city water in an ez cloner?

[GuFF]

Recently purchased the ez cloner. I was going to use ro water but the instructions said to adjust the ph to 6.2. So I was just considering using 50% of my city water and 50% ro water, that way it is easier to adjust the ph. I do not want to let the city water sit out for 24 hrs for the chlorine to evaporate because i don't want dust spores settling in the water and adding the risk of contaminating the water. Should the chlorine in my city water give me any problems?

 

[wonka]

i let my water sit out for well over 24 hrs in there gallon jugs to let the chlorine evaporate n then adjust ph and use it in my ez60 with no probs and 95-100% success.. so let the water sit out... i highly doubt u will have any probs from that!!! w.wonka

 

[GuFF]

got 50/50 city tap and RO in the cloner right now bubbling and with the cover off to help reduce the chlorine. I will adjust the ph tomorrow.

After 24 hrs would adding h202 help to sterilize the water in the cloner from any contaminates?
Perhaps the h202 is not needed because the air pump adds enough dissolved oxygen to make the water unsuitable for unwanted bacteria which don't thrive well with the oxygen?Was just considering on keeping the cloner as stirile as possible.

Any suggestions on cleaning the ez cloner between cuttings? I have four mothers i will take clones from to get my crop and will be cleaning and putting up the cloner in betweem crops every 9 1/2 weeks.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I doubt you have chlorine in your water, call your water dist. and ask for their water profile. Run some H2o2 thru your unit and then store it. JK

 

[AbusiveOGK]

i let my water sit out for well over 24 hrs in there gallon jugs to let the chlorine evaporate n then adjust ph and use it in my ez60 with no probs and 95-100% success.. so let the water sit out... i highly doubt u will have any probs from that!!! w.wonka

Exactly. Also make sure you keep your temps in check. Roots excellurator from HG helps alot.

 

[GuFF]

I think i may have chlorine, it has that chlorine smell. Perhaps chloramine? I know chlorine is not bad for plants in small amounts but can be fatal in excess.

yea the temp stays in the low 70's.

I opened up the top and noticed some of the drilled holes on the air tubing was not releasing bubbles. Then found a thin slime on all the tubing, rubbed it off and then the tubing started bubbling again.

When i orginally started the cloner i filled it with all RO water then tried to adjust the pH to 6.2 as suggested in the instructions. Well that was a nightmare, added a small bit of pH DOWN and had to add much more pH UP to get the pH to 6.2. Could this slime be the UP and DOWN percipitation from locking each other from diluting? Should i dump, bleach, and start over? or could i just add h202?

Where do you get your h202 from? How much do you use per gallon?

thanks for the help

GuFF

 

[wonka]

after each time i use my ez-60 i fill it up with tap water, add a half cup of bleach and run it for a hour or 2 fliping the neoprenes half way through.... then i dump out the water, make sure its out of the manifold and pump, then fill with plain tap water running it for another hour or 2 fliping the neoprenes again half way through.. i do this one more time then let air dry n pack it back up.... this is how i clean mine and have had no probs with it... i would dump and clean if u got some slime up in there... also i ph each gallon jug of water before i add... seems u dont have this prob, but my ez60 would heat up the water from the pump n when i put it one a timer to run 30/on 30/off it took care of that prob n i get roots on some in 7-8 days and all have them by 14... hope this helps...w.wonka

 

[GuFF]

Thanks for the help wonka, I did some research sounds like the slime is some sort of living organism. When i get home from work I will dump the cloner, fill with tap and bleach and run for 2 hrs as you said. Then dump, fill with tap and run for 2 more hours then dump. Then fill with tap and let bubble for 24 hrs, then adjust the ph. and cut some more clones (took the four old ones out and put them in cups of dirt)

I used clonex rooting gel last time, is this a bad idea for the cloner? Is it even necessary?

I read that ez cloner has a gel, is it any different than the clonex rooting gel?

Where can I get food grade h202 other than online? I'd like to have some soon to put in the cloner after adjusting the ph since it will be sitting open for 24 hrs prior, to evaporate any chlorine in my tap water.

 

[wonka]

just let the water sit in the gallon jugs to let the chlorine e-vap out, then ph each gallon, then add.. works for me guff...i dont use any cloning gel at all.. just plain ph'd water at 5.8-6.0... i do though when the clones have all rooted use .25 ml per gallon grow big(nothing organic)to green them up.. i run the ez-60 3-4 days extra... w.wonka

 

[Seamaiden]

I thought you couldn't really use cloning products in EZ-Cloners except for stuff that remains in the water column. Wouldn't it just wash off and become dilute?

I think i may have chlorine, it has that chlorine smell. Perhaps chloramine? I know chlorine is not bad for plants in small amounts but can be fatal in excess.

Could be, yes. Chloramine is not only more stable, but there are no issues related to cancers as there is with chlorine.

When i orginally started the cloner i filled it with all RO water then tried to adjust the pH to 6.2 as suggested in the instructions. Well that was a nightmare, added a small bit of pH DOWN and had to add much more pH UP to get the pH to 6.2. Could this slime be the UP and DOWN percipitation from locking each other from diluting? Should i dump, bleach, and start over? or could i just add h202?

No, it is specifically because almost everything (mineral) has been stripped from the reverse osmosis water through the RO process. That leaves water with zero alkalinity (alkalinity as describes resistance to pH shift). That means that you add DROPS of pH adjuster and it'll go all whonky. What you experienced is just that, and it would appear that your pH Down product may be a bit stronger than your pH Up product. I've just purchased AN's pH Up and just a couple of drops drives my RO/DI water close to 9.0.

None of these issues has anything to do with the sanitizing procedure you've outlined.

 

[GuFF]

Here is the link to a manual created by the creator of the ez-cloner

http://www.ezclone.com/media/docs/cloning-manual.pdf

 

[GuFF]

I emptied the cloner today, got the bleach running in the system now. Either I did not have the system completely clean to begin with or my water temps were too hot.

So after I get everything set up I am going to run the system and see what the temp is in my grow tent, if its too hot i'll by a 1/10 hp chiller.

I was considering just using those blue ice packs for lunch boxes and just rotating some from the freezer to the cloner but i don't like the idea of having to do that repeatively, the cloner is meant to be easy with little daily maintence and i would like to keep it that way.

I got the cloner in a 4x4 tent with 4 mothers in 5 gal. buckets being exhausted by a 4" fan, the tent sits on the concrete floor, i was hoping the cold floor would keep the water cool but apparently the water pump is just too hot (should have designed it w/ a pump outside the res). I have 2 t-5 4 foot 6 bulb lights in the tent for the mothers, i will try running just one light with the cloner in the tent and get another 4" fan and run duct work that pulls cold air from near ground level outside the tent and blows it down near the bottom of the cloner (not on the cloning site), along with the 4" fan i have exhausting the air. The basement is 66 degrees F so with enough airflow hopefully i wont need a chiller ($280)

 

[wonka]

hook the ez to a timer that has the 15min settings... set the timer to a 1/2 hour on / 1/2 hour off... i do it with mine cause the pump heats the water up... i get 95-100% clones rooted every time... dont spend even more money on a chiller when all u have to do is put the ez on a timer like i said... its up to u though... w.wonka

 

[GuFF]

Yea I recall you saying that, the instructions stated that the pump is made to run continously and it is bad to cycle it. How long have you been running your pump this way? A replacement pump is much cheaper than a chiller I suppose. How long are yours taking to develop a good root mass and what temp is the room you are in? My room temp is about 78, hopefully when i get another fan for intake it should cool the room down some more.....

 

[GuFF]

Here's how I cleaned my ez cloner for anyone interested,

First I dumped all the contaminated (slime) water and added tap water until it was about 2" from over filling, then I added 3 cups of bleach (i have the 120 unit). I unscrewed all the sprayers and let them sit in the bottom of the bleach water, I did this to ensure there was no slime in the threads. I also had the airlines laying in the res with the bleach. Next I ran the system without the sprayers for 30 min, then I put the sprayers back on and ran the system for 1 hour. Then I flipped all of the foam inserts and ran it for other hour. Next I pulled everything out of the res and scrubbed it down with a new toilet brush, pulled all the foam inserts out and placed them in the res. Next I flipped the top upside down and sat it in the res (this pushes the foam inserts down into the water) and i used the toilet brush to scrub the bottom of the top piece. Then i emptied the res and filled with tap. Then I put the top piece in upside down again to push the foam inserts into the tap water to help rinse out any bleach. After that i put everything back together and ran the system with just tap water for 1 hr, flipped the foam, and ran for another hour. then i emptied the res, dried off the entire outside of the cloner and put a 'damp rid' container within the res to soak up any moisture I could not dry up myself. Then i laid a large garbage bag over the system so no dust settles on it as it air dries, and will store it up later today after it is completely dry.

 

[wonka]

i have been running my ez-60 30/on - 30/off for well over a year...i also have a friend that i let use my ez... my room temps are between 75/78... i get the small white bumps n the smallest roots on my fastest rooters in 6/7 days and a root mass on all in 14 days n sometimes give alittle....over all 95-100 sucess.. as for lighting i hang a 125 cfl 2 1/2 - 3 feet off the top that runs 24hrs... i have a fan that lightly shakes the clones around a bit.. w.wonka

 

[RMCG]

EWC Tea!

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=146947

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I would stop fighting it if your water temps get over 80*. I was given some unexpected gifts and had no room in the Inn. I ran out like a tourist and bought an ez 60 since my bubblers were in use. Temps hit 86* quick. I put the cloner in a trashbag of ice and called the company. They told me they were having problems with the pump.They set me a new one. Same shit different day. I plumbed the pump outside,no difference.put the pump in a tub of water no difference. Called up wanted my money back, I was told they had a rep/tech from the factory have a little patience. They thought they had some passive sissy boy there with me. Said there was nothing wrong with the unit. I went down to my shop for an invoice and addy to their shop. The store owners replaced it with me as they did not want problems with their distributor. They sold me a chiller at cost. now I have a $750 piece of crap that my $100 bubbler kicks ass on. The problem is they use a motor with too narrow of an impeller that spins to fast. They should go with a wider blade on the impeller and lower the rpm.
I would work the company to make it right. They think they are building the best they should back it up.JK

They never changed their source or pump model on the 60 so they must feel they can just work us over cuz we are just a bunch of stoners. If this product was something used in a lawyers office I am sure there would have been a recall.
And at the same time people have been complaining on the boards about them and they still sell like hotcakes. laissez–faire, you just got to love capitalism.

 

[RMCG]

My 30 came with a 750gph pump. I think its overkill and is causing the water to heat up a bit. Hovers ~80* I think a 350gph would do just fine in there and lessen the heat issue, esp during the summer months.

Check out the EWC Tea thread above.

 

[GuFF]

just did a lot of reading on the ewc, definately going to go that route first. The slime problem is apparently originated from my tap water. I was going to get a chiller until i read some of the slime thread on ICMAG.com, and someone tried a chiller and got the slime again...no need to waste money on a chiller. I can get the EWC but where can i get the molasis for it? is there a certain kind of molasis i need (is it called blackstrap i think?) sorry never really read much into organics. Also i was going to follow the creator's instructions and i got some dryna gro KLN and PROTEKT with this work with the tea or should it hit the shelf for good?

I will be starting my first hydro grow with ebb and flow and flora nova, should i use ewc tea with my ebb and flo res too since the slime could be from my tap water?