Help breath life into my failed attempt at bubble-cloning!

This is a 3-gal rubbermaid bubble cloner. I'll cover all the stats to really fill you in on how ridiculous this is.

I've had cuttings in there for 30+ days. Some of them had rot on the bottom 1" of their stems, because i had them submerged in the water for a week.

I now have the tips of the cuttings within 1-2cm of the top of the water.
20-60gal dual-outlet air pump going to a 10" air stone and a 48" air diffuser.

The tub is used is blue, and doesnt block light. I used black poly to lightproof it, about 2 weeks ago. Might that have something to do with why I have no roots? Not even a rootbump.

Instead, two of my cuttings have milky splooge (yes, it does look like semen) hanging off of them. One of them looks very strong, while the other cutting with the goo is wilting fairly badly.

Just what the hell is that and why is it growing in my tub? A couple of days ago I realized the airstone and diffuser were completely COVERED in this nasty white goo.

I'm using H2O2. So could this be an infection? Is the H2O2 attacking the newly forming roots? I'm stumped!

Sorry bear but ive never heard of or tried to clone cuttings this way before.. Im sorry about ur failure but many people have cloned successfully this way in the past im sure...

Root Growth... This is very easily attained many ways and especially 2 ways that i know of that bring me rediculous cloning ratio's 100% currently even when i dont try!

Anyways if u research my cloning in a cup of water thread in the newbie section it explains exactly how i establish root groth or " bump " on my cuttings both ways.. Peat plug the more advanced way and a simple damn cup of tap water the other way.. By the way I stole the peat plug idea from another grower her..Old in the way..

Anyway's if u can obtain root formation or bumps i can help u get roots in the water man. Im sure i could even clone cutting's in a bubbler if i lowered my water level's keeping the scraped cutting dipped in superthrive for 30-45 seconds and just keeping the cuttings moist..By letting the air stones splash and push the water neccesary up onto the freshly cut stalks.. depending on the amount of air in a bucket id start with the water at the bottom of the pot.. If u dont have enuff water getting to the cuttings they will wilt ...If they are to wet they will will ur looking for ur rock to be moist not wet, brown but not dark this will bring u success..
If ur having problems with lighting cover the pots..
Sorry never experienced the slime everyones been talking about.

i'm going to build a smaller dwc-cloner, well... at least i want to.
I want to start a new one, fresh, give it new cuttings and see what happens.

I keep thinking my main problems were water temps (too low, around 70-71) and possibly light leakage.

(I'm watching this 'marijuana inc' program on cnbc right now. it's getting me off track, and kind of annoyed.)

I think I'm being far too paranoid about this though... taking into account all of the different 'possibilities' that could have screwed my clones. Maybe they were just shitty clones.... I took them myself, from plants that I usually have high success ratio from.

One clone I took lately has none of that gooey substance on it, and it looks very strong -- I hope it pulls through.
I believe I'm going to pull the last few rotted cuttings. Bleh...

I get a lot of bubble action on the top of the water. The water level is about 7", and the clones sit at about 7.5"... so I'm sure they should all be getting enough water and aeration.

It's really bewildering. I've almost lost hope for the older cuttings, which I'm surprised have survived this situation. They're too short to cut off the rot, I'm just gonna have to toss them. I hate losing product like that =[

Good luck either way but the bubble cloner does work.. Just as well as any other hydro cloner.. If u research , U will se alot of the best results come to people when they establish clones from cuttings first,,,,, Root bumps or full blown roots before they transpalnt into there hydro setups..
Just a thought hope it helps.
Anythings possible tho its all been done successfully here i believe.

how are you cutting the clones off? are you using every utensil cleaned with rubbing alcohol? are you using some srta cloning gel or powder to make sure you dont get an air bubble?

motif said:

how are you cutting the clones off? are you using every utensil cleaned with rubbing alcohol? are you using some srta cloning gel or powder to make sure you dont get an air bubble?

Click to expand...

I spray my shears or razorblade with a 1:1 mix of alcohol and water.

I don't use gel on the cuttings I place in my bubble-cloner. Also I've heard that cannabis doesn't suffer from embolisms (even though it's a vascular plant), so I haven't worried about that much. From the time I cut them to the time they get water it's usually less than one minute.

I do use Rootech gel on the cuttings I put in those compost pellets. I've had a decent success ratio with those (around 80% when I take 'worthy' clones)

I recently took my shears a cheapy pair unclean and chopped a bunch of cuttings off my plants and placed them in a cup of water as well which i placed on the sides of my moms changing the water daily until i got root " Formation" Bumps within 10 days and full blown clones with roots within 14 days on most.. Had bumps on the majority within the first wekk give or take.. From there i gave them away it was only an experiment afterall.. After transplants rooted cutting's are usually ready for flower in 3 weeks in 18/6 light considering what the demands are of the specific grower... Bwahahahah if only i could make it harder but its really simple. So in a month in a bubble bucket u could basicly be flowering or close to it then right? Give a week or take it considering the stage the plant was cut from and the health of the plant cut.

Root rot sucks man...........I had 5 GREAT seedlings catch it...all died but two, I kept them growing for a month with no height, leaf expansion...it just sat there for a month.Then I turned off the power,lights,air,etc....for a week....then I decided to yank them both cuz I needed the netpots for my new grow. I laid the whole rootball (what was left of it) on the table for a few hours while I cleaned everything, and noticed a small amount of new root growth in the ball, so I decided to transplant into soil, look at them now...after 3 days.... Sorry about the size....


But you should start,IMO,your clones in dirt, let them growa good root system, then transplant into netpots...sorry about your luck, I know it broke my heart to walk in the room and smell that awfull smell....ya know what I mean?

onthedl0008 said:

I recently took my shears a cheapy pair unclean and chopped a bunch of cuttings off my plants and placed them in a cup of water as well which i placed on the sides of my moms changing the water daily until i got root " Formation" Bumps within 10 days and full blown clones with roots within 14 days on most.. Had bumps on the majority within the first wekk give or take.. From there i gave them away it was only an experiment afterall.. After transplants rooted cutting's are usually ready for flower in 3 weeks in 18/6 light considering what the demands are of the specific grower... Bwahahahah if only i could make it harder but its really simple. So in a month in a bubble bucket u could basicly be flowering or close to it then right? Give a week or take it considering the stage the plant was cut from and the health of the plant cut.

Click to expand...

That's exactly why I want to keep trying my cloning in hydro, just in a different container. I've read about people getting roots in a cup of water, and that's fine, I just figured I could get this method down -- nope. So, perhaps I should try a different method. There's a definite reason that my cloning isn't successful in the bubble-cloner, and I just want to know what it is.

I've got 15 clones going fine in compost pellets, so I definitely know how to successfully raise clones. I don't want the bad practice that I seem to have with these bubble clones interfere with any DWC grows in the future. If I'm having a problem just getting plants started in a cloner, I'm not too eager to swap good clones into a DWC setup if I'm just going to repeat the problem - that's the problem. If I just wanted good clones that have rooted in a medium (compost/rockwool) transplanted into a DWC setup then that would be no problem, I've got them ready.

I just wonder why I'm missing such a simple thing, if it is indeed that...

We all have our own problems..Thats what makes it great we can all learn from each other's experiences i guess.. Im having isues with heat and nutrient deficiencies at the moment so getting to harvest is just as hard with technical grows.. Ive learned alot tho and plan learning alot more from different experiences others go thru..Thanks for the insight man. Ive cloned in bubblers before. Placed cuttings in them along side cuttings with roots and its tricky just getting roots... Im sure alot has to do with specs of water in bubblers and levels of water.. Its just easier to raise clones in bubblers that r already established from what ive found but im hearing u for sure.
The easy part is growing them.

if you have a water pump make your tub an aero tub..they work great

Alright, I've taken five new cuttings and placed them in plastic cups.

I scraped the bottom of the stems, and they're held up in the water with some extra 2" neoprene inserts.
Purple Kush.

I'll be watching these girls and let you know how it all turns out =]
Honestly, growing in general is interesting, so just having these new clones sitting in plastic cups is awesome.
I can never have too many of these plants<3

I'm a beginner, so I'd like to know If I start the clones in dirt how do I get them into by DWC systems. Please include all steps needed.

Peace

pencap said:

Root rot sucks man...........I had 5 GREAT seedlings catch it...all died but two, I kept them growing for a month with no height, leaf expansion...it just sat there for a month.Then I turned off the power,lights,air,etc....for a week....then I decided to yank them both cuz I needed the netpots for my new grow. I laid the whole rootball (what was left of it) on the table for a few hours while I cleaned everything, and noticed a small amount of new root growth in the ball, so I decided to transplant into soil, look at them now...after 3 days.... Sorry about the size....


But you should start,IMO,your clones in dirt, let them growa good root system, then transplant into netpots...sorry about your luck, I know it broke my heart to walk in the room and smell that awfull smell....ya know what I mean?

Click to expand...

I have started clones in everything from a cup of water on windowsill(in clear jar) to jiffypeats(small clones) to striaght into dwc tub in rockwool. I always use a clean sharp razor-blade, to cut clone, recut under water at 45deg angle (just in case of embolisms). scrape backside for better root forming. I almost always use rootgel. If you got it use it. And have had sucess in all these ways. If going from jiffypeats to hydro, use a small spray bottle of ph'ed de-clorinated water, cut outer casing of jiffy's break away loose soil, spray with sprayer to remove peat and put into netcup w/medium. Clone to rockwool-I like- stays there intill flower, cut clone as previously mentioned, dip in root gel stick in (ph'ed for 24 hrs) rockwool, right into tub. Make sure rockwool is on layer of medium at bottom of netpot, fill around wool with medium to top. Water level I keep right below bottom of pots, bubbles splash rockwool keeping it moist but not wet. This was easiest for me, to clone right into vegg into flower, never moving to bigger pots ect. Every one does different things with sucess-this is my opinion, hope it might help.

My first homemade bubblecloner was a 100% success. Ice bin with about 3 inches of water in it(distilled, 0 ppm), 1 airstone, and a sheet of foamboard to insert cuttings into. I didn't let the stems touch the water at all. The fine mist of bubbles kept them plenty moist. All 10 cuttings rooted within 2 weeks. I have found rapid rooters and clonex to work the best for me though. Good luck.

I use peat plugs.. Slit em half way. Soon as yo take a clone and coat it put it in plug. Just let the peat be in the water maybe a 1/4 inch and the peat will wick up enough water.. All goes well roots in 5-7 days

aero cloning is superior imo to everything else. if your machine is clean and you have enough sprayers i've got 99% success rate. No rooting gel, no mess, water only, perfection.

i agree..get these off ebay for less than 100$ complete..
i use r.o. water and add calmag..ten days later..this..

its realllly simple...

Or you could build your own of that^ for about 35$

I use a 5 gal and run 8 clones in it, enough for me. I tried a big tub like that but it leaked around the edges. I chalk it up to being a cheap walmart $5 tub. I heard the rubbermaid heavy duty ones is where its at. But they are like $15.

The pump used is about 15$ and the cpvc is like $1. Sprayer nozzles about 30 cents per. I use 360degree ones about 6 of the them for a 5 gal.

I run pump 24/7 and in 4-10 days I have roots. 100% success rate. Only cost about $25