starting clones lighting questions

justsmoked

justsmoked

Well-Known Member
hi, i currently have a veg and flowering room and have been buying clones for some time. i want to start making my own and wanted to run my plans on here and see what some people think.

i am planning on making about 12 clippings at a time and using clone formula then placing into rockwool cubes. i have a ph meter and will ph test the water etc. i havent fully decided the rest of the set up as i want to figure out what lights i am going to use so i can set it all up right.

I currently have:

4 cfls day light that are 14watts each (60watt equivalent each)
2 cfls bright white that are 14watts each (60 watt equivalent each)
(hope these arent too much?)

how much lighting will i need, i plan on using the cfl's. should i use the day light or bright white or a combination of both? and how long should i run the lights. 24/0 or 18/6? or 24/0 at the start then after a week or so switch to 18/6?

thanks alot in advance for any input or advice!!
 
sparkafire

sparkafire

Well-Known Member
justsmoked said:
hi, i currently have a veg and flowering room and have been buying clones for some time. i want to start making my own and wanted to run my plans on here and see what some people think.

i am planning on making about 12 clippings at a time and using clone formula then placing into rockwool cubes. i have a ph meter and will ph test the water etc. i havent fully decided the rest of the set up as i want to figure out what lights i am going to use so i can set it all up right.

I currently have:

4 cfls day light that are 14watts each (60watt equivalent each)
2 cfls bright white that are 14watts each (60 watt equivalent each)
(hope these arent too much?)

how much lighting will i need, i plan on using the cfl's. should i use the day light or bright white or a combination of both? and how long should i run the lights. 24/0 or 18/6? or 24/0 at the start then after a week or so switch to 18/6?

thanks alot in advance for any input or advice!!
Click to expand...
From what i know Clones should be dark for 6 or so hours after cutting and then the lighting can be very light just a small CFL will do until roots show then move under your normal lights.
 
Dirtyboy

Dirtyboy

Well-Known Member
You have grown out clones already so ya should know the rest.

You know whats up just do it.

Good growing to ya.
 
N

NoDrama

Well-Known Member
I make my clones with 400 W MH light 30 inches off them buggers, no way you got too much light, prolly don't have enough. They are mature plants remember? not seedlings.
 
sparkafire

sparkafire

Well-Known Member
Dirtyboy said:
You can use the lights ya have. Put the light higher if ya think its too strong.
Click to expand...
Yep everyone here is right i think. Its just a matter of what you have. If you have no light just a small one will suffice if you have a 400MH Like ND then you can use that as well. New cuttings are very flexible with lighting just don't want to burn them.
 
justsmoked

justsmoked

Well-Known Member
great guys thanks alot....i think i found what im gonna try to set everything up in. ill post some pics later when i get a chance.
 
justsmoked

justsmoked

Well-Known Member
k so iv had this little cabinet forever and i decided im going to try to use it for my clone box and a seed propagation box as well. Was wondering what people think, if it will work?

Plan:
-Ive already sprayed the inside with water sealant and im going to paint the inside flat white then spray it with water seal again.
-I have 6 cfls i am going to mount on the top on the side walls so the cfls are sideways and not hanging upside down.
-I am going to put an intake fan on the top of one side next to the lights and an exhaust fan on the other side.

I still havent decided exactly what i am going to use as a tray for the clones to go into. I am going to be using rockwool cubes so any advice would be great.

Thanks everyone!!
 

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Brocktoon

Brocktoon

Active Member
This may sound lame, but I use a lot of that rubbermaid stuff that you can get at Home Depot. The main benefit is that it comes in many sizes, which can be good for small spaces, such as your cabinet.
 
N

NoDrama

Well-Known Member
The box looks like a great idea. 6 CFL may be too much heat though. Try to use the largest single bulb you can...1x125watt would work nicely , or 1x60 watt. the only problem is finding CFL that big, most of the HW stores carry the smaller ones. Your 6 cfl may well work good though, especially seeing as how you will be directing air over them. maybe a piece of easily removable glass between plants and light to make it a poor mans kind of cool tube?? Try to keep the temps under 80 F (27C) at all times, growth is greatly stunted if its over 85F(29C).

i second the rubbermaid idea for a clone tray. You can also use some of the sterilite plastic storage ware for a tray.
 
justsmoked

justsmoked

Well-Known Member
when i do get everything up and running, as far as watering and drainage is concerned how should i go about doing that? do i just want to soak the cubes and drain them and just make sure they stay moist? or do i want them to always sit in a little bit of water. im new to clones and not sure how i am going to go about it yet.
 
N

NoDrama

Well-Known Member
When you first get them ready for the cuttings you need to soak the rockwool cubes in some PH 5.6-5.8 water. the reason for doing this is because some lime is used in making the rockwool and lime acts as a base and buffers the PH too high, by using acidic water it will balance it out to a MJ loving ph of 6-7. Once they have soaked for several hours up to 24 hours long you can take them out of the water and give them a good couple of shakes to get all the excess water out. Don't squeeze the cubes, its important that the fibres stay in shape to hold the oxygen. When you water them you need very little, for my 3" cubes i give 1/2 cup of 200PPM(Veg nutes) PH 6 water each day. for the one inch cubes that I start in I give a few ounces 1xeach day.
 
justsmoked

justsmoked

Well-Known Member
ok thanks alot man. i painted the cabinet and it should be dry enough for me to put another coat of water sealant on it later tonight. then just gotta go to frys and grab some little cpu fans get them and the lights all hooked up then im pretty much ready. i have about 3-4 bagseeds ive saved, i think i want to try to sprout those first in the box as a little test for me and something fun to do. i just put some new clones into my veg room so they wont be ready to take any clippings from for another 1-2 weeks or so. if using the rockwool should i just germinate the seed then just drop it in the cube and water like i would if they were clippings?
 
justsmoked

justsmoked

Well-Known Member
i know its been a while but i finally finished my cabinet....let me know what you guys think. Also i think im going to start my clones off in soil as i also switched the rest of my setup to soil.

The fan on top blows air in and the one on the bottom blows air out. The fans have 3 speeds which is convenient when it gets hotter in the summer. Right now with the fans on low it is pretty quiet and stays about 74-76'F.
 

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