Curious about your tap water

[Potfairy]

Im getting my aerocloner going, and curious about those people who put tap in, run it, and get roots in two weeks. I imagine a large portion is strain dependent, but I think there are other key factors involved.
• pH
• total alkalinity
• ppm or EC
• chlorine

My from the tap pH varies between neutral and 8.0pH.

Total alkalinity is low

ppm is 100-200

And chlorine is 1-2 ppm

Im kind of wondering if there is a theme among those whose tap water is self sufficient for cloning. Any help would be great, and alot of input from as many folks as possible would be really super great!

 

[Chem77]

I use tap from a well, so no chlorine. It is 200 ppm and 8 ph. I usually but not always use ph down to get it to 7. Also use clonex cloning solution, not a must either. Temp around 75 degrees. Always 100%.

 

[TomH]

I have tap water in the SF bay area that is brought from the Sierra (Hetch Hetchy).
PPM is 47
8+ on the PH, but due to the low PPM, it drifts pretty easily.
I always end up needing to use a fair amount of PH^ to get to 6.5 after adding nutes.


I'm pretty sure the water district uses chlorimine, but dechlor neutralizes it pretty well.

 

[Potfairy]

I use tap from a well, so no chlorine. It is 200 ppm and 8 ph. I usually but not always use ph down to get it to 7. Also use clonex cloning solution, not a must either. Temp around 75 degrees. Always 100%. View attachment 1269415 View attachment 1269416

Those are some really pretty roots! If I may ask-
How long did they take to strike?
I see nubs on mine but no actual roots quite yet.

What strain?
Im cloning Flo and WC. I hear Flo is finicky.

What kind/temp/height is your light?
I have a daylight 5000K LED 24” above mine.

The stems look almost woody, are those semi-hardwood as opposed cuttings??
I have heard that semi-hardwood cuttings perform better in an aerocloner. And yours seems to prove it!

 

[Potfairy]

Oh and pics 😅

 

[Chem77]

Those are some really pretty roots! If I may ask-
How long did they take to strike?
I see nubs on mine but no actual roots quite yet.

What strain?
Im cloning Flo and WC. I hear Flo is finicky.

What kind/temp/height is your light?
I have a daylight 5000K LED 24” above mine.

The stems look almost woody, are those semi-hardwood as opposed cuttings??
I have heard that semi-hardwood cuttings perform better in an aerocloner. And yours seems to prove it!

That pic was probably 10 days or so.
3 or 4 strains in that run.
T5 led bulbs, 75 degrees, 18” above plants.
They were cut from the tops with new soft growth.
My veg room is co2 enriched.

 

[Chem77]

The next run, day 3.

 

[geemonty]

I use well water 200ppm 7ph. I don't use an aerocloner though, was going to set one up but I haven't had to as a simple seedling tray in a humidity dome with rapid rooters works well. I have had 100% success so far but the rooting time does vary anywhere from 7-10 days when I see the first roots emerge.

 

[Potfairy]

Omg. Im a moron. Anyone know how to delete photos? The syringes in my photos are blunt drawing tips used as droppers. I literally just realized how they look though, and am not a fan of the first impression 😑

 

[Brownthumb]

Lol- u aren’t the only one using syringes for the grow…🤪

 

[Potfairy]

I was just standing there smoking a bowl, looking at my nutrient deficiencies, and I had an epiphany and im like “For real?” 😑 I guess I shouldnt care what people think 🫣🤪 lol

 

[Aqua Man]

Omg. Im a moron. Anyone know how to delete photos? The syringes in my photos are blunt drawing tips used as droppers. I literally just realized how they look though, and am not a fan of the first impression 😑

Done

 

[Potfairy]

As I go on amazon and look for actual proper droppers so I can take pics of the grow without appearing extracurricular. I mean, they are remnants of my more serious gym days. 💪🏻🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Potfairy]

Anywho, update on the cloner. Put in high flow 360 sprayers. Also drilled holes for about 6 more heads. Hoping it helps with rooting times and strike rates.

 

[Chem77]

Anywho, update on the cloner. Put in high flow 360 sprayers. Also drilled holes for about 6 more heads. Hoping it helps with rooting times and strike rates. View attachment 1270562

That looks better.

 

[Potfairy]

So im tired of mold/mildew/fungus problems. And I know it isnt just parts of the country, because fungi are far too pervasive. So im beginning to wonder if its a mineral difference in the water. Though I have had good success with the pool shock for chlorination, it doesn't seem to be enough. Im trying a few things now just to see if there is anything “Omg holy cow what the fork is THAT!?” type of epiphanies. Two mentionables, would be my homemade rooting gel, made from aloe vera gel and a couple drops of seaweed extract (high hopes), and adding the slightest bit of elemental sulfur to my aerocloner. The small wettable 4-5 micron sized stuff. Not so much that it really murks up the water, just enough to add some PPM and fungus resistance.

 

[Potfairy]

I use tap from a well, so no chlorine. It is 200 ppm and 8 ph. I usually but not always use ph down to get it to 7. Also use clonex cloning solution, not a must either. Temp around 75 degrees. Always 100%. View attachment 1269415 View attachment 1269416

Btw, some more questions popped up. When do you take the cuttings in relation to switching to bloom? Do you limit nitrogen before taking cuttings and for how long? Do you flush the mother for three days before taking clones? Do you feed the mother organic, all natural, conventional or a combo? Do you treat the mother for 3 days up to two weeks beforehand with fulvic and seaweed foliar?

I know thats alot of questions, and would absolutely appreciate any reply you feel like giving 😊 trying to suss out some more success/failure parameters of the aerocloners.

 

[Chem77]

Btw, some more questions popped up. When do you take the cuttings in relation to switching to bloom? Do you limit nitrogen before taking cuttings and for how long? Do you flush the mother for three days before taking clones? Do you feed the mother organic, all natural, conventional or a combo? Do you treat the mother for 3 days up to two weeks beforehand with fulvic and seaweed foliar?

I know thats alot of questions, and would absolutely appreciate any reply you feel like giving 😊 trying to suss out some more success/failure parameters of the aerocloners.

My mother plants get fed foliage pro and well water, 200 ppm. I do nothing special before I cut clones, just healthy mothers to cut from. The pics I posted above have beautiful roots today.

Too cold isn’t good nor is too hot. I clean my cloner with bleach and water after every use.

 

[Chem77]

Tonight will be 10 days.

 

[Potfairy]

My mother plants get fed foliage pro and well water, 200 ppm. I do nothing special before I cut clones, just healthy mothers to cut from. The pics I posted above have beautiful roots today.

Too cold isn’t good nor is too hot. I clean my cloner with bleach and water after every use.

Im really starting to wonder if its the well water. You saying that and having such spectacular roots so quickly, I went ahead and added sulfur to my res. Not alot, just enough to raise the ppm and limit fungus. *fingers crossed*