I can’t speak to these ones but I use air pumps and never a problem.
@Gadarien here you go , I started this thread for people just like you, enjoy
I run 1 minute on, 20 minutes off. DIY aeroponics cloner, but its similar to what youre using. Have been doing it this way for years, same pump, same results I use airstones 24/7 in the reservoir.
What brand pumps are you buying?
That seems like a very, very high failure rate.
I’ve ran 4 different aeroponics clone machines 24/7 and only had 1 pump fail on me years ago. I have pumps in my cheap-o “clone king” clone machines that have been kicking for like 8+ years now. Used to run them 24/7 all the time.
I actually think it might be more stressful for the pump being cycled on and off all the time than staying on 24/7.
I used to run pumps 1 min on 5 min off and had a couple pumps fsil on me.
Your pumps definitely should not be failing that often. I would try a new brand for sure (if you haven’t already).
I’ve been using cheap ass vivosun pumps for a year straight with almost no down time with no issues. I’m actually amazed.
I’ve always wondered this?
This is awesome @TopShelfTrees1 all the ideas I could ever want here. Thank you!
I don’t use those clone machines
Just take cuts soak in water
While that’s going on
I soak rapid rooters in water and rhizotonic
Take cuts stick in clonex gel then squeeze rooter to get excess water out place cut in rooter then they go under a dome
I spray the rooters 2 times a day
And keep the rh high and the heat mat on
Normally 6 to 12 days depending on the strain we’ve got roots
Nothing fancy here and it works
I alway take more cuts then I need
So I can choose the stronger
Once roots show into sole cup I’ll keep them under the dome 1 more day then the roots take hold she’s fine
Paps
This has been my almost exact method forever. Definitely works
Do you spray the actual rapid rooter plugs? Or do you mean you mist the clones?
The actual plug
If the plant is not wilted, no need to spray the plant matter. I find that mold can happen if they’re too wet. high relative humidity is what keeps them going.
Interesting. I always bottom watered the cubes/tray, but that was with rockwool. I would bottom water the tray lightly (with Humboldt roots or something similar), so just the bottom 1/4 of the rockwool cube sucked up a bit of moisture, trying to get the roots to grow down/out seeking out water.
I have recently started using the rapid rooter plugs and have been doing the same bottom watering method with them.
I’m going to have to give your method a try though!
How moist are you leaving the plugs to start? How much water do you squeeze out? Are you squeezing all the excess water (until it stops dripping, more/less)?
And yes I totally agree about not foliar spraying clones in a dome. Just raises the risk of mold for me!
Yeah I squeeze them till about 1/2 the water is out basically
3 or 4 sprays on the rooters
Good luck
Sounds good. Thanks for the info!
@TeddyNuggets the ideal moisture for the plugs is just barely moist after the first week, too moist and they will not seek moisture so the roots tend to stay inside the cube. I’ve had them stay healthy for a month and no roots exposed, then when it’s drying out I take it and toss it in coco in a clear solo, within 24 hours the seekers were everywhere it was insane. I keep an inch of water in the base of my trays , but with the grodan insert it keeps them well above that . This helps with heat retention from the mat, relative humidity obviously, and tends to keep my roots out the bottoms more rather than all over.
Thanks for the info! That’s similar to what I do as well.
I add water to the bottom of the tray when first putting the clones in. But I pull the tray insert up a bit so the bottom of the rooting plugs are not touching the water. I also use a double tray and keep the heat mat below both, to reduce the heat from the heating mat a bit (I borrowed my theromstat to a friend and never got it back).
Then after a few days I open the vents on the dome, and after the water in the bottom evaporates and the plugs are starting to dry out, I push the tray insert back down to the bottom of the tray and water just enough so it just barely gets the bottom of the cubes moist/wet. And that’s when I usually see roots start exploding out of the rooter plugs. Not always though.
But I am always willing to try a new method to see if I can find improvements!
Sounds like a great way to do it, very similar to mine. Nice! I’m always experimenting too. Trying to shave off another day
Ok, it took me awhile to get to the part where I actually take some pics (finally remembered to do it while i was cleaning the Kloner), here is the issue that I keep running into - the impeller wears away in the center where the shaft is.
I’ve had the best luck with EcoPlus brand water pumps and Danner mag drive water pumps over the years. Those are the two I always seem to go back to.
I would definitely try a different brand than whatever one keeps failing on you (assuming it’s the same brand that keeps failing).
You could also try a filter bag around the pump to see if that helps.
Due to HPLVD I stopped using aerocloners at all, ever. It has taken me a long time to get my clone game down tight but I am in the mid to high 90th percentile in success, even with stubborn cultivars.
This is what I call 50/50 tech. The first half is 1000% hands-off, and the second half is daily interaction
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I soak rapid rooters (preferred) or rockwool cubes in full-strength Jack’s PH 5.9. I relieve them of about 1/2 of their water weight, pre-stick the hole, and place them in a checkerboard fashion in a tray.
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For rapid rooters I prefer deep cell inserts as they prevent them from drying out as fast.I add about 1 cup of solution to the bottom of the tray so if they dry roots will aim for water
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I take cuttings about 6"-7" long, strip the lower half, and place them in chlorinated tap water to rest
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When I am ready to clone, I use scissors to scrape the node above my cut and then I cut them all to length about an inch below a node. 45-degree cut and straight into cloning solution and coat them well if gel, or soak for about 30-60 seconds if it is my homemade solution.
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I stick them, spray everything with sulfur, dome them and DO NOT TOUCH THEM for 5-6 days. Don’t even fucking peak at them. (Think of it as the oven door while you’re baking a cake. I promise you they are all still in there.)
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Day 6: un-dome, wipe inside of dome dry, spray it with ISO, and wipe it down again. I use the dome to fan the plants for a couple of minutes and let them air out. replace the dome with vents halfway open
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Day 7-8, repeat above but open vents 100%, some roots should begin to pop.
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Day 9-onward. Undome daily waft plantlets with fresh air, leave undomed a little longer Anything with roots gets more food. Anything without roots gets PH’d water but only if the cube/plug is drying out.
These are ALL at Day 8: