Cloning Bubbler Machine - Build it Yourself

[B. Friendly]

Took Slowandeasy's advice made a bubble cloner myself here's what it looks like:


Cost:
$2 air stone
$15 pump on sale
$15 aquarium heater on sale Alternative heating by seedling mats @
$?? whatever seedling mats cost, think quaurium heater is cheaper, want to keep water temp at 72 F
$6 plastic tote 15 litre / 4 gallon
$5 metalic tape to cover holes and stick cuttings in
---
$45 roughly canadian $$ for a 55 site bubble cloner, without the heater it's $100us with shipping for the same thing. Plus i can turn it into an 80 site bubbler see the outlined holes in the pics, all for under 50 bucks. Ezcloners are over $350 and i understand bubblers are better than misters, even if they are equally as good as each other who cares.
Stick cuttings 2'' under water and they should root in 5+ days, I'll find out soon

 

[greenerdreams]

Hell yea, my mind has been right on board with you. Helping set my friend up, who is strapped for cash and cant afford a tub or machine in the stores. he currently is using rockwool and a heating mat but taking two weeks and tired of dirt also. keep me posted. thx.

 

[Bunz]

Looks good, but you're gonna have to lightproof it or you'll get unwanted algae growth in the water.

 

[B. Friendly]

Looks good, but you're gonna have to lightproof it or you'll get unwanted algae growth in the water.

ya i was wondering about that, brutal because for the same price I could of looked around and found a dark plastic tote, crap. Do you think in a week algae will grow??? hope not, will let you guys know how it works.
Gonna put H202 and superthrive in my water, hopefully the H2O2 helps with algea???

 

[B. Friendly]

built my bubbler

built my bubbler

Seedling mats are good enough to keep the water warm. I put two of them under my 4 gal. bubbler and the temp was consistantly in the 70's, aquarium heater never turned on. If you already have seedling mats no need to buy an aquarium heater

 

[stillsmokin843]

I have a ez clone 60 site. With the big pump no need for heat if the room its in isn't cool enough the cloaner will run to hot. If your room is to hot ya might need a chiller. You can make one easy the lid and collars on the ez cloaner is the only thing that I think some pepole might have a hard time copying. I've been thinkin ya could drill your holes in lid the size of the of the one your making then take a secound peice drill holes a little smaller and using spacers inbetween the two peices to create a good spot to hold neoprenes hope this is makin since I am a lil self medicated feel free to ask any questions

 

[brer]

Thank's B Friendly and Slowandeasy's , i have been looking for a how2 bubble cloner i like your's .
On the clear box subject , i understand root's don't like light , so maybe add tape etc to light seal .
I have seen a home made aero cloner in action , the stem was help by a piece of foam fipe insulation , inserted into the hole in the lid .
A heated propigator will double as a heat source , if the cloner will fit .
Can i ask if that's the actual water level when in use , your's is near the top , i'm confused as to whether to fill and have the stem in the water , or have the water just above the airstone to create a splash/spray .
Any help appreciated thank's

 

[eurasian_farmer]

mine sit about an inch in the bubblin' water.

with a few drops of h202 and a few drops of b1.

so far not dead.

 

[Japanfreakier]

Light in the water will cause problems...

lol, Like what problems?

 

[B. Friendly]

lol, Like what problems?

if you leave water in a clear bucket that's not circulated in a month or so you'll get algea, ooohhhhh scary stuff kids. lol

 

[gdtrfb]

i've always looked at light in the rootzone and algae as unneeded variables. i don't expect they'll make things run better than they would in their absence, and if things go pear shaped it's just one more thing i'd have to rule out before things got rolling again.

i get the 'can/should' distinction - but all the same, it's worth mentioning. yah. you can, but all things considered that doesn't equate 'you should'.

 

[B. Friendly]

bubblers, cheap bubblers anybody

 

[Japanfreakier]

bubblers, cheap bubblers anybody

Yeah man, nice bubbler, cheap effective and room for lots of cuts which I especially like, tend to see a lot of cloners out there with very few spots.

 

[9240GrnMachine]

ive been making a similar one for years but use pvc and sprayers on top of a pump, like the ez cloners... get it all at homedepot! works like a charm...

 

[spurr]

ya i was wondering about that, brutal because for the same price I could of looked around and found a dark plastic tote, crap. Do you think in a week algae will grow??? hope not, will let you guys know how it works.
Gonna put H202 and superthrive in my water, hopefully the H2O2 helps with algea???

You should not use a clear tub if you can help it. Using a clear tub won't mean failure, just unneeded risk. Using GH FloraShield is better than H202 because FloraShield won't damage root tissue like H2o2 and it works very well, esp. as a fungicide (from the chitosan). GH FloraSHiled will stop algae. I use it at 1:300 for cloning and follow the direction on bottle for cleaning the cloner.

 

[spurr]

Nice bubble cloner, looks professional!

I hope you don't mind, but I thought I would add to the party

Below is my design for a hybrid of both bubble cloner and spray cloner, I call it an "areated aero-cloner", and it rocks if I may say so myself. The basal ends don't sit in water like with a true bubble cloner. It works better than anything I have tried before, incl. bubble cloners and aero cloners (both DIY and purchased).

I run the sprayers with an 'on' time of 1 minute and an 'off' time of 5 mins.

This aerated aero-clones provides very high dissolved oxygen when used with a good diffuser and in less than 20-30 gallon of water. Much higher DO than bubble cloners with air stones or aero-cloner with sprayers. I am using a diaphragm air pump, a Hailea 9730 (35 watts) in 15 gallon of water.

The diffuser for the air pump is 1/2" PVC with 1/16" holes drilled every 2 inches.

I took the advise of the person who taught me how to build the aero-cloner half and thus I don't use neoprene collars or nets; I use 2" pieces of 1/2" PVC fitted into the lid and the leaf stems to hold up the clones.

I get roots in under a week nearly every time. No dome (not needed), no spraying at all (not needed), no clipping leafs (not needed)...just roots

I use 0.5 ml General Hydroponics grow/micro/bloom with 1:300 (parts) GH FloraShield to water with pH fluxing from 5.2-6.

Total cost to setup this unit was around ~$175-200 and it has 39 sites for clones. The clones can be doubled up so the unit can handle ~80 cuttings at once.



My design for an aerated aero-cloner:

Day 5:

Day 8 (transplant day!):

 

[Japanfreakier]

I love using pvc for the collars like that, did you get that idea from Dcyans? Been doing the same on my cloners for 8 years, so much better than the alternatives I feel.

 

[spurr]

I love using pvc for the collars like that, did you get that idea from Dcyans? Been doing the same on my cloners for 8 years, so much better than the alternatives I feel.

Yup, he's the one who taught me how to make the aero-cloner. Then I added the air pump and air diffuser taking methods from what Microbeman suggests ( www.microbeorganics.com ). I pretty much borrowed ideas/methods from Dycans and MicrobeMan to make my hybrid unit.

The combo of very high DO water, with bubbles and sprayers seem to make them root like mad. I have never seen anything like it.

I agree using the PVC collar is really nice, I have never seen anyone do so besides Dycans design. FWIW, he is selling his units again if anyone need a Dycans aero-cloner.

 

[Japanfreakier]

I've built about 6 cloners, aero and bubble with them.

 

[spurr]

Nice cloner, very clean.

aero and bubble with them.

Dycans also used a small air pump (fish tank) and air stone 'bubbler' in the water when he grew. The difference between that and my cloner is the size of the air pump and the positioning of the air diffuser/air outlets and the DO. The thing an air stones has over an air diffusers is the size of the holes; in air stones they are smaller and that is better.

I think B.Freindly is gonna be B.VeryHappy with his cloner. And you are happy with yours and I'm happy with mine...I feel like taking some clones now! lol