Not Sure Whats Happening. ( Brown/Rust Looking Buildup

These are the parts in my loop. I am having a buildup that I cannot understand. More info down below

Aqualis Base for Pump Adapters w/ Nano Coating and Fountain Effect

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...ect_-_450mL_34047.html?id=3J8mifkI&mv_pc=2510

Bitspower Summit EF CPU Liquid Cooling Block

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...-WBCPUIAC-CUMBKCL.html?id=3J8mifkI&mv_pc=3707

Aquacomputer D5 Pump Motor

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...s_Interface_41093.html?id=3J8mifkI&mv_pc=3704

Aquacomputer Airplex Modularity System 480 Radiator - Aluminum Fins

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...gle_Circuit_33026.html?id=3J8mifkI&mv_pc=3705

HEATKILLER GTX 690 "Hole Edition" Reference Design Full Coverage Water Block Nickel / Black

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...ickel_Black_15531.html?id=3J8mifkI&mv_pc=3544

Aquacomputer G1/4 Flow Meter Sensor Block

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Heatmaster_53068.html?id=3J8mifkI&mv_pc=3649

PrimoChill Base Intensified - High Purity Deionized Water

Silver kill coil

PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing




I noticed only in the Aqualis, that on the metal tube going up making the fountain effect, and the plastic at the base is brown in color. I am not sure its rust or something growing. I flushed the system before hand. I am using distilled water and a silver kill coil. Not sure what im doing wrong or how something is building up in only one portion of my system. The tubs are fully clear with no buildup and when i look directly on my clear cpu block, there is no tint of brown or discoloration. Should I flush the system with a vinegar solution, buy new distilled water and use kill coil with pt nuke? or is there something else involved like I mixed metals or something?. I know the radiator, GPU block and cpu block is copper based. I know the res metal tube going up is made out of nickel plated brass tube. I dont think im mixing copper+aluminum anywhere. Am I not seeing something.

(( my system has been running for only 2 1/2 months and maybe 9-10 hrs on a day maximum ))

Could be a lot of things. One suggestion is to stay away from the vinegar, it does a mediocre job cleaning the loop and is extremely hard on nickle plating (it can dissolve it completely, in fact).

When the water in my reservoir kept clouding up, I had brown deposits from flux and copper from one of the blocks, along with some shit tubing that was literally disintegrating on the inside. Long story short, after replacing the tubing, I filled the sink full of warm soapy water and pumped it through the system until I was satisfied, then flushed with a few gallons of distilled water and a little citric acid. Naturally I cleaned everything before initially putting it together, but apparently it wasn't enough.

The citric acid is an amazing cleaner by the way, you just want to be sure to flush thoroughly after using it, and check the PH when done to verify the water isn't too acidic (again, nickle plating). All I use is distilled water and a few citric acid crystals, and my reservoir stays perfectly clear for the few months I go in between flushing.

So then i should flush my system with water and citric acid clean it out all the parts again and use distilled water again and continue to use my kill coil or use citric acid instead of a kill coil?

Don't run your loop with citric acid... it will corrode your stuff. Might be ok for a quick flush de-scaling, but definitely not something to use instead of a kill-coil and/or PT Nuke

Yes, be careful with the citric acid, a little goes a long way, and don't leave it in there for long periods while cleaning - just a few minutes is necessary. In my experience it's much more effective than vinegar and easier on the nickle plating, but it's still an acid so use caution/reason/etc.

Watercool recommends a small amount of citric acid with distilled water as coolant (we're talking a few granules here), and I believe PTNuke and Mayhems both contain a little, too. If you don't want the hassle of checking PH, personally I'd stick with distilled water alone and forget the coils and additives. I always had fantastic luck with glycol-based coolants (one loop went 5 years before I tore it down to find everything in near new condition), but can't take the risk anymore with kids and a dog around. I now use what Watercool recommends and have had excellent results, the inside of my acrylic res stays perfectly clear and no problems with the nickel plating.

Disclaimer: I am not a chemist, these are conclusions I came to after doing my own research, and so far it's worked fine for me. YMMV.

Yes, citric acid is often used in rinse aids because it is good at descaling and removing deposits. Citric acid/citrate is a chelator (traps metals), but a pretty weak one, so I don't think it would do much damage to metal blocks at low concentrations. Mayhems is actually just water, glycerol and a pearlizing agent (probably EGDS). The glycerol helps with corrosion inhibition, very similar to ethylene glycol in structure but non-toxic. I'm not sure if there are other components to prevent biological growth or if the glycerin lowers the water activity enough to prevent growth.

Disclaimer: I am a chemist, but definitely not a WC expert...

Don't mix silver and nickle. The aqualis tube is nickle plated so I would avoid using a kill coil, especially if it is in your reservoir.

Activate: AMD said:

Yes, citric acid is often used in rinse aids because it is good at descaling and removing deposits. Citric acid/citrate is a chelator (traps metals), but a pretty weak one, so I don't think it would do much damage to metal blocks at low concentrations. Mayhems is actually just water, glycerol and a pearlizing agent (probably EGDS). The glycerol helps with corrosion inhibition, very similar to ethylene glycol in structure but non-toxic. I'm not sure if there are other components to prevent biological growth or if the glycerin lowers the water activity enough to prevent growth.

Disclaimer: I am a chemist, but definitely not a WC expert...

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Thanks for the info and clarification. I was shocked at what a little vinegar did to my fittings, stripped the cheap-ass plating in a matter of minutes (lol). The citric acid was like magic, poof, crystal clear water, instantly clean res, etc. I'm still cautious after my experience with the vinegar, so I stuck one of the cheap/chinese plated drain plugs in the res (so far no reaction with the ca).

What are you running in your loop?

Justintoxicated said:

Don't mix silver and nickle. The aqualis tube is nickle plated so I would avoid using a kill coil, especially if it is in your reservoir.

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guess Ill clean out my system and use PT nuke then instead of a coil. The coil was not in my res but it was stuffed in a tube.