Killing algae

[Bert Kemp]

It was suggested that I put bleach in my water to kill what ever is growing in there, then to rinse it all out and use new water.
Reading up on chlorine bleach it seems that it only takes a very little and I'm talking like a teaspoon or less of bleach in 5 gal of water to kill all the algae.
So my question is what would be the harm in adding a teaspoon of bleach to the water and just leaving it in there to keep the water algae free.

[Robert Schmiede]

It was suggested that I put bleach in my water to kill what ever is growing in there, then to rinse it all out and use new water.
Reading up on chlorine bleach it seems that it only takes a very little and I'm talking like a teaspoon or less of bleach in 5 gal of water to kill all the algae.
So my question is what would be the harm in adding a teaspoon of bleach to the water and just leaving it in there to keep the water algae free.

HI BERT, i use a product called algaefix, liquid form from the states. bought it from an aquarium shop. comes with a measuring cup and has been in my tube for about 8 months now, no algae. only needs a lid full and a top up when you add water to refill. the only problem is if you have crabs or fish swimming around inside your tube it will kill'em. good luck.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Chlorine is highly toxic Bert, will deal with pretty much most living things in a laser tube a capfull in your tank can be run without any problems at all, just don't go overboard as it can affect any metal parts it comes into contact with at high concentrations.

cheers

Dave

[Bert Kemp]

Thanks Dave and Robert.
I'll add the bleach as I have that on hand.

[Larry Robinson]

I use about 30% RV antifreeze with fresh water. Just add water now and then. The pink color of the RV fluid also makes it easy to see the fluid level in the chiller window.

[Bert Kemp]

I was advised by Rabbit Laser USA to never add antifreeze to the laser water.

I use about 30% RV antifreeze with fresh water. Just add water now and then. The pink color of the RV fluid also makes it easy to see the fluid level in the chiller window.

[Dave Sheldrake]

The *why* I don't understand at all and can't find any reason for it, that said whenever I have added coloured AF to laser chiller water the power has taken a nose dive, doesn't seem to be the same with clear EthGlycol but as that's highly toxic to cats I won't use it anyways.

cheers

Dave

[Bill George]

I have a very weak solution of standard anti-freeze in mine. It resides in a heated shop, but IF the power fails or otherwise its good bye laser tube. Its in a bucket but really not accessible to our pets.

You get much better heat transfer with just plain water, nothing added.

Had RV anti freeze for a while but had algae build up in a month or so.

[Dan Hintz]

The *why* I don't understand at all and can't find any reason for it, that said whenever I have added coloured AF to laser chiller water the power has taken a nose dive, doesn't seem to be the same with clear EthGlycol but as that's highly toxic to cats I won't use it anyways.

I can't think of a valid reason off of the top of my head, but... if testing shows it's an actual phenomenon, my first inclination would be to look at fluorescence of the dye messing with stable lasing.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have been using RV anti freeze in mine and works just the same as with plain water.

[Matt McCoy]

I've been using propylene glycol.

[Dave Sheldrake]

I can't think of a valid reason off of the top of my head, but... if testing shows it's an actual phenomenon, my first inclination would be to look at fluorescence of the dye messing with stable lasing.

I can't find anything physics related that would cause it either my friend, makes no sense but experiment seems to show it happens (although that may be down to selective observation rather than a genuine effect caused only by the AF) humm now you mention it, I wonder if indeed it is the fluorescence of the dye causing unstable plasma......seems to be between 15 and 20% losses with the stuff PC builders use (the bright green AF)....maybe worth looking at further I think

cheers

Dave

[Bert Kemp]

Well I don't remember if Ray actually gave me a reason, I'm sure he did but I don't remember, just that he said don't do it. Fortunately for me I don't have to worry about my laser freezing and a few ml of bleach will keep the algae problem in check.

[Bill George]

Well from my experience in the commercial HVAC world a lot of larger building AC systems were chilled water. The chiller had a freezestat set to lock off the unit If the controller malfunctioned and took the water temperature toward 32 degrees F. Sometimes the customer wanted CW temperature for the AC in the building set below the normal 40 - 45 degrees F. That meant adjusting the freezestat safety below 32 degrees to avoid tripping. Carrier and Trane both warned that adding anti-freeze to the CW system would reduce the heat transfer as much as 20%, depending on how much anti-freeze was added.

Link from Dow Chemical PDF File on Heat Transfer http://www.dow.com/heattrans/pdfs/Di...ngTheMyths.pdf

[Martin James]

All new machines built in China are "tested" before being shipped. My Shinhui was "tested" for over 100 hours as per the board read. They typically use the same brown water in a bucket for cooling during this test phase. My tubes looked clean, and my cw5200 was new and clean, but some how there were insects swimming down the tubes during my first week of testing.

Does this brown bucket water void the warrantee? Or freezing the tubes? I use auto anti freeze and am installing a 200 watt ceramic under desk heater on a temperature controlled plug.

also if you look up alternative spa chemicals they have a copper based sanitizer that will keep the algae in check.

ps the people who make the cw cooler have very good customer support.

Cheers. M