Laughing Grass
Well-Known Member
Aerocloning took me a good long time to figure out how to get it right.
I don't know your system but it looks like it's got a bubbler and a submersible pump from your pic.
In my system the submersible pump gets hot, like really hot, and drove the reservoir temp up to 29.5°C and higer. Even running an on-off cycle wouldn't keep my res cool enough. Lacking any brilliant way to permanently cool it, I just dropped it into a cooling bath by rubbermaid with water about 1/3 to 1/2 up the side of my res. If I keep the cooling bath at 18.5°C, then the res will sit in the Goldie-locks zone day and night.
When cloning I keep a three 2 ltr bottles with about 60% water in the freezer as ice blocks. I switch them out of the bath every 8-12 hours and that keeps my res cooled to a comfy 20°-24°C. Temps historically have been my #2 cause of problems.
Keep everything as clean as possible, I sanitize my chamber every time I put it away and every time I get it out for use. Then keeping the temps in the Goldie-locks zone of 20°-24°C, pH between 5.8 and 6.3 and I use store purchased "drinking" water that reads an EC of approx 0.2, basically RO water. Cut the cutting at a 45° angle with a sterile blade, a quick dip in root-tech before putting in their chamber.
Roots begin to show anywhere between 5-10 days, average is about 6 and ready for soil by day 14 at the latest, usually between 10-13.
The #1 cause of my problems historically other than temperature, making it any more complex than above. Using extra products, enhancers, cloning "foods" all have slowed or prevented root development. Keeping it simple and just having the above things in check and I get a 90%+ strike rate. Once I switch it up or try and get creative, that drops to 60% or less and adds as much as a week to the process.
Are you using the DipNGrow and pool shock? What temp is the water?
I have a batch going right now with well water for the first time...I always used RO in the past but I shut down my RO setup...I did PH the water as it's a little high...I hope I don't mess things up as the clones are important to me!
I'm using KLN rooting hormone and pool shock recipe that @tyler.durden recommended. Just plain tap water. There's no foul odors or anything like that. Water temp is 72° I've been running a cycle timer for the past five days and it's running four minutes off one minute on and I'm changing the water every three days. I turned off two of the four lights and it's about 73° in the cabinet now. this is going the same way it did for me last time and I didn't have the cabinet. I'll try raising it a bit and turning the pump.They look like they are getting too much light along with too high of water temps. I had terrible results with my old aero cloners too, since running my pump 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off I’ve gotten 100% success. Get a short cycle timer like this to turn your pump off every 15 and you’ll be golden.
Can you set that cloner on a basement floor by any chance? Also rotate that manifold 90 degrees so it sprays lengthwise of the cloner.
You got this next round of clones in the bag, I can feel it.
I'm gonna try and nurse these through as best I can... I don't have anymore of these seeds and they're such nice plants. I don't want to do aeroponic anymore, I just don't have confidence in it or my ability to get them over the finish line and cloning is a big part of my future plans.