# Root Excelurator - Setting Up a Valid Experiment



## hymem (May 23, 2011)

Im always skeptical of claims in the hydroponic industry and lot of the time they are usually unfounded. Ive been trying to design a simple experiment to test the effectiveness of Root builders such as root excelurator. Here is my experiment: 

Take 12 cuttings of the same strain (The more the better), root them in 1.5" rockwool cubes. Ill allow rooting hormones to be used for cloning only in this initial experiment. Once the cuttings have rooted they will be transferred to 6x6 Hugo blocks on 4x4 table/s. They will only be feed by base nutrients in tap water, ph adjusted to 5.5-5.7, the atmosphere has to be kept uniform in temperature (78F) and humidity (50%). To be more precise a CO2 monitor should track the PPMs of CO2 but I think only fresh air will be used. Once the clones have been transferred to Hugo Blocks they will be split into groups of 6.The first group will only receive the base nutrient and the second half will receive the base nutrient with Root Excelurator. 

These plants will be vegged out for around 3-4 weeks. Once a cutoff point is determined each plant will be hacked off at the stem so it is flush with the block. Each block will then be allowed to dry out completely and weighed. The weights of the blocks will be compared using statistics to determine if correlations exist. 

Any suggestions? Criticisms?


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## mccumcumber (May 23, 2011)

I just got a free sample of roots excellurator, my hydro store owner gave it to me... I think it did something to plants, nothing too noticeable though. It would be nice to see some tested results.


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## hymem (May 24, 2011)

Thanks. I plan on getting this going in a couple of weeks. Anyone see any issues with this experiment? Once this is done it will definitely have to replicated a few times to determine its validity.


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## hymem (May 24, 2011)

> couple weeks...? pssh


Yeah brother, have patience. I need to wait till my veg area is free, its a big sacrifice.


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## asaph (May 24, 2011)

my wish is that it would be expanded to test more additives - enzymes, vitamins, bud boosters etc. 

but i do realize that would be too much


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## eDude (May 24, 2011)

Will love to see what you come up with. 

But, experience has shown me that there is something about the RE that will help.. But is it worth the price? I suspect that is has NAA in it. But, for sure it has humics and some seaweed. I can live with out it.


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## insomnia47 (May 24, 2011)

subbed im extremely curious as well, now i see you are only vegging for a few weeks than chopping? i think you should flower half if you have the space. roots are one thing, but buds is where the money is at, the weight of those should also be compared


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## asaph (May 24, 2011)

well for that perhaps can be done a different experiment that measures the correlation between root and bud masses? esp since one doesn't normally use RE in flower. 

but then, it'll be very interesting to see if using RE in flowering makes any difference on root mass, and how much.


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## hymem (May 24, 2011)

> *subbed im extremely curious as well, now i see you are only vegging for a few weeks than chopping? i think you should flower half if you have the space. roots are one thing, but buds is where the money is at, the weight of those should also be compared *





> *well for that perhaps can be done a different experiment that measures the correlation between root and bud masses? esp since one doesn't normally use RE in flower.
> 
> but then, it'll be very interesting to see if using RE in flowering makes any difference on root mass, and how much. *


This experiment will strictly measure root mass. It will be much more simple to draw conclusions if I only go into Veg. The extra 2 months of flower makes the experiment much more difficult to keep consistent. 

Ive been running RDWC without RE for about a year and my root masses are absolutely gigantic, even with out it. The root growth I see in RDWC without RE is the main reason I want to run the experiment.


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## MediMary (May 24, 2011)

Im interested.. looking forward to see if you have similar results as me
good luck


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## hymem (May 24, 2011)

> *Im interested.. looking forward to see if you have similar results as me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Medimary - What were your results? Did you run an experiment also?


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## MediMary (May 24, 2011)

yah I have been for the last few months... 
but the most tests the better
+rep
I found it to be most helpful in root development in cuttings, but like you said RDWC the roots blow up regardless.


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## insomnia47 (May 25, 2011)

how much is this product, i don't think my local hydro shop carries it? nits pretty pricey if i remember correctly right? i hate how long it takes for cuttings to root properly, i may wanna try this


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## malignant (May 25, 2011)

it makes a huge difference with an aeroponic cloner, or with dwc.. 7 drops per gallon is perfect


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## WSRidahs (May 25, 2011)

In DWC I've used Roots Excelurator with the whole H&G line using Aqua Flakes. Stopped using it and did not noticed a difference. Switched to Supernatural Brand nutrients using no root promoter and my yield went from 4-5 oz's per plant to 9+ oz's per plant with the same strain. In flower I currently use Bloom Aqua, Ultimate Thrive, Super Boost, Bud Blaster, and Superlicious.


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## hymem (May 26, 2011)

> *how much is this product, i don't think my local hydro shop carries it? nits pretty pricey if i remember correctly right? i hate how long it takes for cuttings to root properly, i may wanna try this *


Im not sure of the cost but its pretty expensive. You can also use clonex/root tech or any other brand of rooting stimulator when it comes to cloning. 



> *it makes a huge difference with an aeroponic cloner, or with dwc.. 7 drops per gallon is perfect *


Ive noticed that aerocloners work really quick especially if you can keep that res temp down. Have you tried clonex liquid? My brother uses it and his stuff roots super quick. 



> *In DWC I've used Roots Excelurator with the whole H&G line using Aqua Flakes. Stopped using it and did not noticed a difference. Switched to Supernatural Brand nutrients using no root promoter and my yield went from 4-5 oz's per plant to 9+ oz's per plant with the same strain. In flower I currently use Bloom Aqua, Ultimate Thrive, Super Boost, Bud Blaster, and Superlicious. *


Thats an insane difference in yield bro. Did you veg them longer or did they just fill out better with the Supernatural brand?


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## powderwilkening (May 26, 2011)

Ive noticed that aerocloners work really quick especially if you can keep that res temp down. Have you tried clonex liquid? My brother uses it and his stuff roots super quick.[/QUOTE said:


> I'm lookin at running the RE in my aerocloner and was wondering where I should keep my res temperatures when cloning? I think I have been having an issue with this! Any help is much appreciated


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## bamfrivet (May 26, 2011)

You should try and experiment between RE and Willow Water next. See which is more effective for their cost and results.


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## malignant (May 28, 2011)

i use re and water.. nothing else in my cloner


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## Alex Kelly (May 29, 2011)

*What about this?:* I think that you have to entertain the possibility that the plants that got the root excelerator will have the same amount of root mass as the plants that did not get the root excelerator at the end of veg, but the plants that received the RE grew their roots faster and had more roots and a larger root mass earlier on. Allowing them to drink more good nutrients earlier on, producing a larger plant, but still having the same size root mass at the end of veg. Thoughts?


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## Alex Kelly (May 29, 2011)

Also the root mass in a DWC always ends up huge. The size of my roots are determined by the size of the bucket that they're in. There may be a larger or more noticeable difference in different mediums. 

AK


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## hymem (May 29, 2011)

> *I'm lookin at running the RE in my aerocloner and was wondering where I should keep my res temperatures when cloning? I think I have been having an issue with this! Any help is much appreciated
> 
> 
> 
> ...


From what ive heard around 65 is tits. Thats about what I keep my solution in RDWC. 



> *What about this?: I think that you have to entertain the possibility that the plants that got the root excelerator will have the same amount of root mass as the plants that did not get the root excelerator at the end of veg, but the plants that received the RE grew their roots faster and had more roots and a larger root mass earlier on. Allowing them to drink more good nutrients earlier on, producing a larger plant, but still having the same size root mass at the end of veg. Thoughts? *



Yes, this is a possibility. The only way to know for sure is to redo the experiment a bunch of times and take results every week instead of just at the end. I would love to do this but I dont have the time, space or money. I guess ill just keep it simple for round 1. Thanks for the input mate.


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## malignant (May 29, 2011)

side by side i see a diff in rockwool, just never bother without it in my cloner


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## stinkyg (Jul 3, 2011)

root excellerator does work, the roots fly out ! did it with n without n it was better with. good shit just adab expensive i thinks


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