I am avoiding rockwool currently because my grow setup is aeroponic, and I have been led to believe that rockwool is detrimental to that grow style due to water retention and PH issues. I have not heard anything solid to the contrary yet. Im getting to the point I may try it just to see and have that knowledge, but I would really like to see some kind of success before I go off experimenting against established norms.
This is an interesting piece of information. I thought about putting the box I made in the tent with my mother, but everything I read indicated to me that my 600 watt LED grow light was far too strong for that, even indirectly. this is why I use the 30 watt bulb. For cloning, the bulk of information I have read so far says to use very weak fluorescent bulbs a foot or two away. This is why I keep it so high, as I have seen numbers for wattage on fluorescent bulbs for clones at 10 or less in wattage. I may move the setup into the tent with the mother and see how that goes. Thanks for the info there.
I have watched probably 100 + videos about cutting and cleaning clones just to make absolutely sure what I am doing was correct. I have tried top and bottom clones but not as large as you suggest. I trim the stem at 45 degrees around 4th-5th node but the cut is usually just above the 6th, and trim the leaves up to the 2nd. I have tried leaving the remaining leaves intact and trimming to various degrees up to about 50%. I have also tried root temp from 68 to about 73F and have not yet gotten any kind of rot below the collars so far. The clones that I didn't trim leaves from actually grew 2 or 3 inches over the course of about 5 days with straight distilled water. I have also tried PH from 5.5 to 6.5, and haven't had to adjust it more then once in a 2 week period and not before day 5 so far. The current attempt is using temps between 75 and 80 because that was suggested by the person I got the clones from originally. He clones in an empty closet with a space heater and keeps the temp at 80, These clones came from that environment. This is currently my 5th or 6th attempt, so I have covered most of the bases as far as environment goes to no avail so far, which is why I am reaching out.
This is the 30 watt red/blue/IR bulb:
I have seriously considered this. My hangup is that if my DIY box doesn't work, I don't think this will either. Needs the same environment does it not?
The soil my friend put this in runs a little hot, but its been in it for 4 months or so, and I use distilled water on it and foliar fed it for a week with straight distilled before I cut them. I think under the circumstances that's the best I can do for N content.
and why cant you have the pond thing in the other tub and get rid of the fan and tube. I think from the pic the clear tub looks better for what your trying to do and that is to get roots.
You want the blue light for root development more than the red spectrum, I cant comment on the IR part of it im not knowledge on that derp. 30 watts though might be able to have that 2 feet off the top of the plants to be effective.
The fog box exists because the fogger raises the water temp to roughly 90F tried it in the root box first time and the clones died my first day back to work which was day 3.
Sorry but I don’t really understand that fogger thing. Just really more complicated then it needs to be. Cloning is a natural simple thing. Start dicking with things and it all goes south quick. Good luck.
Ok so apologies for the delay in replies. Computer died and i had to replace it because it was too damn old. In that time though, i believe i have found the issue. After about 3 months of trying and failing to start clones, i had about a half dozen fan leaves start showing nutrient deficiencies. Different ones in each spot, nitrogen toxicity in one spot, phosphorous in another, calcium in a third, etc. I knew it couldnt possibly be short of all of those things, so i checked the soil ph. 8.1. Spent 2 weeks using elemental sulpher to bring that down to the proper range, and i also ph the water a little lower. Have 3 clones in the setup for 2 days now, and not a single issue yet. All other attempts had immediate issues .......wilting, leaf burn etc... so maybe will actually get a strike rate above 0 this time. The post about the plant looking too green was the catalyst for all this, so tyvm, and to everyone else for the input.