Project Open Core: Hardware - Reservoir & Pump

In previous builds I had used reservoirs that fit inside the 5.25in bays on a PC tower.  Being that this case has no optical drive spaces, decided to go with a traditional “tube” res for this build.  Went with the XSPC D5 Photon 270 Reservoir & D5 Pump Combo.  Really like the look of this Res, especially with its glass and aluminum construction.

The pump comes with a mounting bracket, foam anti-vibration pads, and LED that can be inserted into the bottom of the rese to make the internal acrylic tube glow from within.

This particular variant of the D5 pump is the Variable speed type. Not sure what I will keep it at, but I am going to as little noise as possible while still getting good performance so probably around level 3.

Here is a picture of what the glow tube looks like when an LED has been inserted. I like the look of it, but not sure if I will end up going with the White LED as shown below.  My use a Blue LED, but need to test out which one looks better with the fluid that will be added to the system.

The fill port at the top of the Res is larger than a standard fitting to make filling easier.  I also have an adapter to a standard G1/4 fitting size in case i want to use my fill funnel at some point.

The only part of the Res / Pump combo that I didn’t find aesthetically pleasing, was the plastic ring that holds the pump to the res. It just doesn’t go with the high quality look the rest of the unit provides, but luckily XSPC provides and aluminum replacement ring to upgrade the look.  Much better in my opinion.

The Core P5 didn’t have any mounting holes for this particular Res, so I had to drill a few holes, and secure them with the provided mounting hardware.  Very easy to do, and once installed it looks great.  Can’t wait to start filling this thing with some Mayehm’s Pastel Blue liquid!