Using white coolant with UV orange tubing?
Using white coolant with UV orange tubing?
Hi guys,
I'm preparing a new build soon and need some guidance for my watercooling loop.
I've worked on a custom loop before using a blood-red dye and clear tubing for a red/black look, but this project will be quite different.
For this one, I'm aiming for a mostly white build using Gigabyte's AORUS parts, which are mainly black with orange accents. I want the cooling components to appear white when not in use, but glow orange under UV light to match the orange trim.
I have four options in mind:
1. White coolant with UV orange tubing
2. White tubing with UV orange coolant
3. Clear tubing with UV orange dye mixed into white coolant
4. A mix of white and clear tubing with UV orange coolant.
To be clear, I don't want any orange tones visible unless under a blacklight, so the build should stay mostly white when inactive.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated—though I might end up sticking to plain white coolant.
Plasticizer doesn't cause as much obstruction as it might seem. To see such buildup, you'd need an extremely high volume of tubing. Additionally, some particles could be algae or sediment—things to keep in mind when designing a watercooling system, but other options exist without plasticizers.
I'm not sure about suggesting the use of dye. I've noticed cases from others where the white dye separates from the suspension and gathers around bends in tubing, making the liquid look clearer. It also causes blockages in the CPU heat-sink and pump. Maybe certain brands are responsible here, but just a heads-up.
Check if the white tubing works with UV orange coolant, or if the problem lies with the UV pigment itself.
I believe the range of dyes and coolants is often too broad. Many problems have existed for certain products at different times, with some being more recent. Some issues depend on what happens—like color changes, settling, clotting, or blockages.
Do you have any references for the coolants and tubing you're considering? I'm interested in that UV orange tubing you mentioned—it doesn't look quite orange.
I don't think it's wise to rely on any coolants; I've only used distilled water with an anti-microbial additive. That's all. The only other additive I've tried recently was a UV green coolant from my first Swiftech kit about 15 years ago.
Anything you add to water reduces its cooling efficiency, and even small changes can affect pump performance.
I think I'm going to go with white coolant and uv orange tubing. I'll be using mayhem's pastel white coolant and xspc's UV orange tubing.
I have used mayhem blood red dye for my previous build and it's still as good as it was 2 years ago when I installed it. No colour fade or tube clouding (can't remember which tubing I used). Only thing I'm worried about is if the XSPC uv orange tubing is likely to have plasticiser that will clog my blocks and fittings when mixed with the white pigments in the coolant (people have said it can separate over time turning clear with white sludge).
Plasticizer doesn't cause as much obstruction as it might seem. To see such buildup, you'd need an extremely high volume of tubing. Additionally, some particles could be algae or sediment—things to keep in mind when designing a watercooling system, but other options exist without plasticizers.