Aeroponics light leak, air flow, pathogen control?

Fatt_E said:

Hey folks,

So, last year I gave aero cloning a try. I had a lot of success, but I got discouraged by the never-ending fight against pathogens and sorta gave up on aeroponics for a while.

Anyway, now I'm getting back into it and trying to understand more about dealing with the unwanted microbial growth...

So I realized I had a lot of light leak in my system. Basically every foam collar leaves gaps open for light to get in! I solved this by using a wire or rubber band around each collar to sorta gently squeeze the foam in order to close up any gaps. But I'm wondering what other methods yall might have.

Now that I've dealt with the light leak, I realized now there's nowhere for air to escape... which seems like an issue. While I've had success without an air pump in the past, I did try using air stones recently. And they got gross... so now I'm considering using the air pump to push air through the system (but not through the water). E.g., a tube going in, connected to the pump, and a hole/tube to allow the air to escape. It seems like it would be even better if I could use the pump in reverse to PULL air through instead of pushing air through, but anyway. Any thoughts?

Does anyone have experience using small doses of bleach in their res? I've read some folks say to put a few drops per gallon every couple days.

And what do you do with your clones if your res does get icky in the middle of a cycle? Let's say you catch it early enough that the clones aren't noticeably covered in slime but you know they've gotta be a bit tainted. Give them a peroxide bath? Throw them away? Clean the res and carry on without fear? I got some "sludge destroyer" beneficial bacteria for koi ponds and what I did this last time was I gave my cuttings a quick dip in some 1/4 strength peroxide, then a rinse in some tap water, and then a bath in the beneficial bacteria water for a few minutes before sticking em in a fresh cleaned aero system. But I have no idea if that's smart or not lol.

Thanks all!
Fatt_E

Click to expand...

Treesomewanted77 said:

Are you stuck on this method of cloning? I have far better results with just a tray and humidity dome and some root plugs. Like 100% almost every time and they root quick too. So if your not hung on this method I wouldn’t mess with aero cloning unless your trying to clone hundreds at a time

Click to expand...

EBgrows420 said:

Any recommendations on root plugs or gel? I made my own aeroponics cloner and it worked ok but I personally had better results in just dirt, took longer but came out healthier.

Click to expand...

Treesomewanted77 said:

I personally like the rapid rooters and clonex gel. And keep the dome on and closed tight till they root. I normally mist the leaves once a day and keep the rooter plugs good and moist. Normally have roots in 7-10 days. Some strains root sooner than others. Also they don’t need much light at all and once they root plant them and keep them in a shaded area for a day or 2 or they will wilt if you put them right under lights since they are use to such high humidity.

Click to expand...

futurebanjo said:

I use a pre-emptive maitnenence dose of hydrogen peroxide every week or so into the water, as it breaks down into hydrogen and oxygen after a while.

For root plugs I use https://www.hydrodynamicsintl.com/root-riot-plant-starter-cubes-guide/ which I quess is the same thing as rapid rooters?

Click to expand...