How can I build my own bubble cloner?

[GrowFAQ]

Contributed by: Syko2 Submitted: July 27th, 2004 Images archived 2004

How to root cuttings in 5 to 7 days with your existing hydroponic equipment? - simply use your dwc or swc systems for rooting - just raise the water in your res to submerge the cutting stem.

A simple, easy-to-use system with little maintenance. Requires no misting, no domes, no rooting agents and no ph adjusting.

Nutrients and conditions

Plain tap water with a starting ppm of 50 (@.5) up to 200 (@.5) and a PH of 7.0 can be used. Lowering the PH from my experience is pointless. The main thing to remember is to keep everything clean and max your DO levels (Dissolved Oxygen) by keeping nutrient temps cool: 65 to 78 is ideal. Use an air pump 2 times the size of the res (ie for a 10 gallon res use an air pump good for 20 gallons).

System

I use a 10 gallon plastic tub w/ a 10 gallon Whisper air pump and 2 1 inch air stones. Any size reservoir can be used - it can even be clear.

Using 1 inch air stones will greatly increase your amount of bubbles, but almost any size air stones or bubble curtain can be used.

Medium: none (suspended in air), grow rocks, lava rocks and coco coir among others can be used.

Setup & maintenance

After you take your cuttings, make sure the stem is submerged at least 1 inch into the res water until roots or root bumps can be seen. I have tried several depths of stem submersion up to 4 inches and had no problems rooting.

Keep the system clean by dumping, washing and refilling it every 7 to 10 days. Adding h202 @ 1 tsp to 1 tbsp a gallon (or 5 to 15 mls a gallon) (H2O2 = Hydrogen Peroxide) every few days will help keep the system clean, & will add oxygen to the res. I don’t add anything except plain fresh tap water.

No need to add any rooting hormones into the system or to the cuttings stem however, water soluble gels or solutions like Rootec or Olivia can be used (I have noticed no difference in rooting times).

Clones will root within 5 to 7 days however, some do take longer.

Once the cutting has rooted, you can place the cutting into the medium of choice. I add them into either a soiless mix or a hydroponic system.

If the cutting is being tranplanted into soil or a soilless medium, water heavily the 1st time, then allow the medium to dry out completely before watering again so the root mass will seek the soil.

When they are placed into a hydroponic system, I add a week 200 ppms (.5) of Bloom nutrient and Thrive Alive B-1 to the res. Keeping the temps ideal is the key.

I keep the roots submerged until they were 2 weeks old so there is no chance of drying out. Once they are 2 weeks old, I lower the res water only keeping the tips of the root mass submerged - the rest get the aeroponic effect.

[HydroPower]

Another tutorial for building bubble cloner:

Aeroponic Cloner DIY

Materials List

• 1 opaque plastic tub
• 1 Rio 800 water powerhead
• 10 foot length PVC, 1/2-inch
• 8 slip-coupling PVC elbows (90 degree turns)
• 1 slip-coupling / threaded PVC T-adapter
• 1 threaded hose nozzle
• 8 180 degree jet sprayers
• 4 PVC to poly-tube adapters
• 2 feet flexible hose
• 1 roll 1/2-inch black poly-tubing
• 1 can white spray paint or coating

Every component to make this aeroponic tub is available at your local Home dePot,Wal-Mart, and aquarium store. You could probably get it all from the dePot, but they don’t have the greatest selection of tubs.

You can use a different pump and skip the aquarium store, but the Rio is a good choice @ 211 gph. It comes with a ball valve to control the flow and the 800 uses a ceramic impeller so it won’t degrade in saltwater.

Misters

The only problematic component in this design is the grade of misters easily available. A few different configurations were tried, and the barbed misters screwed into semi-flexible poly-tubing seemed to give the best results. All of these components are located near the plumbing and PVC in a section for sprinklers and drip irrigation, the brand is “DIG Corporation.” If easily available, you can use better misters from a grow store.

Cut the PVC to necessary lengths. The most important factor is the height of the assembly, so don’t cut it too short. You can always lower it afterwards. The 8 elbows connect the sides, and the T is inserted opposite the pump. The T-adapter has one threaded connection for the hose nozzle.

After completing the PVC work, the next step is making the spraybars. These are the black tubes that hold the misters, it is a somewhat stiff poly tubing sold for use with the emitters. This is where your clogs will happen so be prepared-- have extra misters on hand and you can even build two extra spray bars that you can swap in while you clean the others.

The spraybar starts with a PVC to Poly tube adapter (sold with all the other DIG accessories) and a length of the tubing. Next make very small guide holes for the misters to go into the tubing. It is very important for the holes to be small, it should be difficult to push the emitter into the tube. If the fit is not secure, the emitter will not spray. You may have to make a few spraybars before you get it right.

Your worst enemy will be clogs. Either you can replace the mister or the entire spraybar. This is the biggest disadvantage of aeroponics, but running distilled water for cloning will keep clogs to a minimum. If you clean it out it between cloning sessions it should hardly clog at all.

After you get the spraybars right, install them in the system and turn it on. You should get fountains of small droplets splashing up, not really a mist from these emitters, but it is still a very good cloning environment.

All thats left after that is to finish the top. Sold near the spray paint is a white rubber coating that lasts much better. This takes at least two or three coats for a good reflective surface. Be sure and drill the holes first or you will ruin the finish. Also cut a notch for the power cord so the top closes completely.

Clone holders

To hold the clones in you can use pieces of tubing, pre-split down the middle. You can easily remove these tubes and the clone without damaging the root system. They need to be transplanted quickly when they root or they will become accustomed to the aeroponics and have a more difficult time leaving. If transplanting into soil or soilless mix you can even move them as soon as they show bumps, around 5 days, and they will root with no transplant shock in around a week.

Water and setup

The quality of water that you put in the tub has a direct relationship to how fast the cuts will root. The best water to start with is either distilled or reverse-osmosis. They should both be between 0 and 20 parts per million and between 6.5 and 7.0 pH. Using tap water will clog the emitters much more quickly with mineral deposits. No rooting hormone is needed.

Some people report good results by using a watering schedule of 1/2 hour on, 1/2 hour off, but leaving the pump on constantly has always produced quick rooting as well. The water is super-saturated with oxygen from the constant splashing and spraying. If the ambient temperature isn’t high enough, a necessary piece of equipment is an aquarium heater set at 78 degrees.

Conlusion

I hope you find this tub and aeroponic rooting method to be the simplest and most effective technique around. You simply fill the tub with clean water, take a cut, and drop it in. 7 days later you have roots-- no chemicals, no rockwool, no mess.

[RogerTheShrubber]

This is the style I use with great success. Had problems getting the tub to contain all the water, so I put it in a five gallon bucket with a lid. Cut holes for clone sites and the powercord, and no worries.