Bubble Cloner Issues

Okay, so I had my DIY Bubble Cloner on for 6 days and 8/12 of the clones rooted.

Since this was just a test run and I took some of them off the middle of the stem, I decided to repeat the procedure.

Except this time, some issues have risen..

First off, it's been 4 days and there aren't even budding roots. I saw budding roots after 2.5 days before.

Second, the pH of my water is 6.5.. but after sitting in the cloner and after adding some liquid nutrients, it went up to 8.0.

So, I added some pH down and got it to 5.8 (which I read was adequate for hydro).

However, and I'm not sure if it's related to the liquid pH down I used, I noticed that the air stones had come to have a sort of white residue on them.

I cleaned the container and the air stones as best I could, filled the container up again and repeated the procedure with the nutrients and pH down and so far the water is okay but one of the air stones stopped producing as much air (it only does so from one hole).

I don't have a way to check water temperature but from touching it I figure it's about room temperature.

So.. am I doing anything wrong?

Thanks!

Clones generally take from 7 - 20 days depending on the strain and your reservoir temps. I have rooted thousands of clones using only tap water and never worry about Ph, just clean your equipment with bleach between uses.

Adding nutes will make them take longer. Plain tap water is all you need, pH is not a factor in cloners.

superstoner1 said:

Adding nutes will make them take longer. Plain tap water is all you need, pH is not a factor in cloners.

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quick jack. what do you think about heating the water? would that speed things up? or just create problems?

I can say from experience, the only time I ever had a slime issue was when I thought I needed an aquarium heater. An extra 2-4 days to root is better than slime. Not worth it.

superstoner1 said:

I can say from experience, the only time I ever had a slime issue was when I thought I needed an aquarium heater. An extra 2-4 days to root is better than slime. Not worth it.

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thanks so much.

good luck op!

superstoner1 said:

Adding nutes will make them take longer. Plain tap water is all you need, pH is not a factor in cloners.

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How come pH and nutrients aren't a factor? I thought the whole idea was that the cuttings need to suck up as much nutrients as possible, hence why the cloner kits come with nutrients solutions..

And to suck up as much as possible, the pH must be balanced because at 8.0 pH, they're not going to get much.

The idea of a cloner is to get cuuttings to root, period. Without roots the cutting needs only water because it can't uptake nutes. And since pH only affects nute uptake via the roots and there is no nutes and no roots then pH is not an issue.

superstoner1 said:

The idea of a cloner is to get cuuttings to root, period. Without roots the cutting needs only water because it can't uptake nutes. And since pH only affects nute uptake via the roots and there is no nutes and no roots then pH is not an issue.

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But then wouldn't the nutes help the roots grow faster once it actually does root?

Also, I put plenty of nutes in my soil. Is that possibly the reason why the rooted clones aren't growing in my soil?

Why is it that everything hates nutes so much?

Plenty does not always equal right or correct.

superstoner1 said:

Plenty does not always equal right or correct.

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But yellowing leaves are a sign of low nutrients. If what you're saying is true, I would be seeing nute burn around the edges of the leaves.

Hi Trackr, I will try to help you.
- White foam was probably because the PH down (vinegar / acetic acid)
- Nitrogen has proven to delay roots formation. If yellowing spray a low dose of flowering fertilizer on the leaves.
- Bubbles: You want shit loads of them. Could you puncture your pump plastic tubes?
- PH. As usual in hydro's (5.5 to 6.0)
- Water temp between 21 and 24 degC to stimulate roots growth. And as soon as you have roots between 19 degC and 21 degC to maximize oxygen intake.

With a bubble cloner you should start seeing roots in 7 days, then start decreasing temp and slowly increasing fertilizer in water.

*Final tip: Some H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide): Could increase oxygen levels if not enough bubbles.

H2o2 evaporates so fast there is no real benefit of added o2 and it kills the good stuff that plants like also.

superstoner1 said:

H2o2 evaporates so fast there is no real benefit of added o2 and it kills the good stuff that plants like also.

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We would certainly appreciate if you could please post your method in detail for the bubble cloner.

A few thoughts...

Cuttings have enough energy stored up to make plenty of roots. The idea that they need to soak up nutrients is myth and marketing. If you do want to feed cuttings a foliar spray is best. It's not unusual at all for clones to look worse before they look better, especially in soil.

superstoner's got it.....
non PH'd tap water
HEALTHY mother plant
and the most important, Patience..

$7 amazon

better than "finger test "

try the cloner in my signature... Biggest problem noobs have with bubble cloners is blacking out the container and air hose.... roots hate light, slime and algae love it!