As the title says this will be a complete start to finish cloning tutorial using my all time favorite cloner…the CLONE KING. Was thinking about how in depth this will be…We’re going all the way start to finish even mixing up the nutrients.
So let’s begin
A unsuccessful aero clone run comes down to 3 main factors, plant health, water temps, and contamination.
I start by cleaning out a 20 gallon Rubbermaid trash can (soap and bleach) then filling with fresh R.O. water to a 15 gallon level line.(I’m running 6 x 36 site Clone Kings so need a bunch) As you can see the meter reads 0 ppm on a 700 scale. Nutrients used is Jacks “Clone” 15-6-17 @ 800 ppm and pH adjusted to 5.5.
With that out of the way we clean and sterilize the cloner. I take everything apart as far as a can…hand wash the cloner then run a concentrated bleach solution for at least a hr…usually I let run over night. I put my neoprene inserts inside the unit, flip the lid upside down and put a clean towel on the top so bleach water doesn’t get everywhere. After the sterilization process I thoroughly rinse with hot water and run the cloner again to make sure there isn’t a bunch of bleach left…a small amount of residual won’t hurt anything. 
Now the material used for the cloning solution
Fresh RO, 500 ml cup, and Dip n Grow with the “special” mix cup.
We’ll start with the 500 ml cup and make our first soak solution. Fill the Dip N Grow measuring cup to the bottom “concentrate” line. Then pour into 500 ml cup and top off with RO water to the 500 ml line
Next we fill Dip n Grow measuring cup to the same “concentrate” line and fill with RO water to the top.
Now that is out of the way we can fill the cloner with our nutrient solution and get ready to make some clones!
I fill the cloners as full as I possibly can as I feel the larger water capacity helps with water temps. I fill them right to the spray bar just below the sprayers.
I clean my work surface and “clone cutting board” with bleach and iso alcohol. I have a large pitcher to put fresh cut clones in, both soak solutions, a scissor and a razor knife
I start by cutting off top shoots and placing them into the large pitcher. They are usually about 10 inches or so with multiple nodes.
Now the clone prep process…I like at least 2 nodes in the cloner more is better but have had success with none. I remove all side branches but keep the nodes intact. Make sure you remove all plant matter pre flowers and such as we do not want anything inside the cloner. I also pinch all the leave tips to remove a bunch of plant material as I feel helps the clones while they do not have root…and it gives a bit more room for the clones in the cloner
Once the clones are prepared we put them in the first soak solution in the 500 ml cup. I do this in cycles and clones sit in here about 15-20 minutes. Once I have a bunch they move into the 2nd soak solution that is much more concentrated.
This is very important…only soak for 15 seconds. A longer soak will destroy soft clones! If you have “woody” clones you can soak for up to 30 seconds but no more than that.
Now we can start loading up our cloner…we will do these same steps until full. 
I usually have the clones about 3 inches or so inside the cloner…sometimes more sometimes less but try to be consistent with your clones size when preparing.
And sometimes I’ll even load 2 clones per neoprene insert.
And last but definitely not the least is a run the cloners on a cycle timer set to OFF 5 Minutes, and ON 30-60 Seconds. Very important if you have a warm room! Ideal water temps is high 60’s but I’m usually around 72-74 degrees F water temps.
And that’s about it folks! Usually I get a 90-100% success rate doing this process. I filled 4 x 36 site cloners two weeks ago so 144 clones and had 100% success rate.
I’m sure I’ve missed something…if you guys n gals have any questions at all feel free to ask.
Have a great weekend Overgrowers!!
Alaskagrown
