Aeroponic Cloning in a Box: White Shark

[Rangi]

I'm going to create this thread as a grow journal of my aeroponic cloning efforts. Once I get all of my boxes running and in sync, I'll be cloning each month. So lots of opportunity for me to practice and revise my techniques as I shoot for improved outcomes (more substantive/healthier rooting; shorter time-to-root).

This is a Golden Grow Power Cloner (https://www.goldengrow.com) ... but it seems it now has a new and (?improved?) moniker: iClone48 Rooting System. As we know, if you add "i" to the front end of a product name, it sells better. lol. Manual is attached for reference.



The cloner was supplied as part of my grow box package, and it is located in the Left chamber of my Bloombox. Once these cuttings are rooted, I'll transplant them into the Right chamber to veg and undergo training. From there they'll move to a different box (Producer) to flower. Just to give the big picture.



Six months ago, when I was having difficulty getting cuttings to root, I had a great conversation with the designer and owner of Golden Grow (I emailed support; he wrote back and suggested a call. Cool!).

One of the comments he offered was that he designed the cloner to have the light source much closer to the canopy. Pretty much every cloner manual that I've read suggests T5 (or other low power fluorescent) placed ~8" from the top of the cuttings. In this grow box, there is a 125 CFL at the top of this chamber, but it's 2+ feet above the cloner. The GG guy suggested raising the cloner up higher ... so I lifted the whole unit up about 8", but it didn't seem to make any positive difference and possibly contributed to increased air/water temps that the cuttings were exposed to.

So, this time I'm placing the cloner back on the floor and I've installed (roughly, for now!) a 24" T5HO set at about 8" above the canopy (in the pic it's at 11" above the cloner lid).

Cloner has been cleaned thoroughly. Lots of rinse cycles. Brand new neoprene collars.

To 20 L of RO, I added:

• 30 ml of Clear Rez (hypochlorous acid)
• 20 ml AN B-52
• 7.5 ml AN Rhino Skin
• 10 ml Botanicare CalMag Plus

which gave me a TDS of 225 ppm. Initial pH after mixing was ~6.3, but it was still stabilizing and knowing the rez temp would change once I put it in the box, I have not yet done any adjustments but will adjust it to ~5.8 in a few hours.

Plan is to take the cuttings at lights on tomorrow morning (0300!!). The mom has been misted a couple of times over the past week with Clonex Mist. Her nutes are typically somewhat reduced to about 75% to lower Nitrogen in the tissue, which I understand can promote rooting.



I'll be placing cutting in water to hold, then I'll clean and dip in gel, then into the cloner. I'll lay out details after doing the work tomorrow, then all the steps will be fresh in my mind.

In the meantime, I would love to hear any feedback, tips, tricks, words of warning, etc.!!

Fingers crossed!!

[Rangi]

24 Cuttings Placed in Cloner


- I have only attempted to root cuttings a handful of times. My previous round produced some nicely rooted clones, but the success rate was low (~35%) and initiation of rooting was also slower than average.
- I attempt to use the "best practices" I have learned from folks who are quite successful. However, "what's best for the goose may not be best for the gander!".



- For Example:
- some argue that cuttings should be misted or place under a dome; others suggest in aeroponic cloning this is not needed and should be avoided
- some argue that the larger fan leaves should be cut in half to reduce transpiration; others suggest that is not necessary and trimming is only required if leaves are crowding other cuttings
- some argue that the rez temp should be kept low (citing 68F as ideal); others suggest that warmer temps (ambient air and rez) are desirable
- some argue that best cuttings will be taken from the bottom of the plant; others suggest it doesn't matter and some suggest the top of the plant is preferable

- and i now just accept that some procedures work for some folks, but not for others. And I just need to dial in what works reliably and successfully for me.

This round, I used the following guide to cut and then further trim the cuttings:



The 12 cuttings in the front were dipped in Clonex Gel



and the 12 in the back were dipped in Rootech Gel




- There isn't a lot of foliage, so I'm going to try just leaving the fans instead of cutting them in half.
- I'm not planning to mist
- Chamber and rez temps should remain in the 70-80 range, so I'm not going to adjust temps
- Going to give them 18/6 with the T5 @ 8" from top of canopy.

[Obi-Wan]

You’re absolutely correct!! What works for one person may not work for others. Here I will tell you what works for me with my TurboKlone.

I only use a humidity dome in the winter months when my household heat is on. My humidity drops to 15% at this time and cloning without the dome results in a success rate of about 40% and can take 21 days. With the dome I get roots in 10 days and my success rate jumps to 90%. I’m able to achieve the same 90% rate in 10 days without the dome in the spring and summer when my household humidity is closer to 50%.

I use Clonex Gel and allow my cuttings to soak in it for about 10 minutes before I place them in my cloner. When cloning with an aeroponic cloner a simple dip will wash away quickly.

I like my water to be 75-80 degrees in the cloner and I run my pump at all times. This gives the cutting a warm mist of highly oxygenated solution at all times. I’ve played around with the water temp and found warmer water promotes quicker rooting.

I keep the pH of the solution @ 5.8 at all times, no more, no less.

I have found that in general it doesn’t matter where you take the cutting from, they all root the same with one exception. I avoid taking cuttings from new growth, the stems are often hollow and are more likely to rot and contaminate the solution.

[Rangi]

Obi-Wan Thanks very much for laying out your secrets to success! I've been looking closely at the T24 and T48, and the new Elite series seems to have some nice design features (but smallest Elite is 96 I think). The vented rez and dome option (not available for mine) would be helpful I think. I, too, struggle with very low humidity most of the year.

Next time, I'll definitely let the cutting soak in the gel for a while. Otherwise, I think our processes are quite similar. Now, let's see how similar results are

Thanks again.

[Rangi]

• Here they are at lights on today, 24 hours after being cut.
• pH had drifted up slightly and I adjusted back to 5.8
• So far, so good!

[Rangi]

• Day 2
  • No wilting, but gave a light application of Clonex Mist
  • Environment (air & water) seems stable and within parameters
  • I think this T5 placed 8" above the canopy is working much better that the 125W CFL at the top of the chamber

[Rangi]

Day 6 .... ROOTS!! (well, nubs lol)

• start of the 6th day since cutting ... root nubs out on a few, and smaller bumps visible on many ... all previous attempts took unit about Day 14 for this progress!!
• addedl Clear Rez (hypochlorous acid) to the rez yesterday ... 5 days since last addition

[Rangi]

Day 7 - 100% Rooted!!

- Surprised about this outcome ... I might just be getting a handle on aeroponic cloning ... after many, many UNsuccessful attempts! lol
- I think the Clear Rez (hypochlorous acid, added @ 1.5ml/L (1oz/5gal) was a contributor, as well as using the schematic above re how to cut/trim the cuttings

- I'll be moving these to the veg chamber in the next few days ... have to evict some occupants first!

[Rangi]

Day 12 - Transplant from Cloner to DWC

• I should have moved these 2+ days ago, but needed to free up space in the nursery chamber
• Experimenting with a new medium:
  • placed rooted clones in Root Riot plugs (split open like a hot dog bun ... in some cases sliced in half and set on either side of the root crown)
  • placed the plugs into a basket surrounded by GrowStones, then put on the neoprene cover
  • had to do some wiggling to get the drippers inserted, but seemed to go ok
• In the past, i have placed rooted clones in Grodan Macroplugs or 1" cubes (split open), and then into 3" cubes placed in the baskets
  • my system automatically top feeds for 5 min/day at 3 hrs after lights on
  • with new seedlings/clones in rockwool, I disable the auto watering (and just manually activate the top feed whenever and for however long I think they need) until I'm satisfied it won't cause overwatering (learned this the hard way!)
  • I waited about 5 days before turning on auto water with my last crop
• Not sure - with plugs in growstones whether I need to be equally cautious??
  • one of the advantages (as I understand it) of the growstones is that it is more difficult to overwater.

Any thoughts re early watering of growstones??

Thanks in advance!!

[Rangi]

Update: 24 hrs Post-Transplant (Day 13 since cutting)

• Here they are at lights on this morning
  • Was pleasantly surprised to see them looking so perky looking
• Yesterday, about 12 hrs after transplant, I stumbled across info from the manufacturer suggesting to water *immediately* after transplanting, as "this will create good contact between the roots and their new environment."
  • In the past, using pre-soaked 3" rockwool in the pots, I would not need to fertigate for several days following transplant
  • Although the Growstones and Root Riots (first time using both) had been pre-soaked (so I was confident that there was sufficient moisture in at the start), I decided to provide 3-4 min of top drip fertigation
  • Also made the call to turn on the auto watering function, so they'll be given 5 min/day @ 3 hrs into the light period
• pH drifted up (5.8 to 6.3) since transplant, but this was likely influenced by residual lime etc. leaching out of the Growstones
  • adjusted down to 5.7
• TDS = 350 ppm