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About a year ago, I built a water cooled PC (see my worklog here). At the time I was pretty impressed with myself in that I actually managed to make it work without having water leak all over the place and kill it. And so the months rolled by without incident. Good temps; no issues. The mixture was distilled water, a small amount of surfactant (water wetter), and a little bit of blue dye.
The water in the reservoir did become a little cloudy over time but I took little notice of it as it didn't seem to affect the temps at all and the flow meter didn't seem to be moving any slower. And then about two months ago, I started to notice the water was pretty darn cloudy and a light film was collecting on the floor of the reservoir. So I figured it probably had something brewing in there and a purge of the system and fresh liquids would be a pretty good idea at that point.
Unfortunately, my work schedule didn't agree with a change in the cooling and soon one week had turned into two months. By the time I did get around to draining it, a small dark blob had taken up residence on the surface of the water in the reservoir. Ick! At this point, I figured a drain and refill would not be enough. I needed some chemical warfare. So off to the pet store I go to acquire some anti-algae, anti-bacterial agents. Enter polymeric quaternary ammonium chloride, whatever the hell that is. Apparently, it is strong enough to kill off all little critters and its not very suitable to fish either. It is for water features and so I thought that's what I've got so why not? The pet store clerk agreed. I felt confident I had the answer.
So back home, I flush the system with water and 25ml of this special chemical compound. Once done, I fill the system with more distilled water, surfactant, dye, and another 25ml of the anti-algae anti-bacterial solution. Back to its clear glory, everything seems fine... for a while. But soon, I notice that the hoses (which I always thought were slightly opaque) were shedding a thin skin of a filmy material and to my surprise the hoses became very clear were they had de-skinned. I worried about this film flying around the system and clogging it up, but the impeller was making mincemeat of it and little tiny bits of God knows what were soon swirling around the reservoir seemingly harmlessly.
Knowing that I will have to flush the system again, I run the pump run for 24 hours to see if all this material attached to the hoses would come lose. Almost all of it comes loose. The second transformation starts to show itself at this point. Within a few hours, the liquid goes from the dyed blue it started out as to totally clear. Very strange. Small blue pellets can be seen on the floor of the reservoir.
At this point, I realise it is time to flush and replace the fluids again but I realise that I need more surfactant. Literally, as I am about to head out to buy some, I notice the reservoir is foaming. The top of the reservoir is not sealed and soon the foam is pushing the lid up and it is spilling out over the side. I panic slightly but remember that I have designed the system for just such an eventuality (even the inverted PSU is elevated off the ground by 10mm).
Worried nonetheless that this chemistry experiment is running amok, I shut everything off. It still foams AND the water level beings to rise! What the heck??? In a panic, I start to drain the system in a rush. First thing I notice is the smell. Strong, pungent ammonia-like smell. Very strong. Nose-hair-curling-strong! This is when my strategy changes and I strongly consider more drastic action. I decided to break the system down completely and flush everything individually. This takes me 4 hours, two rolls of paper towels, and lots of water. Thankfully, no hazmat team was required although I swear this funky chemical stew that I had created was making me dizzy. As I clean everything (windows open, fan blowing), I brake out the good old fashioned bleach and give everything a good old caustic scrub! I rinse it all out and then inspect closely. I notice on the items where I missed spots, a flaky white material was caked on the surface.
After a number of flush outs, the system is back up and running. This time with distilled water, surfactant, a few drops of bleach, and that's it. 72 hours later, it is still as clear as a bottle of Evian so I think I've rid myself of the biohazard, but I am still dumbfounded as to know what the heck I had going on in there before.
Anyone seen anything like this ever???
The water in the reservoir did become a little cloudy over time but I took little notice of it as it didn't seem to affect the temps at all and the flow meter didn't seem to be moving any slower. And then about two months ago, I started to notice the water was pretty darn cloudy and a light film was collecting on the floor of the reservoir. So I figured it probably had something brewing in there and a purge of the system and fresh liquids would be a pretty good idea at that point.
Unfortunately, my work schedule didn't agree with a change in the cooling and soon one week had turned into two months. By the time I did get around to draining it, a small dark blob had taken up residence on the surface of the water in the reservoir. Ick! At this point, I figured a drain and refill would not be enough. I needed some chemical warfare. So off to the pet store I go to acquire some anti-algae, anti-bacterial agents. Enter polymeric quaternary ammonium chloride, whatever the hell that is. Apparently, it is strong enough to kill off all little critters and its not very suitable to fish either. It is for water features and so I thought that's what I've got so why not? The pet store clerk agreed. I felt confident I had the answer.
So back home, I flush the system with water and 25ml of this special chemical compound. Once done, I fill the system with more distilled water, surfactant, dye, and another 25ml of the anti-algae anti-bacterial solution. Back to its clear glory, everything seems fine... for a while. But soon, I notice that the hoses (which I always thought were slightly opaque) were shedding a thin skin of a filmy material and to my surprise the hoses became very clear were they had de-skinned. I worried about this film flying around the system and clogging it up, but the impeller was making mincemeat of it and little tiny bits of God knows what were soon swirling around the reservoir seemingly harmlessly.
Knowing that I will have to flush the system again, I run the pump run for 24 hours to see if all this material attached to the hoses would come lose. Almost all of it comes loose. The second transformation starts to show itself at this point. Within a few hours, the liquid goes from the dyed blue it started out as to totally clear. Very strange. Small blue pellets can be seen on the floor of the reservoir.
At this point, I realise it is time to flush and replace the fluids again but I realise that I need more surfactant. Literally, as I am about to head out to buy some, I notice the reservoir is foaming. The top of the reservoir is not sealed and soon the foam is pushing the lid up and it is spilling out over the side. I panic slightly but remember that I have designed the system for just such an eventuality (even the inverted PSU is elevated off the ground by 10mm).
Worried nonetheless that this chemistry experiment is running amok, I shut everything off. It still foams AND the water level beings to rise! What the heck??? In a panic, I start to drain the system in a rush. First thing I notice is the smell. Strong, pungent ammonia-like smell. Very strong. Nose-hair-curling-strong! This is when my strategy changes and I strongly consider more drastic action. I decided to break the system down completely and flush everything individually. This takes me 4 hours, two rolls of paper towels, and lots of water. Thankfully, no hazmat team was required although I swear this funky chemical stew that I had created was making me dizzy. As I clean everything (windows open, fan blowing), I brake out the good old fashioned bleach and give everything a good old caustic scrub! I rinse it all out and then inspect closely. I notice on the items where I missed spots, a flaky white material was caked on the surface.
After a number of flush outs, the system is back up and running. This time with distilled water, surfactant, a few drops of bleach, and that's it. 72 hours later, it is still as clear as a bottle of Evian so I think I've rid myself of the biohazard, but I am still dumbfounded as to know what the heck I had going on in there before.
Anyone seen anything like this ever???
.