How to clone with t5 lights?

[CARLOS BLANCO]

I wanna know exactly how to use t5 lights for cloning. I have trays with domes and 1 4ft. 4bulb t5 light. The first time I tried cloning I had like a 25% success rate. Im cloning again, but dont want to run into the same problems as before and this time have a higher success rate. Im cloning with rooting cubes the small square brown spongy lookin things. I know you gotta keep on eye on them every day to see how thier doing. I mist the domes 2x a day and water the bottom of the trays with distilled water. I have only one vent open and sometimes blow air inside the dome just to get some good co2 for the babies. Its been like 10days now and no roots yet. I never let the cubes get rock hard always making sure thier moist and not drowned with water... I learned that the hard way. The lights right now are about 7in from the tops of the domes. had to move them up cuz it was getting to humid inside the domes and it did kill some of the clones... learned that the hard way 2 .. My Q's are..


How far away does the light have to be from the tops of the domes?
Should I have the domes sealed or should I open the vents on top of the domes?
Do you give the clones 24hrs. of light?
When do I hit them with nutes? as soon as the roots start showing?

Thanx u for reading and thanx for any helpful tips in advance.

 

[irieie]

try to remove the dome as much as possible if you keep the environment too moist then the cuttings have no reason to sprout roots. i never water the tray only spray the dome and only if the cuttings are wilting. i give 24hr light and have the lights fairly close. cuttings dont need too much light because they are not gonna grow much until they establish roots. also i dont give nutes until about a week after i transplant into soil. i use these methods and get 100% root rate after 10 days. good luck.

 

[CARLOS BLANCO]

So then whats the whole point of the humidity dome? I thought you had to keep the dome on all the time.. Are you using the same light? Do you mist the top of the leaves or just the dome? I try to open the dome at least 2x a day cuz it does get somewhat humid in there. I opened one of the vents for some air ventilation and I even blow air inside..

 

[Little Tommy]

I clone with T-5 lights. When I first put them in the dome I close all the vents. I take the dome off for an hour or so or until the foliage starts to wilt. After about a week the clones begin to harden and I open up the vents. I have a heat mat under my tray that is about 85F. I spritz my clones once in the morning. After they begin to harden I just mist the dome before putting it back on. I use small cups for the clones to live in inside the dome. This keeps them up out of the water in the bottom of the tray. I find that after 2 weeks, they are ready to come out of the tray & dome and live under the T-5 lights. I keep the lights about 5" over the clone canopy once the dome is removed. After a week out of the dome they are usually ready to start moving toward the MH light. I do all my veg, clones included at 18/6 light cycle. Some people go 24/0 and I have tried it and gotten better results with 6 hours of lights out. I hope that helps.

 

[treemansbuds]

Cloning tips...
1) pH your water to 5.5 - 5.9 and soak your cubes in this water. Water temp about 75-80 degrees.
2) After cutting the clone I scrape about half inch off the cambium layer from the bottom of the stem and slice up the stem about a quarter inch. Dip in cloning gel, then into the cube.
3) Don't over water the cuttings, I keep them moist, spraying every day the first 5 days with the vents closed. Day six I skip the spray and open up the vents. I only water when needed (every 2-3 days) You want them roots to start searching for water.

The biggest mistake I made when first cloning was over watering. no need to grow roots if there is always water available.

Hope this helps...
TMB-

 

[DaGrapeApe]

I never even bother with a humidity dome for my clones. I cut them, put them i a bubble cloner and typically 9 days later I have roots. I put them under t5's as well.

 

[treemansbuds]

I clone with T-5 lights. When I first put them in the dome I close all the vents. I take the dome off for an hour or so or until the foliage starts to wilt. After about a week the clones begin to harden and I open up the vents. I have a heat mat under my tray that is about 85F. I spritz my clones once in the morning. After they begin to harden I just mist the dome before putting it back on. I use small cups for the clones to live in inside the dome. This keeps them up out of the water in the bottom of the tray. I find that after 2 weeks, they are ready to come out of the tray & dome and live under the T-5 lights. I keep the lights about 5" over the clone canopy once the dome is removed. After a week out of the dome they are usually ready to start moving toward the MH light. I do all my veg, clones included at 18/6 light cycle. Some people go 24/0 and I have tried it and gotten better results with 6 hours of lights out. I hope that helps.

I clone under T5's and have great results, I keep the light about a foot away from the dome.
Also, the 18-6 schedule works better for me too. I've tried both and have better results with the 18-6 vs. the 24-0. They say that roots grow more during the dark period, so my thinking that the clones like the dark periods.

 

[CARLOS BLANCO]

Cloning tips...
1) pH your water to 5.5 - 5.9 and soak your cubes in this water. Water temp about 75-80 degrees.
2) After cutting the clone I scrape about half inch off the cambium layer from the bottom of the stem and slice up the stem about a quarter inch. Dip in cloning gel, then into the cube.
3) Don't over water the cuttings, I keep them moist, spraying every day the first 5 days with the vents closed. Day six I skip the spray and open up the vents. I only water when needed (every 2-3 days) You want them roots to start searching for water.

The biggest mistake I made when first cloning was over watering. no need to grow roots if there is always water available.

Hope this helps...
TMB-

Yea this helps. I did step 2 but not 1 and the domes I mist the plants like once a day have only one vent open and the other closed. I also spray all around the dome. I take off the dome at least 1once a day. Did ju let the cubes get dry like light brown color or do u just keep them moist all the time?