dwc/bubble cloner setup

i had my first root bumps and only on a single clone after 13 days. does this seem like a normal amount of time in a bubblecloner? its good to see the roots as oppose to using something like peat where you dont know whats happening in there until you see roots shooting from the pots or the clone dies but i still feel like this can be optimised for faster rooting.

now i bought a ready to go setup but i ditched the pump that came with the set and used one i had on hand because its a bigger and better pump. reservoir is filled to the brim and i guess it takes about 8-9lt or water i’m not sure. i also added about 3-5ml of clonefix into this water and a very dilute dose of salt based one part fertilizer, like 1-2 mls. i mixed in 20mls of 200ppm hypochlorous acid solution at the beginning and i’m adding about 3-5mls every other day. the surface is covered with bubbles and the neoprene disks and the stems inside are all wet too.

now good part it doesnt seem like there are any pathogens rotting the stems not so great part is that this much root growth took 13 days and this is only on one clone. i also see a couple more getting bumps and probably gonna form roots in a couple of days but still i’m thinking that there may be something off with my technique or something.

also i don’t keep the stems in the water and some are short cuttings and stay about maybe 5cm off the water and some are just 1-2cm above water but they are all getting plenty of bubbles i can see that when i remove the discs from the cloner.

i should also add that i’m using a humidity dome and lighting over the cloner are led t5s, 4x7w with diffusers. 6500K and 3000K mix.

whats your technique to get the healthiest clones, fast in a bubble cloner?

have you thaught of a larger bubbler system, the more bubbles the fastr the roots appear usualy, you could have a difficult strain there, 3 to 4 weeks is normal for rooting to take place

go go kid said:

have you thaught of a larger bubbler system, the more bubbles the fastr the roots appear usualy, you could have a difficult strain there, 3 to 4 weeks is normal for rooting to take place

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this is a 30 piece cloner and i really dont even need that many spots. i have about 5-6 cultivars going at the sametime usually and taking 2-3 clones of each to keep them going so this size seemed appropriate for my setup and available space. my wife and i have a small flat and i have the smallest room as my hobby room so really can’t go too big.

but i can honestly say that the surface is all bubbles and nothing but the bubbles. tiny bubbles floating and popping and forming its really covered with bubbles

Soak clones in a glass of water 24-36 hrs first or drop them right into the water in the cloner.2" of stem submerged.Then lift them right into the foam after a day or two.This keeps them from drooping I find.

myke said:

Soak clones in a glass of water 24-36 hrs first or drop them right into the water in the cloner.2" of stem submerged.Then lift them right into the foam after a day or two.This keeps them from drooping I find.

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with the dome on i dont see drooping to be honest i take the dome off for about 5-10 minutes daily to check for roots and i put it on again and i also try to take clones from watered plants which i find helps with the drooping situation further but i can give that soaking for 24-36 hrs a go. do you feel like that helps with faster rooting and do you use anything in that soaking water (chlorine, bleach, h2o2, rooting hormone etc.)?

Tap water without ph or nutrient and around 20c with dim lighting, brighter lights will work but I get a healthier clone with 2x T5s over 4x T5s.

24/25c/55/65%
That was 10 days using an 8w pump to circulate the water gently.

I did use bubble stones/pump etc but some gentle circulation appears to work equally well minus the noise penalty from the air pump.

You might notice my stems are a bit longer than average, when I pot them up the whole stem gives out roots giving me more rooting surface.

Star Dog said:

Tap water without ph or nutrient and around 20c with dim lighting, brighter lights will work but I get a healthier clone with 2x T5s over 4x T5s.
View attachment 5107583
24/25c/55/65%
That was 10 days using an 8w pump to circulate the water gently.

I did use bubble stones/pump etc but some gentle circulation appears to work equally well minus the noise penalty from the air pump.

You might notice my stems are a bit longer than average, when I pot them up the whole stem gives out roots giving me more rooting surface.

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cool roots man do you keep them submerged?

i would like to get bigger cuts but this round i took cuts from small plants so stems are sitting a little far above water for some and the ones that are closer are the ones actually developing bumps so i guess just barely above water or tips submerged is where its at.

i’m not really bothered by the noise per se and its just a super silent 3w aquarium pump and some rubberlike bubble curtains that came with the set. it makes really fine tiny bubbles and the set included a 2w aquarium pump so i thought 3w would be better and went with that.

i’m gonna take a pic of the reservoir when i’m home and post that up too.

anyway for 10 days great root growth i want to achieve something similar

so maybe i should turn 1 or 2 of those t5s off. also i’m keeping them 18/6 do you have a preferred light schedule?

crimsonecho said:

with the dome on i dont see drooping to be honest i take the dome off for about 5-10 minutes daily to check for roots and i put it on again and i also try to take clones from watered plants which i find helps with the drooping situation further but i can give that soaking for 24-36 hrs a go. do you feel like that helps with faster rooting and do you use anything in that soaking water (chlorine, bleach, h2o2, rooting hormone etc.)?

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I never used a dome with bubbles but I can see it helping.I use RW now in a dome seems more consistent,bubbles always had a few that took a while.

crimsonecho said:

cool roots man do you keep them submerged?

i would like to get bigger cuts but this round i took cuts from small plants so stems are sitting a little far above water for some and the ones that are closer are the ones actually developing bumps so i guess just barely above water or tips submerged is where its at.

i’m not really bothered by the noise per se and its just a super silent 3w aquarium pump and some rubberlike bubble curtains that came with the set. it makes really fine tiny bubbles and the set included a 2w aquarium pump so i thought 3w would be better and went with that.

i’m gonna take a pic of the reservoir when i’m home and post that up too.

anyway for 10 days great root growth i want to achieve something similar

so maybe i should turn 1 or 2 of those t5s off. also i’m keeping them 18/6 do you have a preferred light schedule?

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If you can turn down/off some lights I would, what I find with dimmer lights is even the cut leafs stay healthy, if I use 4x T5s they'll still root but they might need 7/10 days to establish afterwards as opposed to seamless growth continuation once potted.

Submerged... Yes I submerge the stem 1.5 inches or thereabouts, you'll see there's an area of vigorous root growth that's the area right at the water surface/wash, I believe the wash from the water has some effect on the rooting speed, I've observed this and discussed it with @Richard Drysift who's also observed this.

I generally use 24hrs of light unless it's peak summer when it's not practical to run 24hrs for temp issues.

I'd be interested to see a picture but from what you described your set up sounds fine.

Eta... With a 1" or so submerged you probably won't see droopy/wilt on the clones even without a dome, ime with a bubbler they're not needed unless maybe your humidity is low?

myke said:

I never used a dome with bubbles but I can see it helping.I use RW now in a dome seems more consistent,bubbles always had a few that took a while.

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i just havent used rw before and i want to kinda stay away from using single use stuff and i know neoprenes are not to be used indefinitely but i think i can get at least 5-6 runs with them with bleaching in between runs so i feel like this is a better option for me for now

Star Dog said:

If you can turn down/off some lights I would, what I find with dimmer lights is even the cut leafs stay healthy, if I use 4x T5s they'll still root but they might need 7/10 days to establish afterwards as opposed to seamless growth continuation once potted.

Submerged... Yes I submerge the stem 1.5 inches or thereabouts, you'll see there's an area of vigorous root growth that's the area right at the water surface/wash, I believe the wash from the water has some effect on the rooting speed, I've observed this and discussed it with @Richard Drysift who's also observed this.

I generally use 24hrs of light unless it's peak summer when it's not practical to run 24hrs for temp issues.

I'd be interested to see a picture but from what you described your set up sounds fine.

Eta... With a 1" or so submerged you probably won't see droopy/wilt on the clones even without a dome, ime with a bubbler they're not needed unless maybe your humidity is low?

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yeah the problem with my situation is that the cloner is placed right infront of the ac so without a dome a constant low rh breeze would hit them and i’m not sure if they can hold up even with stems submerged.

the reason i went with 18/6 is an old belief that roots mostly grow in the dark period and maybe i should do 24 on too seeing you get much better results in less time.

so you dont get the first roots shooting at the bottom of the cuts as i had but the upper portions which stays out of the water right?

crimsonecho said:

i just havent used rw before and i want to kinda stay away from using single use stuff and i know neoprenes are not to be used indefinitely but i think i can get at least 5-6 runs with them with bleaching in between runs so i feel like this is a better option for me for now



yeah the problem with my situation is that the cloner is placed right infront of the ac so without a dome a constant low rh breeze would hit them and i’m not sure if they can hold up even with stems submerged.

the reason i went with 18/6 is an old belief that roots mostly grow in the dark period and maybe i should do 24 on too seeing you get much better results in less time.

so you dont get the first roots shooting at the bottom of the cuts as i had but the upper portions which stays out of the water right?

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Yes that's correct ime the 1st roots to show roots is the Puck itself or the area just on/around water level.


yeah the problem with my situation is that the cloner is placed right infront of the ac so without a dome a constant low rh breeze would hit them and i’m not sure if they can hold up even with stems submerged.
All grows/set up,s are individual one size doesn't fit all

Star Dog said:

Yes that's correct ime the 1st roots to show roots is the Puck itself or the area just on/around water level.


yeah the problem with my situation is that the cloner is placed right infront of the ac so without a dome a constant low rh breeze would hit them and i’m not sure if they can hold up even with stems submerged.
All grows/set up,s are individual one size doesn't fit all

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thanks for your input bro i’m gonna make some adjustments according to your suggestions

ok this is inside the rez, lots of bubbles but i think what i should have done was to take taller cuts so the bottom would be either submerged or atleast touch the bubbles or something. also taking the timer down and gonna do 24hrs on. that little root grew a bit more today but not much rooting on the other clones still.

this is the one with the bumps friday and the other one has just started rooting. i’m also seeing a couple more in there forming bumps but some still have no intention of rooting and the leaves are yellowing on those ones. mostly the destroyers and 1 nl clone seems like they are gonna root in a couple of days and some cuts are fresh from a couple of days ago so not expecting them to root yet but my bluechems are the ones not really throwing anything. it may also be strain dependant its parent blue kush was a hard to clone strain too. but since the leaves are yellowing i’m afraid they are not gonna make it at all. is there a way to keep them healthier at this point?

crimsonecho said:

this is the one with the bumps friday and the other one has just started rooting. i’m also seeing a couple more in there forming bumps but some still have no intention of rooting and the leaves are yellowing on those ones. mostly the destroyers and 1 nl clone seems like they are gonna root in a couple of days and some cuts are fresh from a couple of days ago so not expecting them to root yet but my bluechems are the ones not really throwing anything. it may also be strain dependant its parent blue kush was a hard to clone strain too. but since the leaves are yellowing i’m afraid they are not gonna make it at all. is there a way to keep them healthier at this point?

View attachment 5108538View attachment 5108539View attachment 5108544

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There's a lot of variables with different plants/strains some take longer than others but the ingredients for rooting is evident lol.

Idk if there's much you can do about the health of them now but a bit yellowing isn't something to worry about.
Check post #3 and see what a week does once potted.

This is some I cut 7 days ago.

35w of light in total the ones in the link 100w T5s, I was also vegging seedlings at the time and they were most important to me or I'd have halfed the light.

Star Dog said:

There's a lot of variables with different plants/strains some take longer than others but the ingredients for rooting is evident lol.

Idk if there's much you can do about the health of them now but a bit yellowing isn't something to worry about.

London city genetics Bluchi

Sprouted on the 18th Nov Topped on 22nd. Dec Flipped on the 25th December. Waiting to determine sex.

www.rollitup.org

Check post #3 and see what a week does once potted.

This is some I cut 7 days ago.
View attachment 5108562
35w of light in total the ones in the link 100w T5s, I was also vegging seedlings at the time and they were most important to me or I'd have halfed the light.

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yeah seems tight. you are in coco i guess now i did something for my vegging clones. i mixed a very coco heavy medium. i actually went with straight coco/perlite for 3 of them and for 5 of the seedlings i mixed compost to that coco perlite mix (1 part compost/2 parts coco perlite give or take). so i’m guessing i gotta handle this as hydro, especially the coco/perlite ones. got any tips on coco?

crimsonecho said:

yeah seems tight. you are in coco i guess now i did something for my vegging clones. i mixed a very coco heavy medium. i actually went with straight coco/perlite for 3 of them and for 5 of the seedlings i mixed compost to that coco perlite mix (1 part compost/2 parts coco perlite give or take). so i’m guessing i gotta handle this as hydro, especially the coco/perlite ones. got any tips on coco?

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I don't always use my bubbler it depends what's happening in the clone tent and how quickly I want them, coco makes a great cloning medium though if I'm only doing a few clones its a good alternative to setting up the bubbler.

I'm not sure about the compost mix I've only grown with hydro.

Your vegging clones/seedlings that are in coco/perlite only need some mild nutrient around 0.6/7ec to start with.

I try to feed the coco before planting seeds then use a syringe to feed it gently, if i feed it after planting i compress the coco and lose out on that air space that would be lost by conventional watering, a syringe let's me maintain that airspace until it's knitted together by the roots,.

The messing around isn't for everyone but it all helps imo.

Star Dog said:

I don't always use my bubbler it depends what's happening in the clone tent and how quickly I want them, coco makes a great cloning medium though if I'm only doing a few clones its a good alternative to setting up the bubbler.

I'm not sure about the compost mix I've only grown with hydro.

Your vegging clones/seedlings that are in coco/perlite only need some mild nutrient around 0.6/7ec to start with.

I try to feed the coco before planting seeds then use a syringe to feed it gently, if i feed it after planting i compress the coco and lose out on that air space that would be lost by conventional watering, a syringe let's me maintain that airspace until it's knitted together by the roots,.
View attachment 5108670
The messing around isn't for everyone but it all helps imo.

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nice roots man i dont think i have it in me to syringe water 8 pots everyday but they are already semi-established seedlings throwing their first nodes so hoping they’ll come around. and the bonsais are usually ready to go with some extra rootspace.i just wanted to give that compost and coco thing a try as these are free seeds i made i wouldn’t be devastated if they were lost somehow.
where does your ph sit in this setup? i dont have ph up and only some drops to measure so after i mixed some nutescinto my distilled water it went way down and bounced back a bit after i diluted with more water but i guess it was around 5 or something hard to be precise with drops. i probably should use ph up.

crimsonecho said:

nice roots man i dont think i have it in me to syringe water 8 pots everyday but they are already semi-established seedlings throwing their first nodes so hoping they’ll come around. and the bonsais are usually ready to go with some extra rootspace.i just wanted to give that compost and coco thing a try as these are free seeds i made i wouldn’t be devastated if they were lost somehow.
where does your ph sit in this setup? i dont have ph up and only some drops to measure so after i mixed some nutescinto my distilled water it went way down and bounced back a bit after i diluted with more water but i guess it was around 5 or something hard to be precise with drops. i probably should use ph up.

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I like to keep my ph between 5.9/6.2 for raising the ph I use silicon in a more concentrated form called potsil (UK) I'm not sure what the US equivalent is?
Eta.. Possibly power si?

Star Dog said:

I like to keep my ph between 5.9/6.2 for raising the ph I use silicon in a more concentrated form called potsil (UK) I'm not sure what the US equivalent is?
Eta.. Possibly power si?

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i actually have aptus regulator which is mostly silicic acid and i wanna say molybdenum so molybdenum but that acid form may be bringing ph down even further in my case because my distilled from the tank is around 6.5-7 (again with the drops so not super accurate) but it comes waaay down after i add the nutes probably because no buffer in distilled. maybe something like ordinary potassium bicarbonate or something?