Step by step bubble cloner set up (good for newb cloners)

[gaiusmarius]

does anyone know if it's faster to root them with 18/6 or with 24/7? or some thing in between the two? also what lighting is quicker, neon tubes or mh 400 watt hung far away?

i'm also wondering what ambient temprature would be best for rooting clones in a old fasioned green house and rw plugs, with rooting hormones on the stem? will they root quicker at 23° or 25°

thank's for any thoughts on this subject.

gm

 

[Guest]

does anyone know if it's faster to root them with 18/6 or with 24/7? or some thing in between the two? also what lighting is quicker, neon tubes or mh 400 watt hung far away?

i'm also wondering what ambient temprature would be best for rooting clones in a old fasioned green house and rw plugs, with rooting hormones on the stem? will they root quicker at 23° or 25°

thank's for any thoughts on this subject.

gm

The plants need to be forced to feed from the root system instead of the leaves. Too much light and they get enough energy from the light, no need to grow roots yet. The light should be dim enough to force it to send out roots to feed. As for temps, bubble cloners seems to work best in the 72-76F range (74-78F inside the rockwool cubes).
Cloning Temps
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/622.htm

If the temps get too low the plant tends to slow all processes, if it's too high slime, mildew, and algae flourish at the expense of the plant and stemrot becomes a major problem.

In all of the bubble cloners I've built the fastest results were in those that had a lightproof shield wrapped around the res.

Also, clean fresh cuts are important as well as changing out the res water at least once a week with fresh straight tapwater. PH isn't a concern as the plant has no roots yet, but will need to be adjusted as the rootballs form if they aren't going to be potted ASAP.

As for taking cuts, the OG guide has several solid tips. I clone cuts from side branches and main stems without noticing any difference. But the hard woody stems will take longer to root, soft stems root faster and easier. When you take a cut choose a branch with at least 2-4 nodes and fanleaves (tho I've cloned stems with only one leaf). Strip off any leaves on nodes that will be in the cloner or rw cube. With a new sharp razor make an angle cut just below the bottom node (best to do this underwater in a flat pan to avoid a bubble) and gently scrape the stem at the bottom node and place in cloner or rw cube.

Where to take cuts
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/623.htm

It's not rocket science, I've seen good clones from a glass of water in the windowsill (tho it does work better under the sink). I've even picked up a stored tarp and found discarded trim under it that rooted into healthy plants. Keep it simple the way nature intended and happy growing.

Scarification
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/1474.htm

Hard to clone strains
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/79.htm

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GROW
OG Grow FAQS
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/GrowFAQ Basic Topics.htm

IC Mag link-o-rama
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=40637&highlight=OG+grow+guide

IC Mag resources
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=34498

 

[breeder]

I gotta ask!
Over the years that I've been cultivating, i've always had in the back of my mind the thought of an embilism(sp?). I don't think I've ever lost a clone to this, but what would cause this exactly?
I've taken cutting's and had them in rw/w a dome, and been able to have me bumps at 3 days max. On the average though 7 days with W. russian and the roots would stick out of the cube.
However now that I'm coming out of retirment, I'd like to try my hand at a bubble cloner. I've used DWC/SWC since it was first brought up over at OG, with fantastic results, compared to ebb&flow, and even my aeroflo 36. Not that the other 2 mentioned are bad...just doesn't fit my bill anymore.
Back to the subject though....
Do any of you ever worry about this from happening?


BTW...CORTEZ
Just have to say your dedication/research is very much apricaited(sp?).

 

[gaiusmarius]

thanks for the details, i haven't had to make many clones recently, but have made quite a few in my time.

my questions are quite specific as a result. the cuts are all done, in rw plugs, sitting in the trays in those greenhouse things for cuts. they were prepared pretty much like you describe above. so i'm clear on that side of it.

what i'm trying to get, is the exact ambient temperature thats ideal for roots to start growing on clones? i know that temps between 20 and 28 will work just fine, but what temperature is ideal?

as far as the light goes, if i understand you correctly, i'm better off with 3 or 4 flouros at 18 watts each? rather then a mh 400 hung far away?

the other question is about the on and off times for the lights. should the clones be getting 18/6? or will it work faster with 22/2?

peace

 

[gaiusmarius]

ok thanks for the temp, it seems 25° would be perfect, i want to go and get some kind of warming blanket to put under the green houses and keep the root zone at a constant 25°, thanks for your help 1TokeOverLine. what about the best lighting rythim?

 

[buddymag00]

exactly what i needed many thanks !

 

[Guest]

ok thanks for the temp, it seems 25° would be perfect, i want to go and get some kind of warming blanket to put under the green houses and keep the root zone at a constant 25°, thanks for your help 1TokeOverLine. what about the best lighting rythim?

I get best results with low wattage floros on most of the time, if rooting seems to be taking longer I shut the lights down for a couple hours every day. When I was using a timer on the cloner light it was working well at 16 on 8 off. I reassigned the timer to other duties and just manually turn it off for a few hours during the day now without noticing much difference.

 

[Guest]

I gotta ask!
Over the years that I've been cultivating, i've always had in the back of my mind the thought of an embilism(sp?). I don't think I've ever lost a clone to this, but what would cause this exactly?
I've taken cutting's and had them in rw/w a dome, and been able to have me bumps at 3 days max. On the average though 7 days with W. russian and the roots would stick out of the cube.
However now that I'm coming out of retirment, I'd like to try my hand at a bubble cloner. I've used DWC/SWC since it was first brought up over at OG, with fantastic results, compared to ebb&flow, and even my aeroflo 36. Not that the other 2 mentioned are bad...just doesn't fit my bill anymore.
Back to the subject though....
Do any of you ever worry about this from happening?


BTW...CORTEZ
Just have to say your dedication/research is very much apricaited(sp?).

I've never had those problems with bubble cloners. I use them because humidity domes aren't needed during the process, and potting them never causes problems - they don't have to be "hardened off". Any problems I've ever had were using humidity domes so I found the way to eliminate altogether.

You may want to check out the wick method also, most have 100% on those too, but a dome is a must with that method if I remember right.

With the bubble cloner I just plop cuts in and forget it. When rootballs force me to remove clones it's merely a matter of potting them into small pots with a good initial soaking and pop them into the veg cabinet without worrying about domes and stuff. Simple works best for me.

 

[HILLBILLY 420]

I built one still can't get it to work, sad

 

[big bang]

i'm on day 11 in the bubble cloner and still got nothing. i took the clones about a week into 12/12 though so maybe it'll take longer. i added an aquarium heater about 5 days ago, that'll probably help too.

 

[Guest]

hey hillbilly dont feel bad, i had nothing but problems with bubblecloners, tried everything and could only get about 50 percent, all different growth rates, i know some people swear by them and im not knocking you who use them or this thread, since i built my aerocloner out of a 10 gallon aquarium i get awesome prolific roots in a week or less, the leaves stay dark green and the roots grow at a similar rate and the best part is i havent lost one yet, i threw all my other cloning supplies in the dumpster
didnt mean to rain on anybodys parade, just trying to share what worked for me
peace

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

Its all in the temps....77*F to 80*F works for me. I use some liquid kelp in the water to at full strenght and get roots in 7-8 days but I like to let then go for about 10-12 dyas to get a larger root mass.

I have had them go as long as three weeks before showing roots.

Just be sure to keep the light dim something on the order of 10watts/ft is what ZI am using.

minds_I

 

[Bigmone357]

Nice thread!

 

[king_taco]

i've been making these things since i read the faq on og yearrrrsss ago.

here is a painted 10 site one with more than wal-mart parts(not hatein though most of it sill came from there )



~~Grow Free~~
king_taco

 

[SoulShine]

I built a cloner from this tutorial and have had 100% so far, but have only done about 12 so far. I have another 8 or so in now and they are looking good.

Make sure of your temp.
have lots of bubbles - add another stone if needed - I used 2 14 inch

 

[Jacksparrow]

This may have been asked already, or a dumb question but... Do you have problems with the roots tangling together in these cloners?

From pics i've seen in the thread it looks like you would have a bitch of a time getting them out of the lid without tearing the roots all up from having to pull them apart from one another.

Awesome info in this thread all, Got me a new cab today and this is exactly the type of thing im lookin for.

Jah Bless

 

[chosen]

Nice little thread. I use perllite and do some bubbling from time to time.

 

[Sir Choofsalot]

what is the best solution to slime/algae other than keeping light out of the water?

keep water temps at 24-29C (75-85F) tick!!

is that enought to keep the algae problem at bay?...or do i need to add some kind of anti algae product?....what anti algae product would everyone reccomend?

 

[chosen]

If you are cloning, the best way to stop algae is to not add anything to the water. There are several algae kill products, but I forget the name. Peroxide will only do so much if you add any kind of nutrient value to the reservoir.

 

[BudToker]

I tried this method unsuccessfully twice. I think the condition that I was screwing up was the water temp. I kept getting brown/black tips on the bottoms of the cuttings. I was running a small heater to warm the water to ~80F.

On my third attempt I ran it without the heater (ran at ~65F) and SHWING the roots popped out after 9 days! If anyone has had trouble with this method, try running it at different temps, your genetics may have a different preference to the warm water!

- BT