. So if I understand correctly I just fill the bucket up with a cloning hormone solution a few inches above the water pump in the bucket. Then simply let the misting manifold spray the base of the clones until they root. Is it really that easy or am i missing something? Thanks.
It could be about that simple, or just as easily end in miserable failure, realistically.
I'll try to think of a couple important details, to try and get the odds in your favor;
If you're going to leave the pump running 24/7, it's going to create heat, which will likely be your worst enemy trying to clone. The warmer the water, the more likely, and quickly, bad bacteria and fungi will take over, turning your stems to clear snot like slime, or brown mush.
Your options in hydro for disease control are generally either live beneficial bacteria and fungi, and enzymes...or sterile, using pool shock, bleach, or hydrogen peroxide.
If your water is regularly over 75f, save yourself a lot of time, money, and disappointment, and go the sterile route. The preferred method for most is pool shock with calcium hypochlorite, rather than sodium hypochlorite, as the main ingredient, at 1-5 ppm. With any of the sterile solutions, you'll have to reapply at least once per week, as they lose effectiveness over a couple days, depending on dose and product. 5ppm pool shock will last longer than say peroxide.
You can go live in veg and flower if you want, but with high temps, the bad stuff always outgrew the good, in the cloner, in my experience, running 80-90f water regularly. You can get by with higher temperatures a lot easier if your roots aren't always submerged, like with flood and drain systems.
If you're on a cold, cement, basement floor, you're probably golden, and may even need the extra heat from the constant pump. You generally want the water temperature to stay between 65 and 75f for most hydro, especially when roots /stems are always in it.
You could also get a short cycle timer, and time the pump for something like 1 minute on, 10 minutes off, or whatever. I personally do 1 minute on, 1 hour off. Saves heat, and energy, and it's the same timer as the veg system anyway. I use pool shock too though, after a bunch of other stuff that was ok, but just not quite enough for my heat.
Hope these couple hints help, and you get nice white roots in less time than you expect!
