[Tony77]

Ok, so I built my glorious water-cooled wonder and let it run for a few months. I never put additives in, though i planned to i never got around to it and let it slide. I recently decided to upgrade, and removed the watercooling, and to my surprise all the tubes, and I assume to the insides of all the components are covered in a slight white substance... which i assume is caused by bacteria. So I have decided to finally get something in that water. But it also comes with other questions;

1. Do i need to clean the tubing and components?
2. How do i clean them?
3. My water block has an aluminum top, what additives should i use?
4. How much should I add?

Id like to keep the additives to things i could buy at a local store easily, ordering it from water-cooling sites is expensive and frustrating.

Ive looked through several threads regarding this topic(not exactly) and found many answers but never a definative one.

Thank you to all who attempt to help :]

[KlinKx]

I like Problend 40 below myself. http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showth...hreadid=191807

[Tony77]

will it prevent bacteria as well? and its aluminum safe?

[NeoMoses]

I've had the best luck with distilled water and Dex-Cool anti-freeze. Dex-Cool is the orange antifreeze approved for newer GM vehicles. It has very good corrosion protection for aluminum. A gallon of Dex-cool and a gallon or 2 of distilled water should be less than $10, and can easily be found locally. I use about 90% water, 10% Dex-Cool.

I would recommend cleaning your entire system by flushing it with vinegar for about 10 minutes. Vinegar is a mild acid and will do a decent job of cleaning out the system. After you are done, flush the system well with plenty of water to ensure all the vinegar is out of it.

While there is no "definitive" answer for the best additive for watercooling, I can say that Dex-Cool has served me much better than Water Wetter for corrosion protection, while having negligible effects on temperatures.

[exothermic]

Yeah, definitely clean out your tubes. If you don't, and you add some type of alcohol-based additive, some of the bacteria will come off the tubes and some will stay on. It quite a heinous sight. Clean tubes are good, and clear liquid is pretty.

Flushing your system with a mild acid will help clean out your waterblock, heatercore, and whatever else. I can't imagine it being too safe for your pump, though. I suppose "mild" is the operative word. I also don't know how acid reacts with anodized aluminum (which I am assuming the top of your waterblock is), and I'd be wary, because that could cause problems down the road. Though if you use an additive, all should be well.

I use Water Wetter myself, but I have friends who say good things about some Toyota Red Coolant or something. Do a search on it, I'm sure you'll get something.

Good luck!

[arnoldma]

i think water wetter should be good enough to stop corrosion and also kill the bacterias? im nto sure about the bacteria killing part, maybe some1 else can comment on this.

[Voodoo Rufus]

Water wetter works fine for me. I've been running the same fluid for 10 months now and the only thing that happens is that the tubing discolors a bit. Nothing more.

Distilled water and Water Wetter = good stuff.

[illbreakit]

I've had the same water in my sys for 16 months now Water Wetter and distilled water are all you need. Rufus is right tho, it does discolor the tubes a bit, turnes them a little orange. I am using generic vynil tubing tho, don't think it will stain Tygon, but I can't bring myself to spend $2.75 a foot for it when vynil is $0.30

[Voodoo Rufus]

^^ Same here. Cheap stiff vinyl junk from Ace hardware. Kind of restricts my component placing but it's good enough. I'd LOVE to get my hands on some Silicone tubing from McMaster but can't really justify the cost.

[scanido]

I use a couple capfuls of BMW coolant and distilled water. Before this i was using water wetter + distiled water. MY temps are the same and i don't get ANY staining on my tubes no more unlike what water wetter has done. Corrosion properties are the same as well as my block has not corroded after 6 months.

Something to consider...

[KlinKx]

No problems with bacteria so far. I also believe that it is Aluminum safe. FWIW: My tubes have not been discolored or stained.