Lets talk AeroCloners

I suspect that the dosage of H2O2 may be a bit high. I use 20ml for an ezcloner 120, which I believe has about 11-15 gallons.

can you put a picture of the inside of the cloner? I'm curious as to the construction, water level, and sprayers.

Ahzweepay said:

Unfortunately I got the mold again (see attached shots).
About half of the clones in the tub either had mold like the 2 included pictures, or were just starting to get a few specks. This was after 15 days in the cloner.

I bought a new lid for my Rubbermade tote and drilled it for 33 2" sites. Dropped in 2" net pots and matching neoprene, then recut all the clones and put them in their new homes.

I set the machine up with 8gal H2O, 30ml 29% H2O2 (lowered the dosage a bit from the previous 40ml), timer set to 1min on/5min off and the temp set to about 73. I've been changing the water every 3rd day too.
My fingers are crossed...

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YaK said:

I suspect that the dosage of H2O2 may be a bit high. I use 20ml for an ezcloner 120, which I believe has about 11-15 gallons.

can you put a picture of the inside of the cloner? I'm curious as to the construction, water level, and sprayers.

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Here ya go - pictures of the inside.

Are you using the 10% H2O2 or 29% (or something else)?

Well, it's happened again.

I've had the machine set up with 8gal H2O, 25ml 29% H2O2 (lowered the dosage a bit from the previous 40ml), timer set to 1min on/5min off and the temp set to about 72. I've been changing the water every 3rd day too.

I took new clones on 12/29, and on Saturday 1/8 noticed mold showing up (see pictures for examples). I'm totally at a loss - the last batch I had in this thing at least started a few shoots, but once again I'm back to nothing but a bit of goo/mold after 11 days.

I cleaned the machine and recut the clones yesterday. My other clone machine will become available on Wed, so I'll be moving these from the home made unit to the store bought cloner then. ...at least that clone machine is still working like a champ (see nice roots picture also attached).

Any ideas for me - I'm totally stuck

That sucks man. I can't believe you are having this same problem over and over! I do the exact same thing and it works better than anything else I have tried.

I only had two occasions where I got mold like you are talking about. It did return each time after a thorough cleaning, but the third cleaning was the charm for me. Haven't had mold since. The third cleaning involved a strong solution of bleach that was recirculated for a few hours, including all net pots and everything, same pump. Then a cleaning with h2o2 and finally a rinse or two. Like I said, this worked for me. I think an air stone was the problem the first time. The second time I was really surprised and couldn't figure out how or why it came back, but after it finally went away with the hardcore cleaning, it hasn't come back.

It's probably been asked. Is it possible you are having a light leak in the top? I would give it a hard cleaning and start over with fresh cuttings--you are doing everything perfect, except some contamination is either still there, or getting in from a light leak, or too hot of water temp. But, with the frequent water changes, I'm going to have to guess it was still in the setup somewhere, and probably on the neoprene inserts now. Maybe that's where it came from on this last batch, in the collars?

Anyway, I change my water every 7 days and other than no h2o2, do everything the same as you. I don't think your h2o2 dose is too high. It should be a few thousand ppm, but not toxic.. I do a "hard cleaning" once a month with bleach and h2o2.

Thinking outside the box though, if you do start over with new cuttings, maybe you should avoid the h2o2 altogether.. it's possible that is the cause, though unlikely as it seems.

The only other tips I have are avoid cloning gels and rooting hormones. If you are using tap water, let it sit out 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate. If you are using reverse osmosis water, then you would want to use clonex, or a little cal-mag to give a little ppm. Obviously the most important is a clean blade--clean it after every cut with isopropyl alcohol. I'm pretty sure you know all this but once you get it, you won't be able to get it wrong if you try.

oh one more IMHO would ditch the airstone. It's totally not needed with the sprayers, plus you are changing out the water so often.. but really it's just one more thing that can cause a problem when it works perfectly fine without. The heater also. Unless your temps are getting colder than like 60F

I'd say Flora is right on with some kind of bacteria. Cleaning is never stressed enough. I'm new to this site but its great and the peeps seem to be pretty laid back.

What are some opinions on fast rooting strains? My Big Bud is my fastest in my ez cloner 120..Anyone else with favorites?

I got me a PT Cloner. Thought it would be easy after having to water rockwool cubes twice a day to get rooted clones. Well the results are far from what I expected. Here is what I got;

80 site PT Cloner
5 gal non DI filtered R/O water
40 ml 35% H2O2
pH 5.5
1 ml/gal Roots Excellurator
3 24" x 2 light t12 "plant and aquarium" lamps
seedling heat mat under the res
pump on 15 min/off 15 min
temps 75-80F for res and ambient
Strain is White Widow

I keep getting the same slimy gunk choking off my stems. The unit is cleaned very thoroughly before each use. This is my fourth try with this thing. I can't seem to figure it out. I only add the Roots Excellurator after the first res change on day 3. After reading this thread I can't seem to find anything that I am doing wrong. Except the part about not getting any roots. I am really good at not getting any roots.

dirtysteve said:

I got me a PT Cloner. Thought it would be easy after having to water rockwool cubes twice a day to get rooted clones. Well the results are far from what I expected. Here is what I got;

80 site PT Cloner
5 gal non DI filtered R/O water
40 ml 35% H2O2
pH 5.5
1 ml/gal Roots Excellurator
3 24" x 2 light t12 "plant and aquarium" lamps
seedling heat mat under the res
pump on 15 min/off 15 min
temps 75-80F for res and ambient
Strain is White Widow

I keep getting the same slimy gunk choking off my stems. The unit is cleaned very thoroughly before each use. This is my fourth try with this thing. I can't seem to figure it out. I only add the Roots Excellurator after the first res change on day 3. After reading this thread I can't seem to find anything that I am doing wrong. Except the part about not getting any roots. I am really good at not getting any roots.

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Can you post a pic?
You really don't need the heat mat! 75-80 res temp is too hot. 70-75 would be much, much better, with <70 being best.
What res changes are you doing?
Are you using H2O2 with every res change?
If you are using H2O2 to increase dissolved oxygen, the increased reservoir temps are completely negating it... dissolved oxygen likes cold water. i.e. skip the H2O2 and heat mat, and aim for better res temps..

I just re cut all my clones so pics would be irrelevant. No slimy stuff. Looks sort of like the stuff luielugatz posted earlier. Post #83 is the one.

I change the res every 2-3 days. I add H2O2 every time. Not to add dissolved O2, but to keep the slime at bay. The water splashing around in there puts enough O2 in the water. I don't really know why people use air stones in their aero cloners. The water turbulence from the spray puts plenty of air back into the water. Sort of like white water in a river.

From reading this thread and just about everywhere else the ideal temps to get roots popping is about 78. You are saying less than 70? I was planning on leaving the heat mat off after I get root nubbins because I know roots prefer cooler temps. But everything I have read before your post says cool temps slow rooting. Not to say that you don't know what you are talking about. I do appreciate the help. And at this point I am willing to try just about anything as long as it gets me some rooted clones. Thanks repvip.

dirtysteve said:

I just re cut all my clones so pics would be irrelevant. No slimy stuff. Looks sort of like the stuff luielugatz posted earlier. Post #83 is the one.

I change the res every 2-3 days. I add H2O2 every time. Not to add dissolved O2, but to keep the slime at bay. The water splashing around in there puts enough O2 in the water. I don't really know why people use air stones in their aero cloners. The water turbulence from the spray puts plenty of air back into the water. Sort of like white water in a river.

From reading this thread and just about everywhere else the ideal temps to get roots popping is about 78. You are saying less than 70? I was planning on leaving the heat mat off after I get root nubbins because I know roots prefer cooler temps. But everything I have read before your post says cool temps slow rooting. Not to say that you don't know what you are talking about. I do appreciate the help. And at this point I am willing to try just about anything as long as it gets me some rooted clones. Thanks repvip.

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Welp, I don't have anything else to add to my post #204 above about slime... IMHO would rather have lower res temps and have clones take 1-2 days longer, versus a warmer reservoir and quicker roots+competing algae.

I'm pretty sure my clones would suffer with res changes every 3 days + 40ml 35% H2O2 in a 5gal reservoir. If you must use it, the max is around 2.5mL/gal with that concentration...

See, I have heard that with 35% H2O2, 1.7-2.0 ml/L is the effective dosage. That is what I run with my flowering plants. I change the res every two weeks for flowering plants, but top off with water and re dose with H2O2 every 4 days. That ratio comes from Al B. Fuct. Since my op is modeled after his, that is what I have been running with.
I did unplug the heat mat. But with it on, the water was only 74.3F. I did just put the sprayers on the timer. Maybe that will help too. Thanks for the ideas repvip.

dirtysteve said:

See, I have heard that with 35% H2O2, 1.7-2.0 ml/L is the effective dosage. That is what I run with my flowering plants. I change the res every two weeks for flowering plants, but top off with water and re dose with H2O2 every 4 days. That ratio comes from Al B. Fuct. Since my op is modeled after his, that is what I have been running with.
I did unplug the heat mat. But with it on, the water was only 74.3F. I did just put the sprayers on the timer. Maybe that will help too. Thanks for the ideas repvip.

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That dose was from Earl's experience, but it appears close to what is recommended by GH (3mL/gal)...I don't use H2O2, I do use chlorine though. 74 with the heat mat isn't too shaby was worried it was approaching 80 the timer should help.. the clones will be at the ambient air temp when the sprayers off, which for me is 90% of the time... good luck! There's no light leaks, right?

I have the lights on all day. The go in the cloner at lights off and get 6 hrs of dark. Then they go 18/6 for a few days. Then it is 24/0 til they come out. Not really sure what you mean by light leaks.

dirtysteve said:

I have the lights on all day. The go in the cloner at lights off and get 6 hrs of dark. Then they go 18/6 for a few days. Then it is 24/0 til they come out. Not really sure what you mean by light leaks.

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Into the reservoir? Algae should only grow if there is some sort of light leak, you know unless it's already present.

edit: sorry sometimes I write things about what I'm currently thinking, which may or may not be known!! haha

No. No light in the res. I had to use bolts and wing nuts to clamp it down so it wouldn't leak water everywhere. I will let you know how it goes. Tomorrow is day 5 after re cutting, Day 13 since first cutting from mothers.

I just finished reading all 22 pages. Great info in here sorry to here about Zeus taking some time off. I followed both of his grow journals and learned a lot. I had the same problem with the slime. I cleaned my system and have been adding h202 and. havent had any problems since. I recently ran a 2inch hose from my a c duct down through one of. the site holes on the lid of my system. Blowing a small amount of cold air. It has helped lower my reservoir temp down a few degrees without having to use a chilled. Any thoughts on this? Pros or cons? Any feedback would be appreciated.

I have found the only way I can control temp and the climate around my aerocloner was to purchase and Ezi- Tent Cloning Tent... Its the cutest thing... Very effective and the perfect size...

I have a 230watt day propagating flouro in there as well. Fits like a glove, couldn't be happier...

Laceygirl...

laceygirl said:

I have found the only way I can control temp and the climate around my aerocloner was to purchase and Ezi- Tent Cloning Tent... Its the cutest thing... Very effective and the perfect size...

I have a 230watt day propagating flouro in there as well. Fits like a glove, couldn't be happier...

Laceygirl...

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pretty cool tent i have never seen those before, where did you get that at?

any thoughts on me running cold air into my system. pros or cons. any feedback would be appreciated.

Making your own is a great cost effective way. I do however, own a EZ Cloner and couldn't be happier! Explosive root growth in 5-7 days. 100% success rate. I use cloneX, superthrive, and cloneX prop. nutes. I scrape off the cell wall and slipt the stem up the middle for maximum surface for roots to grow.

jama3689 said:

any thoughts on me running cold air into my system. pros or cons. any feedback would be appreciated.

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what are your res temps?? if they're ridiculously high then you should cool it. I run my cloners at 70-74 degrees.