Ice-tube cloner from WallyWorld

[justanotherbozo]

thanks man, and for the cloner too, hell, for the cloner most of all, lol.

i've been raving about it for several months now and telling folks that
the secret is the temps, more than any other single thing, the temps
are crucial.

...so thanks again brother, we're all in this alone together and it's nice
meeting someone who has been in the trench's for so long!

...and so the noobs know cloning isn't magic, it's a skill, here's some
cuts i took after the cloners were full and, being the pack-rat that i am,
i stuck them in cups of water, lol. ...got over a dozen clones out of those
cups too, although i must admit, only about 40 - 50 % took.

 

[justanotherbozo]

good luck man, just make sure you don't let it dry out, and keep the res
temps in the low 80's and you should do fine. ...sounds like this will suit
your needs perfectly.

I just bought two of these things to give it a try. For the past year I've been cloning in straight tapwater with good results. Some strains are just difficult sometimes and I'm hoping this will even out the times.

Adding hormone powder to my arsenal is sure to get the time down on my slower strains.

Fine vermiculite was available at Lowes.

With tapwater in a cup I've seen a root after 6 days but that's from a super-vigorous plant. Most of my strains take 10-14 days in optimal conditions.

Methods that don't use domes are best in my situation. I've made a couple versions of bubble cloners that worked "ok" but never gave me consistent results and my current environment is less than sterile.

I will post my results in 2 weeks or sooner.

 

[stiflersmom]

I've got about 50 clones in a bubble cloner that are going nowhere... probably 10-20% of them are JUST starting to show bumps right now, but I just don't think they are all going to work out. Would it be possible to still put them in one of these cloners if I dipped them in Clonex or will the wet stem not take?

Side note: I now hate bubble cloners. Two times I had success but only about 70%-80%. Over it big time.

 

[Budley Doright]

I've got about 50 clones in a bubble cloner that are going nowhere... probably 10-20% of them are JUST starting to show bumps right now, but I just don't think they are all going to work out. Would it be possible to still put them in one of these cloners if I dipped them in Clonex or will the wet stem not take?

Side note: I now hate bubble cloners. Two times I had success but only about 70%-80%. Over it big time.

Better to leave those to your bubble cloner....

If you want to try using the wick cloner best to start fresh....

But to give you an idea.... normally I pull the clones out after 10 days.... maybe up to 14 days....


at that time most have a good plug of roots.......


gl...

 

[melvin2]

Results are in.

After 13 days in this thing I have 26 out of 27 rooted clones. Roots ranged from 1/4" to 5" but no solid plugs that held together. The one that didn't root looks good still and clones from the same mother rooted fine so I tossed it.

I bought 2 of these trays so I was able to throw in some variables. The first tray I couldn't fit where I wanted so it stayed at 71 degrees F until the last 5 days when I tried to keep it heated to 79. Newer heating mat shuts itself off after 2 hours and only turns on with a button press.

The second tray I cut in half and could fit it where I want, heated to 78 degrees. I haven't checked that one but I have no doubt they will have roots when I pull them out.

78 has always been my magic number. Not hot enough to cause rot and accelerated evaporation, but still warm enough to grow roots. I played around with the second tray on a higher heat setting, at 81 F. Water evapped too quickly for me and one of my cuts died (vermiculite was still wet).

2 trays cut in half leaves me with 2 trays holding 15 each, and 2 trays holding 12 each. The 15's fit nicely together in a cat litter container cut down to size. That's 30 clones in a 6" x 9" footprint.

These are perfect for my micro grow and I'll be using them from now on.

 

[Budley Doright]

Nice results....

Im still not too sure why this thing doesnt catch on....

It really works....

One thing that may hurt is the fact its in soil forum....

The vermiculite will wash right out of the roots so it can be used for either .....

I think back to what a pain in the ass bubblecloning used to be.....


I really cant imagine using something else...

By the way melvin.... of all the batches Ive run thru mine.... Ive never had bottom of the clones rot...



<<After 13 days in this thing I have 26 out of 27 rooted clones. Roots ranged from 1/4" to 5" but no solid plugs that held together. The one that didn't root looks good still and clones from the same mother rooted fine so I tossed it.>>


Thats a good point to touch on.... I normally let my cloner go no longer than 14 days.... but more typical 10 or 11 days....

I always put in a few extra then discard those who arent doing as well...

Proper temps pretty much guarantee success......

This thing doesnt make the cuttings root....

It simply keeps them healthy so the clone can root itself.....

 

[justanotherbozo]

Nice results....

Im still not too sure why this thing doesnt catch on....

It really works....

lol, i think it's 'cause it looks too simple, it just doesn't have enough
bells and whistles, lol.

One thing that may hurt is the fact its in soil forum....

The vermiculite will wash right out of the roots so it can be used for either .....

I think back to what a pain in the ass bubblecloning used to be.....


I really cant imagine using something else...

By the way melvin.... of all the batches Ive run thru mine.... Ive never had bottom of the clones rot...



<<After 13 days in this thing I have 26 out of 27 rooted clones. Roots ranged from 1/4" to 5" but no solid plugs that held together. The one that didn't root looks good still and clones from the same mother rooted fine so I tossed it.>>


Thats a good point to touch on.... I normally let my cloner go no longer than 14 days.... but more typical 10 or 11 days....

I always put in a few extra then discard those who arent doing as well...

Proper temps pretty much guarantee success......

This thing doesnt make the cuttings root....

It simply keeps them healthy so the clone can root itself.....

it's like you're peekin' over my shoulder man, lol.

like you, i am a strong advocate of this method, i thank you for posting it
and i have turned many onto it, here and on other forums. ...and all that
have learned it from me are now advocates as well, lol. ...i always point
people to this thread as well, i tell them to read this original thread and
then, if they still don't understand, i'll tell them the 'secret', lol, which
of course is to keep the res temps as close to 80 degrees as possible, lol.

...one thing i've learned over the years is to remain open to new things,
to remain teachable and willing to try new methods, especially ones as
inexpensive as this! ...lol.

 

[melvin2]

lol, i think it's 'cause it looks too simple, it just doesn't have enough
bells and whistles, lol.

This thing is a freakin carnival compared to my cuttings placed in a cup of water. They don't get much respect either.

I like being able to leave this alone completely except for pouring water in the rez every now and then. My cups took up space and had to be individually refilled.

I added some maxicrop to my second tray for the roots to find. That should make them happy.

...and the leftover vermiculite is great for my soil.

 

[Budley Doright]

Justanotherbozo.... I hate to kid you some.....


I ran across your id on another site....

What I saw 'shocked' me....


You had made a bubble cloner thread in your signature....

here its gone....


rotflmfao....


whats up wit that?????


Tell us the truth which is better in your opinion and why????

 

[justanotherbozo]

Justanotherbozo.... I hate to kid you some.....


I ran across your id on another site....

What I saw 'shocked' me....


You had made a bubble cloner thread in your signature....

here its gone....


rotflmfao....


whats up wit that?????


Tell us the truth which is better in your opinion and why????

lol, first let me say that i'm too old to be tryin' to remember more than
one name so i'm justanotherbozo (just another bozo on the bus ride of life)
where ever i go, and i participate on a couple forums, tryin' to pay it forward,
as it were, lol.

so, lol, with all that said, and like so many before me, i went through a
time struggling to find a way to generate rooted cuttings reliably.

...after much research, i built myself a bubble cloner that reliably supplied
me with clones for as long as i used it! ...it never stopped working, i just
discovered this method and once i tried this, i retired the bubbler, lol.

oh, and i leave it in my sig over there, partly because i forgot to remove
it and partly because it did work, and it worked well, and for very short
money too.

btw, if you read through my bubble cloner thread, i'm pretty sure at
the end that i aim people over to this thread as a superior alternative
to my bubbler, lol. (i posted that build on more than one forum so i'm
not sure i've updated it in every instance, lol)

anyway, as far as i'm concerned, this ice-tube-tray cloner is the 'bees knees',
lol.

...and anyone who gives it an honest try, with an open mind and an
average intelligence, will agree that it really is the best!

 

[ft100]

took 54 clones and 15 of them kinda fell over right off the bat so 39 still going strong. had a total now of 9 out of 40 in aero. if these 39 make it that will be way better percent. anyone else just have a few clones sort of flop over? dont know why

 

[Budley Doright]

I assume you mean they wilted....


If thats the case.... its probably because you are using coarse vermiculite..... which causes too many air spaces....


or didnt pack the vermiculite down enough....

When I fill my cloners.... I go back thru once or twice and push down on the vermiculite with my finger(firmly) and refil.....

When you fill the cloner then set it in water you should see that the verm turns color indicating its wet.... and you can feel it....

So when you wet the verm by putting it in an inch or so of water..... you should make sure its wicking..... could also be the holes in the bottom are either plugged or not big enough....

WIlting should not happen if the clones are modestly sized.....

 

[smokincheeze]

I went and got the stuff but cant get vermiculite so I am going to use peat moss, just wondering, would you press it in firmly or just loosely pack it in? Also do you fill them all the way or just half? I have never cloned before and was wanting the first time to get good results since I only have a few good plants....which by the way are about 2 weeks old from seed, when is the best time to take cuttings? is there a certain set of true leaves or something?

 

[Budley Doright]

The only stuff Ive personally tried are vermiculite and perlite....

I think that either coco or peat may work.... yes very firmly.....

fill to the rim......

Grind it up pretty finely.....and put it in a tray of water....


If it wicks up and you see the color change it may work......

One step I always do is to make sure the thing is wicking before I put plants in....


If it wicks it will probably work.....


You should be able to test the cloner using other plants.....

take some cuttings of most anything.....

if they dont wilt it will likely work.....


My vermiculite comes from lowes.....


Doing LST will probably give you clone material soonest....


normally I would wait until they sex however....


My cuttings are approximately 4 inches.....

 

[humble1]

This sounds great!
Right now I'm outsourcing my babies, but this looks simple enough for me to do, too.
What I'm thinking about is either straight perlite (ground fine), perlite & EWC, perlite & coco, or straight coco. Anybody else interested in a little experiment?

 

[Budley Doright]

I did an experiment using very fine perlite on page 5..... the difference is noticeable...

IMO you can pretty much use anything that will wick up until the surface of the cloner shows the medium is wet... wicking.....


My feeling is that coco would whip ass on perlite.....


I do not consider perlite and vermiculte to be similar.....

However coco and verm or peat and verm would quite possibly work similarly....


Perlite for aeration vermiculite holds water.....

But any side by sides would be welcome since some people clearly have issues finding vermiculte......

 

[humble1]

No issue finding vermiculite. I just don't want to buy new things if I can make what I have on hand work almost as well. I did read the comparison on page five, that's why I want to add other things to the mix to increase the medium's wicking ability. I worry that coco/verm might get too soggy, though. Pix to follow if it works well! Thanks, BR!

 

[Budley Doright]

I wasnt very clear in my post.....

I think that these 3 mediums should work similarly....

vermiculite

coco

peat.....

I suspect that fine perlite will work a little less well than the other 3.....

but Ive not tried them.... other than vermiculite.....

I would welcome any tests run with coco or peat..... or perlite for that matter......

 

[smokincheeze]

well it wickcs up fine with peat moss but if you press it in really firm you cannot get it out, so I guess I am going to try putting it in lighty, would you fill the tubes half way or all the way? and do you just poke a whole in the top and sit the cutting in and press around the stem? Thanks alot...oh and on when to take the cuttings, my plants are all female seeds so I know there sex, I wanted to start taking clones and/or topping asap and just wasnt sure when was too early, right now they all have 4 sets of leaves, I guess maybe when the side shoots start stretching?

 

[Budley Doright]

YOu need to use a plunger....

Use a penny and a pencil with a nice new erasor.....

SOmewhere in the second half of the grow there is some discussion how to get the clones out....


But as I suspected both coco and peat should wick good enough to work.......


Better to not use the top for a clone..... they dont root as well as the lower stuff....

something about stored carbohydrates......