Aeroponic Cloner usage instructions:
1) There is a drainage fitting on the bottom of your reservoir, which should be pulled out and re-inserted so that the pipe and plug sticks out on the outside of the reservoir instead of being on the inside. Pulling out the plug would let you easily drain the reservoir into a bucket at a later stage if needed. A water valve may optionally be attached to the outlet (Not included in kit)
2) Find a suitable setup location. Avoid places that will get too hot and be in a lot of direct sunlight (Esp afternoon sun). Make sure that your electricity supply will never get wet, even in case of accidental spillages.
3) Straighten out the short length of pipe that you will be connecting to the water pump – don’t worry about putting kinks in it, they actually help to keep staying straight.
4) Connect the water pump to the misting manifold using only the basic, straight connector. (Do not use the water pump’s venturi fitting or its clear air tubing). Position your pump & manifold setup nicely in the middle of the reservoir, with the power cord hanging out over the lip of the reservoir.
5) Add enough water to the reservoir to at least cover the pump with 5cm’s of water. Pump must remain fully submerged at all times when turned on. Some people choose to add things to the water in the reservoir at this point ( e.g. our “Striker Cloning Gel” and/or a VERY weak dosage of hydroponic nutrients, both of which could speed up the rooting and subsequent growth of the cuttings. It is not advised to add anything to the water that will form any kind of residue / sludge as this will only clog the misting nozzles )
6) Prepare your cuttings in the prescribed way ( Species dependent ). Insert cuttings into the centers of the foam disks provided, stick these into the tops of your net pots & stick the net pots into your cloner. Cutting size should ideally match the cloner’s dimensions, with the rooting node hanging slightly above the bottom of the net pot and the leaves not touching the top of the provided clear plastic humidity dome.
7) Make sure that all 22 holes have a net pot and foam disk in them ( Even if there is no cutting in it ). Cuttings could also be covered with humidity dome if required, which will help prevent leaves from drying out. ( Excess humidity could potentially cause mold or rot as well, and should be monitored closely. Dome should also be lifted every now and again to let fresh air in. ) Cutting leaves could also be misted with a spray-bottle periodically.
8) Cloner can now be turned on to start the rooting process. Remember to check your water level from time to time to time !
- Depending on the type of plant, roots may start appearing from as little as 5 days.
- Cuttings should be checked regularly to make sure that they are as comfortable as possible.
- Cloner could be put on an outlet timer if only required to operate at certain intervals.
- Cuttings should ideally be removed before their roots get too difficult to gently pull out of the net pots.
- Avoid any rapid environmental changes when moving cuttings out of the cloner to a new location.