DIY Aero-Cloner

[growingforanxiety]

Haven't posted in a while so i thought i would share the new cloner im building. this is out of a Home Depot 27 gallon Tough tote, the manifold will be built out of 1/2 inch PVC with EZ-Clone sprayers. im planning a 32 site and using different color pucks for different strains. i will post picks as i do the build, so heres the start

 

[DW2]

Howdy growingforanxiety, I'm not sure that I understand how an aero-cloner works. Do the cuttings need to protrude below the pucks? Can an aero-cloner be used for leaf cuttings?
Please keep use posted on Your progress, I'm interested in how the plumbing is set up, spray nozzles, etc., also, does it need a dome or top. I have a cloning tray with a dome and have hade only a little success with it.
Thanks for sharing the photos and good luck with Your project and grows.

 

[bblv]

Hi gfa (may I address you as gfa?), I use a similar tote (just smaller) for my dwc setups. I've tried many different cloning setups and still haven't found one I'm truly fond of... so I'm certainly interested in what you put together here!!!

Edit: btw, do you move these to dwc? Or what's your normal setup once you root?

 

[007]

The Jedi is strong with this one Nice!

 

[DingusKhan]

Nice job, Gro. What do you add to your water? How will you regulate temp?

 

[DingusKhan]

I've had the best luck with rapid rooters and soil in little plastic salsa cups sitting in a little rotisserie chicken tray.

I recently tried cloning in a bin of bubbling water, thinking the splashing would be enough moisture. I tried some cuttings in stem-pucks with about an inch poking down, some in rapid rooters in four inch cups with clay balls, all died after 2 weeks. They always seemed wet, but never rooted.

Why would a fine spray work, but not bubble popping mist? Hmmm

 

[growingforanxiety]

i use clonex gel for dipping and the clonex solution for the water, i also dont really regulate temps because its in my basement and i also use Hydroguard, GWE site talked bout hydroguard when i first started growing and i never stopped using it in my hydro set ups

 

[growingforanxiety]

No Title

Howdy growingforanxiety, I'm not sure that I understand how an aero-cloner works. Do the cuttings need to protrude below the pucks? Can an aero-cloner be used for leaf cuttings?
Please keep use posted on Your progress, I'm interested in how the plumbing is set up, spray nozzles, etc., also, does it need a dome or top. I have a cloning tray with a dome and have hade only a little success with it.
Thanks for sharing the photos and good luck with Your project and grows.

This is my older cloner i built a few years ago. the cuttings are held by the pucks and dangle over the manifold and that sprays the tips til roots come out....the nice thing about using the aero method is they are vegging for a little bit as well....this strain is gorilla glue #4...

 

[growingforanxiety]

yea thats fine on GFA, i mianly use this method when growing dirt, coco.....you can transfer to hydro, however i dont like doing that because my plants get so big the hydroton doesnt hold them up....if im doing hydro ill use rockwool cubes, the transfer to a larger size rockwool block, so that it wedges down in the bucket lid and holds my plant up

 

[growingforanxiety]

No Title

Hi gfa (may I address you as gfa?), I use a similar tote (just smaller) for my dwc setups. I've tried many different cloning setups and still haven't found one I'm truly fond of... so I'm certainly interested in what you put together here!!!

Edit: btw, do you move these to dwc? Or what's your normal setup once you root?

like this....you can see the block down in the bucket lid and the hydroton all around it....that holds it better for me anyways

 

[growingforanxiety]

i have a friend who tried DWC cloning and it didnt work out very well. my success rate with this is around 95%

 

[DW2]

Thanks for the information. Wow those are some fine looking roots!

 

[DingusKhan]

Wow, you've been having much better success with your aero-cloner than I've been having with soil and rapid rooters (about 50-60%, lately). Now I'm going to have to build a spray manifold. But in my head, I don't see why the mist of bubbles popping and wetting the stems doesn't work, but spraying a fine mist does work.

 

[growingforanxiety]

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little update to the cloner project
I used hole saw kit i got from harbor freight for 11 bucks the last time i made a cloner. for the cost it has come in handy.
i started by tracing out the holes on the Lid of the tote. i used the 2 inch hole saw since the net pots are 2 inch but they have a lip which holds them in place

 

[growingforanxiety]

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then after you drill all your holes out the lid will look like this

 

[growingforanxiety]

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then you take your net pots and cut the bottoms off so the roots dont tangle in them.....you want to be able to remove them when they root

 

[OzBud]

this is a great thread. I wont ever need anything like this but great to follow along with the process.

 

[growingforanxiety]

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Use the 3/4 in hole saw to drill a single hole at the end in one of the smaller half squares on the top of the LID, you place the cords inside this puck to keep light out and water from spraying out. Someone said to not use the 2 inch net pots and just drill 3/4 holes and place the pucks right in the hole with no basket support. this doesnt work well, the pucks where out and start to slip into the res, it works well just for the cords from the pump / heater if one is needed. you can see the different color pucks for different strains. i will keep a journal on how long each strain takes to root, what color pucks they are in, PH, water temps.....etc. next will be manifold construction and pump placement stay tuned :laugh:

 

[growingforanxiety]

No Title

this is why i like using an aero cloner....gorilla glue #4 after 2 weeks in the cloner.

 

[growingforanxiety]

So......I finished the cloner 3 months later LOL :laugh:......had to move and didnt have the time to work on it. i finished the build yesterday for anyone interested in building a DIY cloner......
i cut the front PVC to measure about 2 inches before the end of the tote as well as the rear pipe, if you go right up to your tote, the sides may leak. if you give a few inches of space before the ends of the tote, it shoudnt leak

like this