all of your blocks, tubing, pump, etc, will be slightly stained from whatever color you use if you use FrozenCPU dye. I can't speak for any other dyes.

[Saihossoku]

Awesome, but the question I really need answering is whether or not it's "safer" than food colouring??

[SkiBum1207]

i have no clue if it is safer, however, I have heard of pumps being degraded wayy faster from dyes. I dont know if one is better than the other but If you havent built the loop yet consider colored hoses perhaps? its what ive been using and it so far works great.

http://www.crazypc.com/products/93260UB.html

[Saihossoku]

i have no clue if it is safer, however, I have heard of pumps being degraded wayy faster from dyes. I dont know if one is better than the other but If you havent built the loop yet consider colored hoses perhaps? its what ive been using and it so far works great.

http://www.crazypc.com/products/93260UB.html

Looks cool, however, I do not want to order online. I'm sure someone with prior experience using either food colouring or highlighter fluid can chime in.

[voigts]

If you go and add junk to your water, don't be surprised if you end up with problems. Just because one person did it doesn't mean it will work for you. I have read of plenty of people who have all kinds of problems with highlighters, food coloring, etc. If you have a beef with adding a drop of algaecide to a loop to make sure there is no growth, why are you willing to add a bunch of junk to you loop?

The stuff you order from frozen CPU and the like is going to work Ok and has been tried and tested. Their dye is water soluble.

If you want blue, go to a local VW/Audi dealership and buy some blue antifreeze (its blue Pentosin) and add about 10% to your loop. It works very well.

[Jinu]

honda/acura sells antifreeze which if i remember correctly is blue. Also try a motorcycle shop.
why are you against ordering online? just curious.

[Saihossoku]

honda/acura sells antifreeze which if i remember correctly is blue. Also try a motorcycle shop.
why are you against ordering online? just curious.

No credit card. I'm in Toronto, do you think I can find it here??

[Jinu]

i dont see why not. i would call them first to make sure they carry it.

[Moto7451]

Okay, first and foremost, it seems clear that a lot of people FAILED biology, Algae CANNOT grow without sunlight!! It's simple photosynthesis! So please, unless you're planning on placing your rig in direct sunlight you DO NOT NEED BIOCIDE!! You can argue this to me till hell freezes over and I'll stick to it, my uncle is biologist in the UK and explained to me in detail about this.

Hehe, maybe it would have been better to not come out of the box so strongly on this since I don't think you have your facts quite straight. Coloring won't stop the algae from growing. If any amount of pigment did, they wouldn't be able to live in muddy water (which is a suspension just like what you're making when you add color - light still travels through suspensions), which they do quite well.

Heck, keeping the side panel on, as most people do, doesn't always help.

I keep my computer under my desk, away from any windows, and I still have had problems with Algae and bacterial growth before adding a couple drops of pond biocide.

A lot of people use black tubing to keep algae at bay. Bacteria are still a definite problem and thats what most biocides we use actually attack (iodine, etc). I'd venture to say that most people don't use anything to actually combat algae.