T-line or reservoir, options?

[JeremyCT]

Radiator fittings are at the top. Planned pump placement was on the lower left of the mid-tray area. MCP355 with XSPC top, so it's a top inlet, side outlet.

Equipment:
MCP355 w/XSPC top -top inlet, side outlet
MCR320QP - front mount, fittings at top
MCW82 on GPU
D-Tek Fuzion v2 on CPU

I have one t-fitting, one y-fitting, and a few quick disconnects on hand.

I'm thinking:

Pump outlet => Rad => t-line => CPU => GPU => pump inlet
Probably difficult to prime and bleed since the water flows down from the top.

OR

Rad => t-line => Pump => GPU => CPU => Rad
Mount the t-line in the from the rad to the pump. Easier to prime, more awkward routing-wise, and the GPU comes before the CPU which isn't ideal. But likely easier to bleed since the fluid would flow from bottom to top.

OR put pump up in the 5 1/4 drive bay area (there's not much room for tubing bends though, only one way this fits)

Rad => Pump => CPU => GPU => t-line=> Rad
Cleans up the tubing, but again make it tough to bleed.

I'm not sure any of these are "good" options.

I'm trying to get away without buying more gear, but if I have to, c'est la vie I suppose. Am I just better off with a reservoir? What's good in the world of reservoirs these days? I've heard that the acetyl ones tend to crack. The Aqua Aqualis borosilicate tubes are nice, but only mount on their pumps. The easiest option if I went for a res would probably be one of the pump top versions. Are they all the same, or are some better in quality/performance than others?

I'm horribly low on information in this regard as my system always had a giant external reservoir in the form of my Reserator. Now that it's been declared unusable, I've got a system in pieces that needs a solution. There are tons of options, but I have no way to really differentiate between them.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

I would take a look at THIS. It is new and have heard great things about it. That's if you want to spend. It has built LEDs and silver coils plugged in from the top.

"For a limited time, all Monsoon S2 reservoirs will ship with FREE color matched Silver Bullet antimicrobial plugs already installed!"

If it's too much than I would look around as you can find other reservoirs for less than $50 that can possibly be mounted on the pump.

 

[dostov]

You have to put the T in the line that goes to the pump, otherwise you won't be able to leave it open during filling/bleeding without having your liquid pumped right out your loop. Being able to have it open for bleeding/refilling is must in my opinion. Make sure your T-line is long enough, otherwise you'll have to fill it every 2 weeks.

Do you have a stopper? Or how do you plan on closing the T-line?

 

[JeremyCT]

No room for a bayres, the two available 5 1/4 drive bays are occupied by a fan controller and optical drive. Interesting info about the t-line placement, thanks. Do devices such as the Danger Den t-res work well? I think PPCs still has them. Inexpensive, so that's a big plus.

If not that then I think my next least expensive option is the XSPC res-top unless somebody has another idea.

 

[DaaG]

The Aqualis reservoirs do not all have to mount on their pump nor even a pump.
There are like 5 or so versions, any that use pump say pump adapter on it.

 

[Meathead]

No room for a bayres, the two available 5 1/4 drive bays are occupied by a fan controller and optical drive. Interesting info about the t-line placement, thanks. Do devices such as the Danger Den t-res work well? I think PPCs still has them. Inexpensive, so that's a big plus.

If not that then I think my next least expensive option is the XSPC res-top unless somebody has another idea.

This is what I'm mounting behind my motherboard tray in my new build. Attached it to my old case by ghetto rigging it with 16 or 18 gauge wire.

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/biwataz150po.html

They have a much smaller version too but unfortunately, it's the same price. I'd recommend the vertical mounting scenario with inlet and outlet on the bottom. You fill the top.

I'd honestly forget about the t-line because there's a reason you rarely see them anymore.

To answer your question about acrylic res's, I would never use one that is not one piece (aka has joints such as the square acrylic ones). Thats why I chose this bitspower one.

 

[Meathead]

You have to put the T in the line that goes to the pump, otherwise you won't be able to leave it open during filling/bleeding without having your liquid pumped right out your loop. Being able to have it open for bleeding/refilling is must in my opinion. Make sure your T-line is long enough, otherwise you'll have to fill it every 2 weeks.

Do you have a stopper? Or how do you plan on closing the T-line?

Have you ever used a t-line? The water-level rises an inch or two but it won't just pump out the wrong way lol. Possibly if you used a y-fitting but definitely not a t fitting unless you mounted it sideways.

I used to run a setup with 1 t-line on the inlet of the pump and 1 at the uppermost point in my loop to let air escape. Had my setup pump to rad to t-line to cpu. Never had water just squirting out.

 

[dostov]

Have you ever used a t-line? The water-level rises an inch or two but it won't just pump out the wrong way lol. Possibly if you used a y-fitting but definitely not a t fitting unless you mounted it sideways.

I used to run a setup with 1 t-line on the inlet of the pump and 1 at the uppermost point in my loop to let air escape. Had my setup pump to rad to t-line to cpu. Never had water just squirting out.

Mount at the wrong location and it will for sure, i.e. between the pump outlet and a restrictive block or rad. I wouldn't expect people to do that but I think it's worth mentioning.

Jeremy, if you wanna go the T-Line route, you may also want to consider a fillport (quite useful) and even there's some models of fillport res, although I don't recall which company makes them.

Cheers!

EDIT: Danger Den fillport res: http://www.dangerden.com/store/fillport-reservoir.html

 

[JeremyCT]

My thinking at the moment: XSPC res top + a fill line going to the extra port with a fillport on the top of the case. Easy peasy filling and priming. Easy peasy bleeding.

It's easy enough to stop the fluid coming up the t-line tube if needed: just put your thumb over the end of the tube while bleeding or put a cap in the line (which the t-line should have anyway. Boom, done.

I'll order tomorrow morning sometime, so there's still time to change my mind if I'm about to make a horrible horrible mistake.