DIY Aero Cloner the EZ-Cloner Replica in 10 Easy Steps!

[KingRalph]

do NOT add nutes to cloning water! nitrogen inhibits root growth. use only pure water, with hydroguard or cloning solution at the very most. perhaps some ph down (P encourages root growth, but do not use much) as ph is not a concern while rooting, only after. NO NUTES. misters should not clog, as there should be nothing in the water. good work determining the proper amount of misters to work with your pump's pressure though. peace n green thumbs all.

 

[gmanwho]

KR: well the no nute advice seems to have proved wrong,atleast in my case. 2 days later, and i finally have some 1/4 in roots on some, not all but some. At this point theres multiple clone strains in the cloner,all numbered accordingly. and seems some strains/plants have taken so far, as others havent.

Not sure if it was the fact its been 20days, the added grow nutes, the added Liquid Karma, or reducing down to 6 misters.

But something is working, yeee hhhaaaaaaaaaaawwww.

b-safe

 

[KingRalph]

high gman, great to hear you finally got roots. i was saying N inhibits root growth, and is why it took 3 weeks for roots to come for ya. you would probably get them in 7-10 days with maybe just a few drops of LK. also the PBP nutes could clog the misters. remember to give them a good rinse and the cloner a bleach dilution clean n rinse between cycles. glad the roots came for ya anyways! peace n green thumbs

 

[gmanwho]

KR, green thumbs to all i 2nd the motion. But to clear something up abit, i did not add any nutes the first 18 days. Sced when like this. first 10 days with straight tap 60ppm at 7.1- 7.2. Then day 10 i rinsed & used tap again but ph'd to 6.0. Day 18 rinsed,and i added the nutes & lk and ph'd again to 6.0.

I really think the lowering of the amount of misters made the difference. Not 100 %sure if it was it. But my experience is making me lean that way.

the first clogging was with tap water, some light clear snot type crap, and 2 misters where clogged with a few shreds from the pvc drilling or cutting. But i think alot could have been avoided if i had 6 to 8 misters to start. Because of increased pressure in the pvc prior to the misters.

Guess i will see soon enough if these changes to my setup makes it, or rots it.

And on the LK, i remember reading people loving to use it when cloning. On the bottle it claims that some of its nutrients are readily available for plant uptake. This could aid since theres no roots to process any uptake. hence the lk seeping through the stem. Could make sense, sounds like it could.

And Thanks for your help KR... it always nice to get quick responses. especially when things can go bad, so quick.

Much appreciated. And i will keep in mind not adding any additives with noticable amounts of N in it. thanks for the advice. making a mentle note for sure.

B-safe and grow on ......

 

[ethereal]

KR is on point, as always.

what he means by "no N" is "no veg. ferts"

N is in everything-- even the air you are breathing right now.
he means in excessive amounts like in a bottle of grow formula be well

 

[sweetleaf]

grow plugs ??

grow plugs ??

hello all
well i finaly got mine finished <will pic asap> but w/o neoprin insulation just cant find it and i drilled 1 1/4 inch holes thinking i could use the grow plugs {rapid rooters}. But now that i have run it im concerned the grow plugs will stay too wet all the time and the roots will not grow or will water log basicaly...
also if it does work will it slow down the rate at which the roots sprout ??
the faster i can get roots from clones the better.....
thank you

 

[gmanwho]

sweetleaf:

Using the rapid rooters, i think would defeat the purpose of the cloner. Since the water droplets & mist & air would not come in contact with the stem, but only hit the rapid rooter instead.

Since you can just use the rapid rooters outside the cloner with a little green house, there seems no benefits, only draw backs i would think if using them in the cloner. and yes i would think the rapid rooters would stay too wet. They might even decompose with the water continually being sprayed at them. Then clogging the misters.

A few watch out points, is one, dont glue the pvc frame together, to make easier cleaning later. 2 make sure to clean ALLLLL of the small pvc shreds. The shreds will eventually clog the misters and delay rooting. remember it is the misting of small water droplets that speed up cloning and make this contraption work. the mixture of air and water.

I myself had to reduce the ammount of misters, my ecoplus 395 could not handle the 10 or 12 misters in the original design. Not enough pressure to so many misters. I reduced mine to 6 misters and works like a charm and get great coverage. basically i look at it as a small low scale aeroponic setup.

Whatever you decide on using to plug the top of the plant holes, you need to prevent water from spitting out onto the plants. Will cause mold and algae eventually. important.

Also, i clean mine every week. Scrub the tub with some light bleach, rinse and return. And when roots start to show, like an inch long. i start to add grow nutes and add my t5's to the mix. They take off.

Misters can clog time to time, so check them like every other day, if so pull the upper mister frame work out. plug in the glue gun. grab some pliers and remove the mister, blow into the mister with your mouth from the misting end, not the water entry end. double triple check its clear of debri. dab abit of glue arround the mister base and reinsert to the pvc frame.

When gluing, never add the glue to the frame and insert the mister. I have found that the glue can move and lodge the mister entry hole. Always add the glue towards the top of the mister and insert to the pvc frame that way.

I am not an expert, but these are problems i encountered. The reduction of misters may not be applicable to you, but it was THE MISSING ELEMENT in mine. But all key points to remember if problems arise IMO.

Hope things work out for you, and remember to learn from everyones mistakes. i always like to convey that what works for me, may not work in your situation.

Take care, best of luck, keep it green & as always B-safe.

 

[whycombinator]

Has anyone tried the "07-003 Full Cir. Jet Sprayer (10)" on the page simplygr33n07 posted in #177? They look like they could be interesting, I'm using the generic bright green sprayers right now and they seem to mist ok but not terrific. I've got 12 of them hooked up to a danner supreme model 3 in a 35 gallon rubbermaid, and it seems like they could do better with a bit more pressure.

 

[Pipedream]

sweetleaf - Just go to any "Dollar Store" they all sell half-inch thick closed cell foam mats for kids to play on. They usually have Sponge-Bob pic's on one side and the other is blank. Cut some circles, and they work perfect in place of the noeprene. If you can't find those, they also carry kneeling mats for garden work made from the same material.

 

[curbiechris]

Sorry if this has been asked already, but i'm too tired to read through all 13 pages

BUT

Do I leave the 350 Mag pump on the whole time?
Also, would using Clonex speed up the rooting?

 

[whycombinator]

Some people do 15/15 and some people leave it on all the time, both seem to get results, I'm not aware of any huge differences. Clonex gets washed off quickly in an aero cloner so while it may help a little dissolved in the water, it isn't necessary.

 

[sweetleaf]

thnx man

thnx man

sweetleaf - Just go to any "Dollar Store" they all sell half-inch thick closed cell foam mats for kids to play on. They usually have Sponge-Bob pic's on one side and the other is blank. Cut some circles, and they work perfect in place of the noeprene. If you can't find those, they also carry kneeling mats for garden work made from the same material.

thnx man i woulda never thought of that lol
looks like im goin to $ store first thing in the morning

 

[Pipedream]

Here you go, 9 pucks for a buck! these were cut from Spidey, but Sponge Bob is still one of my fav's. Either way, you can use a hole saw, sizzor, or an exacto. Another great way is to cut the end off a small soup can and use the raw edge as a circular knife, works great! Just hit up a few "Dollar Stores" you're sure to find something

 

[curbiechris]

Some people do 15/15 and some people leave it on all the time, both seem to get results, I'm not aware of any huge differences. Clonex gets washed off quickly in an aero cloner so while it may help a little dissolved in the water, it isn't necessary.

15 hours on 15 hours off?

 

[Pipedream]

MINUTES!

I'm a 24 hour a day kind of guy, till I see a full inch of roots. Then I like 15/15 on and off all day to help maintain lower temps and get the roots in the mode of searching for moisture.

 

[curbiechris]

thank you!

 

[whycombinator]

Yeah sorry about that I meant minutes, another advantage to doing it that way is it will lower your res temps a bit since the pump isn't running all the time.

 

[sweetleaf]

HOW FINE A MIST ??

HOW FINE A MIST ??

ok so i finaly got all the parts and done thnx again $ STORE neo garden kneeling mats woot.....good call man !!

ok so i have 10 red EZ misters lined up. 24 holes / second lid has 50. with a activeaqua pu250 from Hydro Farm

it leaks very few small drops once in a while but thats fine

i need to know how fine a mist are you talking about ???

spray bottle fine or lawn sprinkler fine ???

if it needs an ultra fine mist will lowering the number of misters cause enough pressure to make it finer ???? right now i can sit and watch drops fall from the stems about every 2 seconds is this correct ??

also i saw a 60 ez on display and could not believe they wanted $400 for it lol It looks realy cheap for being manufactured and that kinda price tag !!!

anyways thnx all for the info

Sweet-Leaf
oh also mine is clear so i can see the roots any isues i should know about ?????

 

[Pipedream]

The finer the mist the better, at least from my own experience. Also, roots will grow quicker in a dark environment. Could you possibly get another bottom and paint it black or line it? Then you could stack your unit inside it and lift it for inspection.

 

[gmanwho]

Sweat leaf: Or wrap it with insulation like Relfectix from the depot or lowes. finner the mist the better IMO as well.

Also FYI, in my situation, i had 12 green misters running on a 395 gph pump, and my mist was not fine enough, dropped it to 6.

check it every day when just after it is built, those pvc shavings like to clog the misters and will slow that whole section down.


B-safe