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

[Strainhunter]

Here we go.... costed me under 100 bucks... 94 sites.

Nice...BUT once you add weight to the lid it will sag...you gotta support it with a few crossbars.

 

[Rainman]

GMo - I made one the same size last year. It wont sag too much but StrainH is right. You will need some support after you fill it with babies. Lookin good!

 

[bigmaccommj]

everyone should build a similar system. in the long run it's the most efficient and cheapest way to take clones.

What are the tubes or cables you have hanging down from the lid?

Thanks and thats a VERY nice system - I've tried a few different cloners and have had no luck at all.

 

[Kelly.]

I've tried a few different cloners and have had no luck at all.

i tried a few different ways of cloning, and areo is the easier/most reliable (for me) that i have found.

i plan to make i big(ger) cloner after i get the temps/nute figured out.

i forget where i saw it, there is a guy running a few larger cloners to clone and veg, then straight into flowering.
seems like the way to go, and if you can build on for ~1/5th the price, why not

 

[šunka-maslo]

Very good topic!!

Thank you all i never try the aero cloning method, but i would like to and it will help me to do it

 

[Casual]

I just finished my aerocloner. Need to replace one sprayer... I have spare around here somewhere...
I made mine 15 sites, as I'll be running 12 Bio Buckets.
If I ever expand, I'll just pick up another tote and drill the lid differently.
I made the holes in my lid about 1 7/8"... the neoprene squeezes in there beautifully.
Should be able to take a dozen or so clones in the next week and we'll get her fired up and see how they do.
Thanks a bunch for this thread... awesome unit!
I have maybe $50 or so in this one. Built it pretty much identically
to the 1st model demonstrated in this thread.

Caz

 

[green_thumb...]

Rez temp are critical cuz too low and no or super slow growth will happen and too high and youl get mushy stems iv found that in mine bout 75-77 is pretty good have gotten roots in as little as 3days started seeing little root nubs in as little 24hrs

 

[Casual]

Well, I just fired mine up, and it seemed good for a few minutes, but then it started to drip from areas around the lid... quite a bit.
I went ahead and pulled the lid back off and applied weatherstripping around the top edge of the tote. It's up and running again... I'll check on it in a few minutes.
I've got 6 AH#3 and 9 White Widow's in there.
This is my first attempt and growing anything... I'm excited and very stressed all at the same time! I used cloning gel, as I was originally going to be using Oasis cubes, but in the aerocloner, it seems like it washed off the gel very quickly.
Once roots form, I'll be taking the 12 best (Provided I get 12 to root) and putting them in a bio-bucket system under a 1K MH on a light mover.

I'll keep you all posted on my progress with the cloner!

Caz

 

[Morpheen]

This is my first attempt and growing anything... I'm excited and very stressed all at the same time!

Caz

Wow!!
For your first grow you seem to be quite knowledgeable as to what your doing...You must be well read!! K+ for that...

You should absolutely love your new hobby...Its great and VERY rewarding.


Smoking marijuana ISN'T addicting, however growing is HIGHLY addictive...So be careful


I'm great at germinating seeds(98%) however I'm the worst cloner, not sure why or i could remedy it. So a compromise is to build this Aero Clonner, it is going to alleviate a lot of stress and frustration. Last outdoor season I was cloning inside with rapid rooter plugs in a humidity done, they would all end up taking so long to root...by the time they showed signs of roots they where rotten.
I ended up just hacking offs nodes and placing them in soil in the greenhouse, and most would root...I guess sometimes less is more.

I just got all my parts:
1/2" Sch 40 (Thinner white plumbers PVC)
EcoPlus 633 GPH, probably overkill...I should've gotten a 300-400GPH
65 - 2" Neoprene Inserts, I'm aiming for around 30 sites...I wish I would've bought 1" to fit more and easier to make it uniform, however I can double up clones (2-3 clones per insert)
20 - EZ Clone 360 Degree Misters (Red ones, I don't know how many I'll use yet)
Floating Thermometer to monitor those temps
18Gal Rubbermaid Roughneck (lid fits snug, hopefully won't leak!!)

I'm a real perfectionist, (kinda the OCD type)so I was tempted to buy the actual ez-cloner 60-120 because everything is nice and uniform. However I'm obsessive not stupid to waste hundreds$$. I started on page 1 of this thread and I'm up too 35, mostly a bunch of petty bickering but no one has really show a step-by-step in a while. Since I'm sooo thorough I may do a little tutorial from my perspective and experiences...on things not really covered, like what kind of fitting connects the 1/2"PVC to the pump??

Until then...
Dutch

 

[GET MO]

wut yall think would be good to put in the one inch holes i made on the lid, to hold the cuts?

 

[Morpheen]

You probably should've drilled them 3/4". Then you could've used the pre-made Neoprene Inserts. Drilling the lid, the hole should be 1/4" smaller than the Neoprene Inserts so that they compress a bit and fit securely

Pre-made Neoprene Inserts vary from 1"-5" in diameter and range from 1/2" to 1" thick depending on the size and manufacturer

Now that the lid is already drilled you pretty much have two simple options...
These should work for you

Use 1" Mesh Net Pots

Then remove the bottom mesh, then the 1" neoprene inserts fit nice and snug in its net pot collar.

Your other option is to make your own Inserts. either from a pool "Noodle" or pipe insulation (most any plumbing isle/section

Homemade pipe (copper plumbing) insulation inserts

Or cut them out of any neoprene material you can find (I wouldn't use anything less than 1/2" thick)
I.E. Gardening Kneeling Pads, Mats,....

Homemade Garden mat inserts

Some childrens items such as Spiderman, Superman and the ever elusive, very rare (do to the demand) Sponge Bob puzzles

Homemade Neoprene puzzle inserts both the children mats (I'm referring to the as puzzles 1/2" thick) and the gardening mat can be found at some dollar stores

These are the top half of bottom piece of baby training cups, also known as sippies

All cheap alternatives to the pre-made disc shaped (with a slit) inserts, All pictures from this thread

Just make sure you cut them 1/4" larger (1.25") so they fit nice and secure in your lid holes...alone (w/o need for hot glue or netpots ect)...

I hope all goes well for yah!!

Dutch

BTW, Thank you to everyone that I stole their pics...I find it easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
K+ to PipeDream for a bunch of the pics and some of the info and where to find them

 

[Spanishwilly]

How big and/or how long can you leave the clones in the cloner??

Has this guy´s question been answered anywhere? I´m kinda wondering if I can use the cloner to develop the plants and roots enough to go straight into flowering in a coco SOG.

 

[ArcticBlast]

Give them a bit more light and throw in some low-level nutes and they are good for a really long time.

I had a situation once where they remained in there for a full two months after thry rooted.

I had to clip both the leaves and roots to keep them managable, but they looked great.

Granted they were fairly large mature plants when they were finally removed, but they produced excellent results in the end.

ArcticBlast

 

[Saint Cannabis]

Has this guy´s question been answered anywhere? I´m kinda wondering if I can use the cloner to develop the plants and roots enough to go straight into flowering in a coco SOG.

When i was growing all my clones went strait from my fogloner to flower chamber. Usually it only took a week to a week and a half from cutting to have sufficient roots for transplanting. All thanks to DrBud!! If you havent already, all of his material on micro SOG is a must read!!

 

[Strainhunter]

...

...on things not really covered, like what kind of fitting connects the 1/2"PVC to the pump??

.....

That really depends on what kind of pump one is going to use.

Some pumps have a 1/2", others a 3/4" pipe threaded PVC pipe sticking out so you can use the equivalent female PVC fitting to that with the other side having a female end to either stick in the PVC pipe or glue it in (going to your spray heads).

 

[Kelly.]

...

 

[Pipedream]

I´m kinda wondering if I can use the cloner to develop the plants and roots enough to go straight into flowering

Yes, the plants can stay in there as long as you like. Even right thru flower! You just have to make sure of a few things.... First off, be sure your pucks or netpots are sturdy enough to support the weight of the larger plant. Next, make sure there is sufficient room for the larger rootmass and fuller tops. You'll have to change your solution from plain water to appropriate nutes, and provide much more lighting then you would with small clones. Follow these guidelines and this type system can serve you from sprout right thru harvest.

 

[Casual]

Thanks for the kudos Morpheen... I am an avid read and when I find something I'm interested in, I read my ass off! I've been lingering and reading about Bio-Buckets, cloners, seed germination, etc from this site for the past several months. I 'THINK' I have an understanding, but actual hand-on learning/doing is a TON more useful. Trying to put what I've read into practical use is rewarding and frustrating at the same time.
I gave up on the original cloner that I built, using the exact same tote the OP used.
Even after weather-stripping, it leaked like a sieve.
I grabbed an older Igloo 32 cooler I had, washed, bleached and scrubbed it out. Spent several hours modifying the lid, as it was a double thick lid. Made it 18 site this time, modified the original sprayer set up (This cooler is quite a bit shorter that the tote).
Clones have been in since Friday afternoon. A few are starting to show little white spots (YEAH!). Rez temp is at 81.5 degrees. I'm thinking about setting up a small cooling fan blowing down into the rez through a piece of PVC, then back out the opposite side through another PVC tube to keep the spray inside the cooler. I think this will drop the temp a few degrees and it should be perfect. I also need to add a timer, as right now the pump's on 24/7.

I'll get some pics up soon...

Caz

 

[Morpheen]

No problem Casual...I think if you just get the timer that will fix your temperature problem.

The fan idea sounds interesting and creative however I don't think it would be very practical. Ice cubes are much less cleaver, but much more effective...

I suggest the C.A.P. NFT-1E Timer its preset (meaning its the only setting) 1min on/ 4mins off. That SHOULD prevent the pump from getting hot enough to effect the reservoirs water temp.
If so just add more water

THIS is the best price I could find on the CAP timer (depending on shipping).

StrainHunter- Thanks for the reply, I was using that question hypothetically pertaining to my pondering the idea of adding my own AeroCloner build, to answer reoccurring questions buried in the 50+ pages of this thread
Mine is build and I took pictures and mental (even a few physical)notes of "How To's:" but I have yet to run mine...I'm going in for surgery/s (fractured femur, hence the SN) in a few days and I could be in there a couple days to a month, So I can't finish it until after...

Since we raped the EZ-Clone Corporation this far I found some useful cleaning instructions on there website:

Cleaning your System
It is vital that the system is cleaned regularly after each cloning cycle. We recommend running one to three cups of bleach and hot water
through the entire unit to sterilize.
1. After emptying the system, fill with plain hot water and bleach. Bathtubs work great for this.
30 unit – 1 cup of bleach
60 unit – 2 cups of bleach
120 unit – 3 cups of bleach
2. Next run the system as normal for approximately fifteen minutes. Neoprene collars can be soaked in bleach water for sterilization
3. Empty reservoir and run clean water through the system. Rinse thoroughly for at least five to ten minutes. Use a clean cloth to wipe the
entire system down. Let stand for 30 minutes and you are ready for the next cloning cycle.
4. Make sure that you remove all bleach from the system as bleach will greatly prohibit the cloning process.

Stay safe everyone!!

Dutch

BTW, Pics of my build are in my album BUILD PICS

 

[BongBeezy]

11/64ths drill bit