Hi,
This is the first of several questions I have about my Zalman Reserator that I was hoping someone might be able to answer. About two weeks ago, I added some Water Wetter into the distilled water in the unit (I've had the Zalman since about May). Today, I looked at the flow indicator, and I can see what looks like a thick blue film that wasn't there before I added it.
Is this normal? And if not, what can I do about it?
Thanks,
Christopher
Reserator + Water Wetter = Blue Film?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
That's normal. I'm not exactly sure where the color is coming from, but there are a few likely culprits. The Water Wetter may cause some of the blue dye in the tubing to be released into the water. It may also be doing the same thing with the blue anodization on the inside of the Reserator. I ran my Reserator for several months using Water Wetter, and had no problems despite the blue tinted water.
I should add that I am now using a custom-built water cooling system with external radiator box. The tubing is all black or clear, and everything else is copper (nothing is blue), but the water has turned light blue in color (I'm using Water Wetter in this system as well). I'm not sure where it's coming from, but I've had this system running maintenance free for several months, and I'm not worried about it. If you still want to get rid of the color, you can flush the system and refill it with distilled water mixed with a small amount of Zerex Racing Coolant. You could also remove all of the blue tubing and replace it with clear tubing. Even then, you may end up with blue water again, though I think it will stay relatively clear if the tubing is replaced.
FWIW, Water Wetter is known mostly for causing a white residue to form on clear tubing (and the rest of the system, but it's easiest to see it on tubing walls). This is caused by the silicates falling out of the Water Wetter due to the low operating temperature (as opposed to a car radiator).
I should add that I am now using a custom-built water cooling system with external radiator box. The tubing is all black or clear, and everything else is copper (nothing is blue), but the water has turned light blue in color (I'm using Water Wetter in this system as well). I'm not sure where it's coming from, but I've had this system running maintenance free for several months, and I'm not worried about it. If you still want to get rid of the color, you can flush the system and refill it with distilled water mixed with a small amount of Zerex Racing Coolant. You could also remove all of the blue tubing and replace it with clear tubing. Even then, you may end up with blue water again, though I think it will stay relatively clear if the tubing is replaced.
FWIW, Water Wetter is known mostly for causing a white residue to form on clear tubing (and the rest of the system, but it's easiest to see it on tubing walls). This is caused by the silicates falling out of the Water Wetter due to the low operating temperature (as opposed to a car radiator).