My roommate from last year had an idea for a pretty cool water cooling setup, but I want to ask if it will work. He figures his TBird 1.2 @ 1.33 GHz puts out 60-70Watts. Now, most watercooling setups use a radiator. His idea is that since you have to keep a tropical fish tank heated, he could run his watercooler out of a 20 gallon fish tank with piranhas in it. Now, I have some doubts about this, one of the most prominent is that I think his waterblock with slowly fill up with fish crap and other contaminants from the tank. He said if he has to clean it out less than once every 3-4 weeks, he'd be fine with that. So, anyways, what do you guys think? Will it work? Will the fish die from being too cold, or too hot?
Watercooling
- Thread starter Mookow
- Start date
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Chipsoid -- watercooling is sweet, very efficient and beats the hell out of noisey fans when you need extreme performance.
Now, I have actually heard of folks trying this but here is the problem. Radiators are designed to bleed off heat (and are very good at it). Fish tanks are not -- this means that you will mostly likely be feeding water into the block that is only slightly less warm than the water that leaves the tank.
Fish gunk and corrosion are going to be real concerns.
And lastly -- unless you keep the CPU on and fully loaded at all times the temps are fluctuate wildly (like 10c between the load and idle).
Overall, tell your friend that this will fail to properly cool his CPU but will mostly likely very effectively destroy the delicate ecosystem contained in the fish tank (i.e., kill his expensive fish and plants).
This is why nuclear power plants kill all the fish and vegetation when they spill their cooling water into nearby streams and lakes. Its not that the water is contaminatied (its 100% shielded from radiation and quite pure -- you could drink it). It kills everything because it raises the ambient water temp too much -- even just a few degrees becomes intolerable for fish and plants that lack the ability to regulate their own temps.
Now, I have actually heard of folks trying this but here is the problem. Radiators are designed to bleed off heat (and are very good at it). Fish tanks are not -- this means that you will mostly likely be feeding water into the block that is only slightly less warm than the water that leaves the tank.
Fish gunk and corrosion are going to be real concerns.
And lastly -- unless you keep the CPU on and fully loaded at all times the temps are fluctuate wildly (like 10c between the load and idle).
Overall, tell your friend that this will fail to properly cool his CPU but will mostly likely very effectively destroy the delicate ecosystem contained in the fish tank (i.e., kill his expensive fish and plants).
This is why nuclear power plants kill all the fish and vegetation when they spill their cooling water into nearby streams and lakes. Its not that the water is contaminatied (its 100% shielded from radiation and quite pure -- you could drink it). It kills everything because it raises the ambient water temp too much -- even just a few degrees becomes intolerable for fish and plants that lack the ability to regulate their own temps.
Ok, look, I know I've had something to drink tonight... but it was just apple juice, so... other than sugar and caffiene, as far as I know I'm not under the influence of any drugs. Did Chipsoid's 2nd post make ANY sense?
Skrill: I now that nuclear plants kill off fish because they raise the water temp downstream. This results in less oxygen in the water (an effect of raising the temps), and just the general effect of higher water temps. However, piranahas are tropical fish... they are found in the Amazon river. I know that it wont cool his CPU as effectively, I told him that, but he is mainly doing this for style. Also, he will still have an aerator (sic), so he should be able to maintain decent oxygen levels in his water
Skrill: I now that nuclear plants kill off fish because they raise the water temp downstream. This results in less oxygen in the water (an effect of raising the temps), and just the general effect of higher water temps. However, piranahas are tropical fish... they are found in the Amazon river. I know that it wont cool his CPU as effectively, I told him that, but he is mainly doing this for style. Also, he will still have an aerator (sic), so he should be able to maintain decent oxygen levels in his water
Look... there is no "radiator" involved, in the regular sense. The 20 gallon fish tank acts as a really big, really ineffecient radiator. My friends theory is that while the water shoudl warm up, it should stay at a temp low enough to allow the fish to survive.
Even assuming that the fish like say 40c water -- that temp will change as the CPU goes from idle to load. I am betting that Piranha do not live in water that warm -- 30c maybe, 40+ I bet not.
Also you need some corrosion protection -- so unless the Amazon is full of Water Wetter or Anti-freeze ... those fish are gonna die.
And you still haven't solved the issue of gunk getting in the lines and restricting flow. This is not going to work either for the fish or the CPU.
Try it and let me know how it goes.
Also you need some corrosion protection -- so unless the Amazon is full of Water Wetter or Anti-freeze ... those fish are gonna die.
And you still haven't solved the issue of gunk getting in the lines and restricting flow. This is not going to work either for the fish or the CPU.
Try it and let me know how it goes.
Chipsoid -- you do don't get condensation around your CPU unless you use Pelts or some other active cooling that brings the temp down below the dew point in your room.
Pour yourself a glass of room temp tap water -- now watch and see if the glass develops any condensation. You will be watching for a very long time.
Pour yourself a glass of room temp tap water -- now watch and see if the glass develops any condensation. You will be watching for a very long time.
Well, there is one thing about my ex-roommate that you should know... he's got rich parents, and he tends to get bored. So, if we toast his CPU, he'll just see it as an excuse to get himself a new CPU... and possibly mobo/RAM/burner/DVD. I've seen some waterclocks that you can open up, so as long as he cleans it, he should be fine as far as the inside of the water block. Also, my understanding is that the tubing is very cheap, so that wouldnt be a problem swapping out every so often. Regarding condensation... my understanding is that you need to get the area colder than the ambient air temp... this water will be warmer than ambient... so I dont think there will be condensation (correct me if wrong). Furthermore, moving it is not a problem. He has a laptop, and doesnt go to LAN parties. Besides, moving his pair of 21" monitors would probably be more of a pain in the @$$. If need be, we can mount a radiator and a small fan to keep temps low enough. Its mostly just for looks... and bragging rights.
I know absolutely nothing about Macs... except that the ones in the Physics labs at OSU are extremely slow... but then, they are connected to 286s... so I dont exactly expect much
BTW skrill, he doesnt plan on doing this until Winter Break, but I will definitely post on it if/when it happens
BTW skrill, he doesnt plan on doing this until Winter Break, but I will definitely post on it if/when it happens
I refuse to believe their are any water blocks that can be opened and remain water tight. Good blocks -- like a Maze 2 from Danger Den -- are hard soldered together and pressure tested for water tightness.
Any block that you can take apart will leak -- a gaurantee that you will have a mess on your hands.
On bright side, condensation will not be an issue.
Any block that you can take apart will leak -- a gaurantee that you will have a mess on your hands.
On bright side, condensation will not be an issue.
Well how about this... He has one loop going from the CPU to the tank... and another loop which heads "under" the tank (which is obviously elevated to show off his fishies)
under his tank he has a filter (of some sort) to keep his tank nice and clean, and a radiator to dissipate the heat which will probably build to an unacceptable level.. and he could possibly put that stuff in-line to the CPU... maybe....
how's that....
under his tank he has a filter (of some sort) to keep his tank nice and clean, and a radiator to dissipate the heat which will probably build to an unacceptable level.. and he could possibly put that stuff in-line to the CPU... maybe....
how's that....
It'd obviously have to be a closed loop system cooled by the aquarium, but frankly, no, it won't work. A 20 gallon only needs a 20watt heater going at about a 10-20% duty cycle to keep the water temp within the correct range (assuming your house is heated in the winter) Putting 70 watts into it at 100% duty cycle is going to just kill fish and CPUs both, as well as stink to high hell.
Now if you want to run the computer for five minutes every hour, sure. Heck, still won't work for the fish, but you could use the aquarium as a heat resevour, if the computer's only run 8 hours a day you could probably use it, then it'd have the rest of the day to bleed off heat slowly. But no way it'll work for a 24/7 system, fish or not.
Now if you want to run the computer for five minutes every hour, sure. Heck, still won't work for the fish, but you could use the aquarium as a heat resevour, if the computer's only run 8 hours a day you could probably use it, then it'd have the rest of the day to bleed off heat slowly. But no way it'll work for a 24/7 system, fish or not.
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