Tubing question ?

[QuietIce]

The rad is made of metal and over time it would also increase the conductivity of the water.

Silver tubes block out the light that algae use for photosynthesis.
Silver kills bacteria (kinda proven in both literature and in laboratory tests)

Does iodine kill algae (we dont know)
Yes it kills bacteria but how much iodine do you need? (some say 1 drop some say 10 drops)

I know voigits says iodine and algacide is cheap stuff like 2 bucks a bottle.
But then again silver tubes cost only slightly more than regular Tygon R3603.

I have used tygon silver for a long time now, thus far I havent changed the water and its all crystal clear... (voigits you know Ive had these silver tubes for ages)

I've got an idea. Instead of using silver and copper in the dish why not use a bit of Silver Tygon and a bit of R3603 - maybe a 1/8" long "ring" of each? And since your loop has been active for awhile, doing a bacteria test(?) on your water might be interesting.


As for how much iodine is required - according to the University of Missouri it's 0.05-0.1%, so for a "standard" loop (~ 1 qt. of water for internal or mostly internal) one cc of undiluted iodine should be fine (5-10 drops of Tincture of Iodine). Another source cites 8 drops for common Tincture of Iodine and 4 drops for common Povidone-iodine per quart of water.

Note the University of Missouri clearly states (more than once) that iodine is NOT an algaecide ...

 

[Mycobacteria]

Ok petri dish with tygon silver and Tygon R3603 next week.

 

[voigts]

The rad is made of metal and over time it would also increase the conductivity of the water.

Silver tubes block out the light that algae use for photosynthesis.
Silver kills bacteria (kinda proven in both literature and in laboratory tests)

Does iodine kill algae (we dont know)
Yes it kills bacteria but how much iodine do you need? (some say 1 drop some say 10 drops)

I know voigts says iodine and algaecide is cheap stuff like 2 bucks a bottle.
But then again silver tubes cost only slightly more than regular Tygon R3603.

I have used tygon silver for a long time now, thus far I havent changed the water and its all crystal clear... (voigts you know Ive had these silver tubes for ages)

I have no doubt Myco that the silver tubing works when you use it in your entire loop like you do. It makes sense that enough silver is going to get into the water to inhibit growth. What I question is whether just using one short piece as some suggest, or putting a piece of silver wire in a res is going to work well in a method that can guarantee no growth.

I'd like to see you experiment performed by actually introducing algae, not just bacteria, and see what happens.

 

[muddocktor]

The algae growth issue is why I went with the black Tygon in my watercooled machine. You get almost no light penetration with the black tubing and I find that it looks pretty nice too.

 

[Mycobacteria]

Cant be bothered testin out algae on a petri dish caus I know that the silver tubes cut out light. It doesent matter if silver kills algae or not because without light no algae...

 

[kimochii72]

Maybe use Silver Azide instead to make sure the silver disolves well in the water? But I have no idea if that would corrode the copper or cloud the tubing. Maybe just heat deionized water and the silver rod for a few hours, maybe send an electrical current through it (I have no idea). Although my loop was only 5 to 6 months old with the silver, the water came out clear and clean, despite slight tygon hazing that just happens with even water and the tube in a jar after a few weeks anyway.

 

[speed bump]

The tygon 3603 has a durometer rating of 55a and the masterklear has a durometer rating of 67A. Tygon costs 6 times more per ft. and due to a lower durometer rating probably degrades faster in direct sunlight.

 

[muddocktor]

The tygon 3603 has a durometer rating of 55a and the masterklear has a durometer rating of 67A. Tygon costs 6 times more per ft. and due to a lower durometer rating probably degrades faster in direct sunlight.

And the durometer reading of the tubing has nothing to do with how well the tubing holds up under direct sunlight. Your statement is pure supposition, not fact. According to what you just stated, the Masterkear would also hold up a little better than the R3400 I used in my loop. But the fact of the matter is that Tygon R3400 is designed for resistance to degradation by UV (and oxidation and weathering) and is designed to block UV penetration.