Fog-Ponic Clone Chamber - cuttings growing shoots instead of roots

I have no clue what I'm doing but wanted to try some cloning.

I made a clone chamber out of a couple 27 quart clear totes. Painted the bottom one black for a reservoir. 2" foam inserts in one of the lids. The other tote is used for a humidity dome. I have a sensor in the dome, it stays at 99%. Ultrasonic fog disc with float in the chamber set to run for 20 seconds then off for 60 seconds. When the fogger is on, so is a tiny 25mm case fain that blows down into the res. It disperses the fog evenly throughout the top of the reservoir, but also blows some back up into the dome (and out of the chamber). Lighting is two 5.5w? daylight cfls. PAR is about 250 PPFD on 24/7. Air pump with flex bubble wall runs 24/7 in the reservoir. Res temp controlled by fish tank heater to 74 degrees F. Air temp in the dome is about 72 degrees. I heard you want slightly higher root zone temps than air temps. Don't know if this is true. But this ultrasonic fogger disc is the heart of "COOL" mist humidifiers - so not sure if the mist is cooler than the reservoir temps - or if the mist causes the roots to cool down (like sweat evaporating from skin or water transpiring though the leaves).

After a few days I tried to cock the dome so lower humidity a bit. I checked back a few hours later and humidity was 45%. Oopps. 75% of the cuttings wilted. Put the dome back on all the way and a half a day later all the cuttings looked better.

Anyway.... checked for roots and I didn't see any. I did see shoots. Little tiny leaves forming. Maybe I was sloppy with trimming? Or maybe there is too much N in the reservoir? I used de-chlorinated tap water (125-150ppm) with 100 ppm Tiger Bloom (2-8-4) added to make the solution total of 250ppm. Then I added two TBS of Azos (azospirillum brasilense) to 3 gallons of the 250ppm solution. I dipped each 45 degree cutting in Indole-3-butyric acid rooting powder before putting in the foam insert.

What do you think? Is it common to see new leaves growing in the dark under the foam insert? Did I leave out any important information? The fog does rise up into the chamber, so the plant is probably receiving the 2-8-4 through the leaves. (want to test foliar application of trace minerals this way in the future - basically adding my trace minerals to my humidifier).

The second pic shows what might be the start of some roots? The pics are at 5 days I think.

PS... Also never seen a fungus gnat in my grow room until I set up this chamber. I've killed about 5 that have been hanging around the chamber, I've never seen any in my tent. I did open a new bag of worm castings recently. I should check that bag and see if there is a gnat issue.

LOL that awesome! Sorry, dont mean to make fun of your problem, it just struck me in a funny way - plus Im kind of stoned. Thats not ideal but still pretty cool

I suspect its a matter of light getting in to the roots. Any light in the root zone is almost always bad. The light will encourage algae and bacteria to grow like crazy, and apparently it also allows shoots to grow instead of roots.

How long since you started? It can take up to 2 weeks for actual roots to show up.

Also, be sure the stems are getting wet enough. You may not be allowing the fogger to run long enough. Ultrasonic foggers actually produce droplets that are considered 'dry' because they are so small - under 5 microns. Dont worry about over watering. Thats not possible with this kind of aero.

Id let the system run for an hour or so, then check the stems. They should be wet enough for at least a small drop of water to be ready to drip or dripping off the tip. You should be able to see a layer of water on the stem.

By the way, most people just use plain tap water - not even pHed. You may be running too much fert for this stage.

This are about 5 days in the chamber. Maybe 4?

I'm not too concerned about overwatering. I was more concerned with the longevity of my $10 fogger. I ran the fogger at a higher rate after the wilting. I can switch to a 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off, but it really isn't needed (I don't think). Even after being off for 1 minute, the fog lingers. At no point can you open the deck and see the water surface. Just dense fog until you give it good blowing. hahahhaa I actually think I could run it less often. Like on for 20 and off for 90 seconds. I'm convinced the fog will fill the res and remain there for two minutes after turning off.

The cuts are are always dripping when I check. Always some moisture on the "deck" and not sure if the foam inserts retain any water, but they are always wet on the surface.

I was unsure if I wanted the fog to rise up into the chamber, but I actually drilled some holes in the "deck" to allow that to happen, this will allow some light into the reservoir and allows the fog to raise. Still not sure if it was a good idea or not (I know light is not good). Do i want to be foliar feeding like that at this stage? With bloom nutes and azos? The phos is good for rooting right? Thats the idea with the bloom nutes I think.

I really just wanted to make sure the RH stayed high - which it does, but it might stay high without those extra holes. The little fan I have pushes the fog everywhere. It is a COOLERGUYS 25MM (25X25X10) IP67 12V FAN . It is great. Without it, if the res is low, the fog will only hang out near the surface of the water.

I have vents in the dome that I opened. RH still stays at 99%, but the leaves aren't dripping wet like they were when the vents were closed.

What do you think about the solution I'm using? A little bit of bloom formula with some Azos? Read mixed options about using just water, or with a rooting hormone, or with some bloom nutes. Was going to buy some clone-x, but wanted to try to make it work with what i was already working with.

-Edit: I see you added the comment about the nutes. Didn't think 100 ppm would make a hill of beans difference in either way. If I run off my flowering soil, I'll see some crazy numbers like like 3500 ppm.


Thanks in advance