Bubble cloner FAIL! Why?

[HDPursuit]

Hey Folks, I had put my McGyver hat on and made me a bubble cloner like the ones I had seen on Ebay and read about here. Constructed out of a plastic shoe box and an aquarium stone and pump. Cut 8 clones last night, used clonex gel, filled with 5.5 ph water to about 3/4 inch from the stems and went to bed with pleasant dreams of ez cloning. Woke up this morning on they're all Flat, wilted and collapsed. WTF? What did I do wrong folks? Why the FAIL? Thanks

 

[Situation420]

any pictures? my thoughts are too much light, low humidity, and too low of a ph, and possibly not clipping the leaves to reduce water demand

 

[HDPursuit]

Here's some pic, clipped the leaves before putting them in the cloner. I thought I understood that you didn't need a dome when doing bubbles.

 

[SOMEBEECH]

Like Sit said need to know the temps of room and RH.
Do you have a humidity dome and spray them to keep humidity up?
Beech

 

[HDPursuit]

Room temp 72-75 degrees humidty 65%

 

[Situation420]

That setup should work but because your ph is so low and you did not cut the leaves in half they are collapsing on themselves due to they lack of water uptake and the demand by the leaves. The humidity around the leaves should be really high to maintain water tension within the cells of the leaves otherwise they are going to transpire too fast and wilt like you have. The dome is necessary to maintain humid conditions in dry air.
(Air temps should be 75 to 85 degrees F and the humidity at 60 to 80 percent RH)

If your water and air temperatures are the same too that also causes wilting.

Try raising your ph to 6.0 and clip your larger leaves in half and try to MacGuver something out of plastic wrap or plastic bags or just get another clear shoe box and flip it upside down and lay it over the top with a few small holes in the top. Make sure you open it every 4 to 6 hours.

Another problem you have is you built the model that is used to show what goes on inside the reservoir for demonstration purposes and to help sales. The actual model has a black tub where no light can get into the water source. That's a big problem as well. The root zone should get no light!

Hope this helps

 

[HDPursuit]

Thanks, getting out my duck tape and paper clips now. How do the clone bubblers and buckets work without a dome? I thought the whole point was to speed up rooting time and do away with the dome? None of the ones I've seen or read in DIY have domes?

 

[Situation420]

The DIY ones typically maintain higher humidity by spraying their plants with a mister bottle but your humidity is fine. I think your real issues are your air temperatures and water temperatures and the light getting to your roots. That air pump is pumping air into the water that contains CO2 from the air. This is creating carbonic acid dropping your ph. Try raising it up to 6.0 and maybe insulate your res with a towel or something like that to keep it cooler than the surrounding air. The dome just helps keep the humidity higher that helps even more.

Most cloning models come with a dome to reduce stress on the plants which helps speed up root development.

Check this out. There is a dome that is optional that goes over the top but isn't necessary.
http://www.ezclone.com/media/Diagram.pdf

 

[HDPursuit]

I have a heating mat. Should I use it to warm the water?

 

[HDPursuit]

Computer is a post late. Cool water temps, not warmer. Misted them for now.

 

[Situation420]

not too cool it shouldn't be more than 5 to 10 degrees cooler than air temperature. Thats y a towel around it would be perfect

 

[HDPursuit]

Sorry Sit, I'm confused. With my dome and jiffy pellets I use a mat to warm them, why do you cool it when doing bubbles?

 

[A Bloke Down The Pub]

.....filled with 5.5 ph water to about 3/4 inch from the stems

Errrr... you do realise that the stems are supposed to be in the water, don't you?

 

[Situation420]

You keep it cooler to prevent disease and keep the water oxygenated because colder water can hold more oxygen necessary for root growth and the good bacteria living on your roots. Warmer water has less oxygen an is more prone to bacteria and fungus. Also it keeps the plants cooler and helps them use more energy for growth rather than cooling themselves down

And you put the stems at least 3/4" below the water line right?

 

[HDPursuit]

Soil=water warmer than air Bubbles=water cooler than air . Check. Raised the water level to just below the stems and misted. The Girls are responding!

 

[HDPursuit]

Errrr... you do realise that the stems are supposed to be in the water, don't you?

Er, Nope Thought the bubble action keep the stems wet. How do the aeroponic buckets work with a mister?

 

[Situation420]

Your water should always be cooler than the air temperature unless it is 60 degrees out and the tips of your stems should be under the water line like a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inches. It also wouldn't hurt to slice your stems a little again and dip them in cloning gel again. I think you might have dried out the fresh cell material that got exposed to the air for too long.

 

[polyarcturus]

more than likely a few factors played into your failure. but really the more overlooked thing, the plants you choose to clone from and the locations at which you chose to take cutting induced stress. also makesure you are keeping the stems in the water/submerged as much and as fast as possible

 

[superstoner1]

Wow. Everyone wanted to pick on something but it took a while for someone to say they arent getting water. Domes are absolutely not needed and adjusting the ph is a complete waste of time. Plain water does not need ph adjusted. Ph affects nute uptake via the roots not water uptake.

 

[HDPursuit]

Nailed it Folks, raised the water level, have them 1/4 to a 1/2 inch in the water now (stems too short to go deeper) and the girls are perking up already. Note to self: Understand the concept, before building Thanks again RIU