My new aero cloner

[splifman]

So I was sick of waiting like a month and a half for roots to come through on my clones, even with a heating pad and dome. I was told that those EZ Clone aeroponic cloners help clones root within days.
For around $25 I made this aeroponics set up specifically for clones. I used the site that Major Toke posted in the DIY section as a guideline. Mine is on a much smaller scale.

Any opinions or comments would be appreciated. Does anyone know what the optimal water temp is for a set up like this?

 

[Mr Plumber]

hey man keep us updated in the root takeoff i am interested in this as well.
Are you leaving the pump on 24/7 or did you buy a repeat cycle timer?

 

[splifman]

Will do... I don't have a cycle timer. I need to leave it on 24/7. I'm wondering if I should turn it off when I turn the lights off. I have the lighting on a 16/8 cycle.

 

[nongreenthumb]

thats really cool but what you need to do the job now is another container to go on top and to attach the cfls in there so that you can light and raise humidity

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Slow rooting is usually caused by keeping the rockwool too wet. I've toyed with aerocloners before but it is very hard to get the watering right. They usually make the rootzones far too wet as well. If in an aerocloner, your stems rot from the end, it's again too wet.

Your first try with cubes sitting on a heat mat would have worked if you had not overwatered. The trick is to keep them DAMP not WET.

My clone box is made out of an old plywood shipping crate, lined with white plastic, has a heat mat (specifically made for cuttings, runs at 28 degrees C) on the floor, a little 4" exhaust fan and some fluoro lights.

I get roots though the bottom of my rockwool cubes in 5-7 days. I normally get 100% of my cuts to strike, though occasionally a bad rockwool cube (one which isn't very dense and doesn't seal around the stem well) will prevent proper rooting.

The trick is to keep your cubes damp- never, ever saturated or wet. I water my cubes by dipping only one corner of the cube into a pail of fresh, clean water for about 2-3 seconds. This should soak up only 10-15 ml of water in each cube.

Once they set root, the cubes will need slightly more water to get through 24 hours before watering again. The entire bottom surface of a cube with a rooted plant can be dipped into the water for about 3-5 seconds.

Were I you, I'd revisit the plain old cubes on a heat mat within some sort of box. Make sure the humidity in your box stays at around 50-80%. If there's water condensing on the walls of your box, it's far too wet.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

BTW, my technique of gauging how much to water a cube by dipping a corner is only learnt through LOTS of practice (read: many years). I can tell by the feel of the weight of a cube whether the watering is OK or not.

Someone just learning might use a syringe to measure 10-15ml of water to apply to the rockwool cubes once a day. You're totally sure to get it right. Once you learn the feel of the weight of a cube with the right amount of water in it, you can 'wing it' the way I do.

 

[splifman]

thats really cool but what you need to do the job now is another container to go on top and to attach the cfls in there so that you can light and raise humidity

Thanks NGT,

I forgot to post this pic. This was my old dome. The width is perfect, its just a little too long. I might need to close off the bottom somehow to trap in more humidity.

 

[splifman]

Slow rooting is usually caused by keeping the rockwool too wet. I've toyed with aerocloners before but it is very hard to get the watering right. They usually make the rootzones far too wet as well. If in an aerocloner, your stems rot from the end, it's again too wet.

Your first try with cubes sitting on a heat mat would have worked if you had not overwatered. The trick is to keep them DAMP not WET.

My clone box is made out of an old plywood shipping crate, lined with white plastic, has a heat mat (specifically made for cuttings, runs at 28 degrees C) on the floor, a little 4" exhaust fan and some fluoro lights.

I get roots though the bottom of my rockwool cubes in 5-7 days. I normally get 100% of my cuts to strike, though occasionally a bad rockwool cube (one which isn't very dense and doesn't seal around the stem well) will prevent proper rooting.

The trick is to keep your cubes damp- never, ever saturated or wet. I water my cubes by dipping only one corner of the cube into a pail of fresh, clean water for about 2-3 seconds. This should soak up only 10-15 ml of water in each cube.

Once they set root, the cubes will need slightly more water to get through 24 hours before watering again. The entire bottom surface of a cube with a rooted plant can be dipped into the water for about 3-5 seconds.

Were I you, I'd revisit the plain old cubes on a heat mat within some sort of box. Make sure the humidity in your box stays at around 50-80%. If there's water condensing on the walls of your box, it's far too wet.

Thanks for the advice. I actually was using those tree bark plugs, i forgot what they are called, I'm sure you have come across them before though. I got 8 out of 9 to root, but it took between 3 to 6 weeks. I never watered the plugs until they looked like they were drying out ( you can tell by the color), at which point I would add no more than a tablespoon or two of water. I had a heating pad that I placed on low just to up the temp in the dome to around 80 F. I would mist them about three times a day. Just don't know why it takes so long!
If this set up doesn't work out for me I'll try rockwool cubes. What's cool about the $10 pump that I got for this, is that it has a nob that allows you to lower the the pump power and therefore lower the spray. If it seems like the stems are getting too much water I can try to lower this setting.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

I like your old dome. It's not fully enclosed, as are many commercially available clone boxes, which usually have a rotating air vent closure on either end. These usually keep the humidity too high.

A loose-fitting top like this won't allow excessive humidity, as long as the area where the box sits isn't too drafty. Moist air will collect under this dome but the excess will escape. Good stuff, mon.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Thanks for the advice. I actually was using those tree bark plugs, i forgot what they are called, I'm sure you have come across them before though. I got 8 out of 9 to root, but it took between 3 to 6 weeks.

You may have had either coconut coir or 'jiffy pots.' I am not fond of these because they are made of organics and can rot. They really hold too much water for cloning. You're looking for damp, never wet or saturated media.

3-6 weeks is waaaaay too long, indicating things were too wet. Stem tips would rot in that period of time and the roots would pop out further up the stem, but very slowly indeed. The roots will pop out on the point of the stem where there is the best compromise of water and oxygen. Should take no more than 10 days to get roots, 5 days in best case.

I never watered the plugs until they looked like they were drying out ( you can tell by the color), at which point I would add no more than a tablespoon or two of water. I had a heating pad that I placed on low just to up the temp in the dome to around 80 F. I would mist them about three times a day. Just don't know why it takes so long!

No need to mist leaves unless you're seeing wilting. Wilting can also be caused by stem rot from a too-wet medium. I've never had to mist- and the humidity in my clone box is often rather low- 40-50%. I have seen minor wilting in the day just after the cuttings are done, but turning off the fluoros in the clone box for their first 6-8 hours in the box will usually solve that. Otherwise the lights in the clone box run 24/7.

If it seems like the stems are getting too much water I can try to lower this setting.

Check for stem rot daily. If you get rot, it's too wet. You shouldn't see water dripping off the stems in the aerocloner. Doesn't need to be a fog or mist in the aerocloner, only very high humidity around the stem tips.

You'll get there, but I think rockwool cubes on a 28C heat pad (never hotter) are a bit more forgiving and flexible in the long run. You can figure that if strikes are taking more than 10 days, whatever you're doing is too wet.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

I've stuck up a bunch of pix in my gallery so you can see how it works around here.

https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-pics/index.php?u=1698

 

[whitebombs]

this looks like a bigger version of my 150 dollar aerogarden...now i know you are not supposed to grow the whole way through in that thing....but cant ya?

 

[Al B. Fuct]

You talking about my clone box? You could indeed go from clone to bud in it, but my puny 6x 18W (24") fluoros wouldn't make much bud. Not a lot of room, either. OK for about 20-30 cuttings, but once they set root they grow fast!

 

[whitebombs]

ah sweet!

 

[splifman]

I've stuck up a bunch of pix in my gallery so you can see how it works around here.

https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-pics/index.php?u=1698

Dude, you're totally right about the roots popping out from further up the stem. That's exactly what happened to the majority of my clones.
I sure wish you were here when I posted my first cloning question a while back. I was told by several people to just be patient and that they could take up to several weeks. So that's what I did, and they did root. But it was annoying that they took so long.
I do hope this little contraption works though. I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[splifman]

this looks like a bigger version of my 150 dollar aerogarden...now i know you are not supposed to grow the whole way through in that thing....but cant ya?

I am familiar with the aerogarden, and it is very similar. I don't think there would be enough room to grow several plants though, especially if they were indica dominant

 

[Al B. Fuct]

I was told by several people to just be patient and that they could take up to several weeks.

heh, they were overwatering too.

If you're not getting roots in 10 days max, whatever method you use, something's not right, usually too wet.

 

[FilthyFletch]

it took you a month to get clone roots? should take 7-10 day till good to go..wow

 

[OhioGrown]

i never turned off the bubbles, when i turned the light off. i always kept it running, and it rooted fine.

 

[splifman]

i never turned off the bubbles, when i turned the light off. i always kept it running, and it rooted fine.

thanks dude, let me know when you post that pic of your cloner. I want to see how it compares to the one I built.