Doing a Corsair 1000d build - tubing questions

[mokrunka]

Hey everyone, it's been several years (8) since I've done a WC build, so I just wanted some advice on the best tubing, coolant, and biocide/anti-algae additives these days. Way back when, PT Nuke and silver kill coils were the way to go + distilled.

This build will be soft tubing, HardwareLabs Black Ice Black Carbon rads and EK Velocity Full Nickel (not sure why it's called that, because it appears to be nickel plated copper, but I digress). Oh, and still trying to decide on acetal or acetal + nickel, etc. for the GPU block. Does it matter?

What tubing is good these days, and what coolant/biocides do you recommend?

 

[Zerileous]

For tubing, I think the PrimoChill LRT is nice to work with. There have been some recent issues with dye from the box staining the tubing noted on the forums though, so beware of that. I got mine in a roll from PPCS that appeared to be cut from bulk and wrapped in plastic and there was no problem.

With nickel plated, EK / some others will claim that having copper sulfate or silver in the loop can cause problems with the plating. The plating is very thin and will erode over time anyway. However I decided to use EK cryofuel clear. It's only $30 a year, so not that expensive (giving two flushes in a year). The Petra PT Nuke containing Benzalkonium Chloride should also be safe with Nickel plating. Some people run into trouble especially with the pastel coolants, but I think any dyed coolant will stain your blocks and possibly cause other issues, so only use them if you're willing to open them up and scrub them out somewhat regularly.

This is EK's official stance, listed on the page of every block they sell:

Spoiler

The use of specifically engineered coolants that contain corrosion, scale, and biological inhibitors is mandatory to prevent damage to your nickel plated water block! EK is offering a selection of such products in the coolants section.

For block composition, I would just pick whatever you like / whatever fits in your budget. I would suggest avoiding acrylic for the most part as it has a tendency to crack over time.

 

[mokrunka]

Cool, thanks for the info Zerileous.

Thanks for the reminder on the tubing. I've seen a couple of unboxing videos on YouTube describing this same problem.