4 weeks in the aerocloner and still nothing!

Originally Posted by snutter

cloning is not as easy at it may seem sometimes. you must do all steps in order and correctly.

did you use the same razor blade to cut all clones? Not good. should use a clean one each cut.
did you place the clones in to water directly after cutting them so that an air bubble can't enter the stem?
did you use a gel, a powder, or a liquid root compound? Gel seems to work best.
what's the temps? Too cold or hot and roots don't like to form.
did you pH the water with a small amount of nutes?
what are you placing your clones in? rockwool? is it molding on you?
etc...

so many things to do and so many can go wrong.. I'm betting that you didn't use a fresh clean blade to cut each clone and also that you didn't place them in water after cutting to stop an air bubble from forming. air bubbles in the stem is a big cause of not getting any root development...

Good luck to you. I really do hope that they do begin to root for you, but at 4 weeks I seriously doubt they will. Probably time to try again.

You're right on many things but I never use a fresh blade every cut. I've even used rusty blades. Now dont get me wrong a clean blad and clean medium definately help. You shouldn't use any nutes really they can easily burn the very fragile roots that are forming. But everything else sounds good. The most important things are getting them into either water or a rooting compound very very soon and If you keep the temp between 62-70 your plants will root. That is the truth. Everything else when you get it dialed in just makes the process faster easier and prettier

K so I am at home now with more acurate info. The res is at 23/70. My PH was way off. I changed the water on fri and musta forgoten to set it. It was at like an 8. Ouch! But back down to the 6 range. This new bulb looks orange to me. It says T2 soft white 13WTS on the box. This what I want? It sits bout 10 inchs off the tub. I could feel a lil slime on my pump, algee I presume? Will this afect rooting times?and how do I control that? the 284gph pump runs 10 360deg sprayers. They don't really spray a fine mist, its like a combo of mist and lil water droplets more water then spray really but they all get wet. This ok? Like I said, they all look pretty good for 4 weeks in there. 1 is a large clone with many leaves(I know, lose the leaves so it will concentrate on rooting) but I left it so I could see diff rooting times on diff size cuttings. But the thing is so healthy. Stands tall and proud, very green with not 1 bit of yellow and has 8 leaves and 4 nodes. She's a trooper to look that good! Anyways. I don't wanna dump more $ nor waste more time. I don't wanna ditch these either and replace them if I'm gonna have the same issues. Any ideas?

I'm not really sure I dont use cfl's for cloning I use t5 florescents that are blue tubes I buy at the grow shop. if you go to home depot you can buy cheaper bulbs and you can get a cheap fixture. if you look through their bulbs some will have a light spectrum on them some and some will say they are for plants. DO NOT get aquarium bulbs they will f your plants up. I would put them about 6 inches off the bulb they don't really produce heat. If its alge you should dump out the water and clean everything with a fairly strong h2o2 mix and a scratch pad if you want to clean it now or use mild soap, water and scratch pad when they are done. If the temps stay down it won't grow alge and other bad shit like root rott. by the way do the bottoms of your stems look kinda dirty pinkish, maybe purple and or grey combination? That could be root rott in which case they won't root. Your misters may be clogged or something? I'm not sure, some sprayers are better than others if you get cheapy sprayers you sometimes get cheap results, but they should still root. That temp and your ph were alittle high when you get closer to 62-64 you can get great results quick. Hmmmm are they growing in there or did you take them like that?

Does ur 396gph srpay a fine mist or is it pretty wet? I clean the blade and put in water after each cut till I'm done all my cuttings then put in cloner. I don't have a medium as I use discs. Ditch and replace? What if I fed my moms rootin hormon a day or 2 b4 I clone, that way it will be in the cutting? Will that help? Any other tips or ideas plz

Originally Posted by Dr.GreenBuds

I'm not really sure I dont use cfl's for cloning I use t5 florescents that are blue tubes I buy at the grow shop. if you go to home depot you can buy cheaper bulbs and you can get a cheap fixture. if you look through their bulbs some will have a light spectrum on them some and some will say they are for plants. DO NOT get aquarium bulbs they will f your plants up. I would put them about 6 inches off the bulb they don't really produce heat. If its alge you should dump out the water and clean everything with a fairly strong h2o2 mix and a scratch pad if you want to clean it now or use mild soap, water and scratch pad when they are done. If the temps stay down it won't grow alge and other bad shit like root rott. by the way do the bottoms of your stems look kinda dirty pinkish, maybe purple and or grey combination? That could be root rott in which case they won't root. Your misters may be clogged or something? I'm not sure, some sprayers are better than others if you get cheapy sprayers you sometimes get cheap results, but they should still root. That temp and your ph were alittle high when you get closer to 62-64 you can get great results quick. Hmmmm are they growing in there or did you take them like that?

i was under them imprssion that T5s werent good for cloning... ya a few of them do look a lil rotted and its been so long now i cant rember if they grew at all.. lil if any... well thanx for the help.. i guess il salvage what good still and cut more.. hopefully this will work my way as i have had problems with cloning for bout 8 mnths... thats y i built this aerocloner... i am so far behind from where i want to be rite now ... i even ordered seeds a few mnths ago jus to make sure i have shit to perpetuate till i get these wrinkles ironed out but cant afford to lose any more time or waste any more $ ya know

um I'm not sure what my cloner is I do know that a 350gph that I use in my aero system has 12-14 sprayers and sprays a very fine mist not really any water without the lid on. when the lid goes on it the water condenses more at the cup sites and looks more like rain than a fine mist. Clean the system before each use very well including the pump. don't use chlorine or bleach use mild soap and water or rubbing alcohol or h2o2(is the best for the plants). Rinse very well. When you take cuttings you dont want your cutting to be any longer than 4" and and shorter than 2". 3-4" is what I try and shoot for. I usually take a big cutting off the plant 5-6in and cut it down after I have removed all the unwanted leaf from the cutting. You should leave on the top 3 nodes. don't go less and don't go much more. the leaves will usually die and be a drain on the cutting. Then cut the cutting down using a 45 deg cut on the stem and put it into a rooting compound or water if you choose not to use it. As long as your plants are in veg they will have all the hormones the plant will give them to grow new roots. The best cuttings are the newest growth spots on the plant. You can also put them directly into the aero cloner as long as its on. You should leave the pump on 24/7 keep the temps betwee 62-70 and you should have no probs. Also getting blue florescence i think will definately help unless you can find a cfl that glows blue. I know they are out there I just dont grow with them. If you use plane tap water and a root stimulator product from a hydroponic store you shouldn't have to adjust ph. I don't anyways. You should get roots.

wikkid... i gotta go to the hydro shop tomorow so ill check for a bulb peroxide and clonex... ill also clean my misters up and possably buy a new pump... thnx for the help...

Your welcome homie