DIY Aerocloner First Test Run - Please Help!

T

THConnoisseur

New Member
hey guys, its been awhile since ive been on the forums but have no fear, i am back with more :cheer: recently ive been having trouble getting my cuttings to root the old fashioned way with plugs, root gel, and a dome. when i started cloning my own mothers 18 months ago i had 100% success. ever since then ive had less than a 50% success rate and was never sure why. first i attributed it to temperature, so i added a heat mat and it did not improve my success. so i tried 3 or 4 other methods which seemed to progressively give me worse and worse results...

SO, with those experiences considered, and an increasing need for new clones so i may keep my perpetual garden on schedule, ive turned to aeroponics. i was about to spend $250 for the EZ-Cloner but saw too many legit DIY setups online, had an extra pump, and decided to give it a go. I built the cloner a few days ago and today I took 9 cuttings from my Green Crack mother and want to get some input from everyone!! PLEASE tell me if anything seems completely wrong, or if i could/should change something for better results.

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ingredients to the magic potion - came highly recommended from the hydro shop for aeroponic applications. I have 2gal of tap water in the cloner and to that i add 2tsp of the Pro-Tekt and 1tsp of the K-L-N, then bring pH down to 5.0.

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the 12-site cloner

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the sprayer manifold, pump, and airstone

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Green Crack mother that have cloned before with low success rates...

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this is how i take my cuttings - turn cloner pump on, take cutting at 45deg angle, slip into neoprene collar, put into empty site in cloner lid, and repeat. after i take all my cuttings and secure them into the cloner, i trim all of the larger fan leaves, and then it looks like this...

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water pump is on 24/7 and so is the airstone, res temperatures shouldnt get above low to mid 70's with the heat from the pump, room temperature is 68-72, humidity is 45%-50%... HOW DOES THIS SOUND!? should i have roots in 7-10 days!??

THANKS GUYS!!
 
thanks for the reply banshee! ive heard everything from 5.0 being perfect to 6.5 being the trick lol you know how it is... i decided to start with 5.0 for my first try becuase i read quite a few threads about 5.0 being ideal for an aerocloner, i guess it stimulates root development better in the highly oxygenated medium, then as soon as you have roots you wants to bring it up to 5.8... hope it works, we will see in a week! ive already decided that if this doesnt work i will take another batch of cuttings and try again with only pH adjusted (5.8) tap water in the system, ive heard that just tap water is all you really need, but the silicon and very diluted root hormone ive added should speed up the process and nearly eliminate transplant shock :thumb:

peace
 
DAY 4 UPDATE

still no signs of roots, temps and pH are stable. a few fan leaves are showing signs of wilting but overall cuttings are still perky and very green. the end of the stems have a very light reddish-brown color to them which has to be discoloring due to the root hormone in the res. theres no way its fungus/rot cuz my res temps havent gone above 72, the water is extremely aerated, and the container is light tight.

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DAY 5 UPDATE

nearly all of the leaves have started to curl upwards for some reason, any thoughts? no sign of roots yet either, but temps and pH are still on point... hmmmm...

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what is your rh at? alot of people like 100% for the first 3-5 days and then slowly take that down, for me that is really complicated considering my humidity is hard pressed to come over 30%, so what works best for me is to just leave that humidity dome on until i see roots comin out of my rapid rooters.
 
yes, but that is because you clone in a propagation dome with plugs. aeroponic cloners do not require daily misting or a humidity dome of any kind, tho i have seen them used... im sure its not because of the humidity tho because the leaves are still "wet" feeling, not crispy and dry, and they would just droop if the humidity was too low, but theyre curling... my first bet is the low 5.0 pH that i went with. tho i read multiple postings of 5.0 being the "trick" for aeroponic cloning, i was still skeptical but decided to try at the lowest reccomended pH and work my way up. assuming these take a turn for the worst, my next batch will be in plain tap water that is pH adjusted to 5.8, no nutes, hormones, additives etc. if i just have zero luck with this aeroponic setup ill go get some more rockwool and go back to the old method... boo...
 
THConnoisseur said:
yes, but that is because you clone in a propagation dome with plugs. aeroponic cloners do not require daily misting or a humidity dome of any kind, tho i have seen them used... im sure its not because of the humidity tho because the leaves are still "wet" feeling, not crispy and dry, and they would just droop if the humidity was too low, but theyre curling... my first bet is the low 5.0 pH that i went with. tho i read multiple postings of 5.0 being the "trick" for aeroponic cloning, i was still skeptical but decided to try at the lowest reccomended pH and work my way up. assuming these take a turn for the worst, my next batch will be in plain tap water that is pH adjusted to 5.8, no nutes, hormones, additives etc. if i just have zero luck with this aeroponic setup ill go get some more rockwool and go back to the old method... boo...
Click to expand...

I think your right about the ph and all that as well but do realize that if your humidity in your room is like 20% at times even with the aeroponics setup you are going to have some issues.
I know that with this setup at say 50-60% humidity in your room you wouldnt have any problems because the pucks that hold your roots are constantly releasing moisture to the underside of the leaves, which is why your plants still feel moist 2 the touch but if your humidity is low i am here to tell you it is a problem.
Also do you have your pump on a timer? turning it on for a period of time and off, repeat, is a good idea to let the root zone warm up and let some moisture evaporate out of them pucks for a minute. just ideas
 
i have the pump on 24/7, ive read that as long as the res temp doesnt get above 75 your good to go and that the only reason ppl cycle the pump is to keep res temps down... not true? ill be starting another 6-9 clones on monday with plain tap water and 5.8 pH, it doesnt seem like these are going to make it...
 
THConnoisseur said:
i have the pump on 24/7, ive read that as long as the res temp doesnt get above 75 your good to go and that the only reason ppl cycle the pump is to keep res temps down... not true? ill be starting another 6-9 clones on monday with plain tap water and 5.8 pH, it doesnt seem like these are going to make it...
Click to expand...

im not exactly sure why 1 would run the pump 24/7 i mean its a fact that the roots grow when the have little to no water and reach out in search of it due to that lack there of.
 
DAY 7 UPDATE

well, i was gone for xmas and came back to this lol not exactly a successful trial... but i still have about 5 or 6 well developed branches on my Green Crack mother so im currently cleaning my aerocloner and will start "test run 2" shortly! stay tuned...

day_6_-_death.jpg
 
TRIAL 2 - DAY 1

ok so we all saw how my last one didnt work out, after 7 days i had dead, shriveled up cuttings with soggy stems... NOT what i was going for! Im determined to figure this aerocloner out though so i just started a second batch of 4 green cracks and 1 holygrail og.

i am using ONLY TAP WATER!! pH adjusted to 5.8 and that is it. the res temps are in the usual low 70's and the pump is on 24/7.

LETS DO THIS :thumb:

trial_2_-_day_1.jpg
 
i hear what your saying, but ive just seen so many other aerocloners that had great success and they didnt do anything to the cuttings, no spray, no dome, nothing... so i figured i would try it the most simple way first and see what needed to be added from there. the whole reason im conducting this experiment is to see if i can find a "set it and forget it" method for cloning. if this next batch doesnt workout at all i will revert to the old fashioned rapid rooter/dome method because i know i can at least get a few to root that way and i am in desperate need of new clones for my next crop.

im going to start lightly misting the cuttings 2-3x a day for the first 3 days then ill let them do their thing, i know at the very least it cant hurt em...
 
not to be rude or anything, but have you ever tried just put a clone into a glass of water, with or without rooting powder. Since the stem is fully under water it will supply all the water to the rest of the clone, no misting or humiditydome is required. Rooting powder will make the clone root double the speed.

This is the real "set it and forget it" method imo since it's the most simple method.
 

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