Any dyes SAFE to use?!

[fultonloyn]

Hey all. As the title suggest, are there ANY?! Just about every review I have read just warn against it. I understand why...no one wants a clogged system. Right now I am running PrimoChill UV Blue tubing with distilled water and a drop of IandH Dead water. It is a little opaque, but with some dye it may make it appear more solid.

Any experience with these?

 

[rubix_1011]

Dyes are pretty safe, it's coolants you really want to try and avoid. What are you looking to do? Even food coloring is fairly safe and cheap if you went that route.

 

[fultonloyn]

Well, as stated, the tubing I Jac is kind of opaque with blue light and then some with UV. I'm really just looking to make the water a solid color so the tubing looks less see-through. Any specific brands you like?

 

[rubix_1011]

I'm not one to really use dyes or coolants and I would consider Mayhem's Dyes, but I haven't personally used them. Just be aware of dye vs. coolant or additives and you don't always need to use the entire bottle. Even food coloring dye in small amounts can go a long ways if you wanted to go that route, but I'd recommend any dye that is in liquid form vs. anything in a powder as you can be pretty confident that if it will remain in a non-separated liquid form on the shelf, it will more than likely remain liquid during it's life in your loop. My last loop I ran blue food coloring for quite a while with just distilled and some biocide. Never had an issue, no growth, and everything was in great condition. Just note- dye will almost always stain your tubing.

 

[fultonloyn]

I've read that Mayhem and other dyes will not work with biocides? Any truth to this? Also, is mayhem available in the states?

 

[rubix_1011]

It depends on which biocides and which dyes...both can vary in contents and ingredients.

I'm pretty sure you can get it here, either through secondary distributors or shipped from them.

 

[fultonloyn]

okay, i will defiantly have to double check the ingredients. Also, how dark of a color could you achieve with food dye? I would like it to be somewhat of a darker blue. Think this is possible without clogging or anything?

 

[rubix_1011]

I had a pretty dark blue...I don't recall how much I used. I don't always recommend to others the stuff that I have done, so use food color at your own discretion. I never once had an issue, but I also don't recall exactly what kind I had used. Dyes typically aren't that expensive, but at the same time, aren't a necessity, so gauge what is best for your build. I'd only recommend any kind of dye that is already in liquid form and ensure it has not collected at the bottom of the container during shelf life. Others might disagree with me on food color, but dye is dye as long as it colors water and doesn't break down or cause clogs.

 

[fultonloyn]

Thanks for the input. I have UV tubing already, and I wonder if a UV dye will really give me any more glow out of them. The best option may be just be regular food dye. IandH Dead Water is copper sulfate. Any idea as to if it will separate food dye?

 

[rubix_1011]

There is always a possibility depending on what the dye is composed of. There is also recent discussion that copper sulfate biocides are responsible for the majority of plasticizer leeching/tubing clouding issues as it reacts with flux from radiators. This is still under investigation, but initially I've seen that rinsing radiators with vinegar and then distilled a few times can help the flux issue, but copper sulfate might still cause clouding.

Sorry, didn't meant to go off on a tangent, but felt it was partially relative.

 

[fultonloyn]

No thats great to know. I have had my loop running for a week or so and still appears to be pretty clean. I washed my radiator with hot filtered water before installation so maybe that helped a little. Maybe I will invest in some different biocide? Thanks for all your input.

 

[rubix_1011]

Yeah, but I don't think it's something to worry a lot about as it's still a bit uncertain with the biocide being a cause of anything. This hasn't been as big of an issue in the past, so it's still a little uncertain why now it's been more of an issue with clouding.

I know that when I ran some tests last fall, I was seeing clouded tubing and I wasn't running any biocide at all.

 

[fultonloyn]

yeah, i am not too worried about this becoming a factor. I am worried more about clogging my system and coming home to a lake in my room, than the cloudy tubing lol