EZ Clone Low Pro White 64

Here it is folks! The moment you've all been waiting for. The anxiously anticipated first view of the new new EZ CLONE LOW PRO WHITE 64.

www.ezclone.com/our-products/low-pro/

Background: I needed a cloner, so bought one.

Foreground: I opened this up yesterday and had a party putting it together. Built a shelf and a light.

More background: cloners are easy and cheap to build. You can buy less expensive models than the one featured here. Cloners are really just buckets with a pump and spray manifold, and holes in the lid into which you can put cuts. It is very simple technology. It is an easy DIY project, which I myself have done. BUT!

Not all cloners were created equal. When the plant count goes up, the weaknesses in cheap and home made systems begin to show through. This is not BS. When you scale up, making things easier becomes imperative.

I've owned five different cloners. This one is the best so far, but it's not perfect.

You get almost everything you need. It comes with a sculpted tray with a drain AND a nice fitting with rubber gaskets. The lid fits well and is sculpted too. They give you a pump (not the one shown on the box) a pre-drilled manifold , a set of misters with extras, foam inserts, some cleaning solution and rooting gel.



I say almost everything because I like to use a circulation pump in any reservoir that's going to be mixed with anything, and I use H202 and PH down a lot. I also occasionally add weak nutrients if I need to let then sit while rooted. The other thing you need is teflon pipe thread tape or sealant of some kind, and a lot of it because the connection piece between the manifold and the pump is the wrong size. It was very loose and although the sprayers would still work with that joint leaking, it was a hassle getting the connection to screw in so it was level.



So here's why this thing is the best. It's white so you can tell if it's clean or not, and sculpted with rouneded edges so it will be easy to clean (no hard-to-get-at corners). It's huge but only uses 6 gallons to fill up. It's strong, has the rows and columns labeled with letters and numbers, and has a drain. The drain is a welcome feature. When it comes time to change it out, which I will be doing every month, just picking it up is not really an ergonomically advisable solution (six gallons is heavy). I've done pumping and bailing. Both a hassle. One more important note about the top - the pucks are easy to seat. They have a rim that they sit on so you can just push down to seat them. Cloners that make you wedge a neoprene puck into a hole with no lip to prevent a push-through are evil machines, conceived to infuriate inebriated gardeners.





In all seriousness, having to fiddle with fitting a puck 64 times adds a TON of time to an already lengthy process. It takes as much time to do that as it does to put the cut into the puck.

One thing I am worried about is light getting through the top. My understanding is roots grow best in the dark, and when you look up through it it looks like the light shines through.

Is it worth the beans? Lets see it it works first. Stay tuned.

 

A friend of mine has two of those, he is always having problems with the pump over heating the water and causing pythium.

 

I'll watch for that.

With cloners in general I've heard of others saying they have had issues with hot pumps, but I've never had a problem, with ambient temps in the 70's - 80's and various pumps, various reservoir sizes. Actually two pumps because I use a circ pump too. Not cleaning thoroughly enough is a more likely culprit for problems, or not changing the reservoir often enough. Mine are full for two week, then empty for two weeks, with a good h202 cleaning in between. Hard to get things too far off in two weeks, unless you're contaminated to begin with.

You know what else can cause pythium? Light leaks. Danger Will Robinson!

I'm going to make sure my lid is light proof.

 

Just a side note about cloning. I clone useing 5 mill per gallon of Botanicare flowering formula.
Clones will root faster with P then with N.

 

Good to know!

Well the lid is not light proof at all. The water temp was 72 F after 24 hours of running the pumps.

 

About to load it up. I spray painted the outside of the top lid dark brown, then high gloss white over that. It is much darker in there now. Although I've seen the clear cloners in the grow shops, the shivering denizens of that mad realm report to me that they can only let it run for a week before it becomes impossibly slimed up.

Looks like the water temp stays in the low 70's when the ambient temp is in the low 70's. It will be interesting to see if the water temp tracks up and down with the ambient.

 

Well total failure. Not the fault of the cloner.

I have been using cloners for years and never had much trouble. Now all the sudden I can't get a single fucking cut to root. I'm three weeks behind and not happy at all. Empty tables. Lights off. FUCK

No change in regimen except I perked up when BW420 mentioned heat from pumps and I've been watching the water temps and ambient closely. High 70's. Grey slime. Last week took it all apart and cleaned it. Still no roots. Started a new batch in the old cloner. Been two days. Temps in both cloners now low 70's. Stopped running circ pumps 24/7.

 

Don't feel bad man, even with plain old rockwool I haven't been able to get one clone going this winter, not fucking one. I've lost over a hundred to mold. I have 3 trays going now on a heat mat so fingers crossed.

 

Soooooo, I guess I'm not the only one. I couldn't figure out how a cloner could go bad. The last few runs have sucked. One nothing out of 36. Big set back. next 3 out of 36. Uh oh, this is getting serious. Next, not a one. UGHHHHHHH! You f*$%# stupid piece ^&*% *. I HATE YOU!!!!! Got a couple cuts from someone and both had roots but took almost 4 weeks. Oh happy days. Got some great ones today and I kissed that little fucken cloner as I loaded it up.

 

Winter time does seem to be the hardest time for me. I suspect it's due to mother plant health not being as good when it's cold out.

I took 4 cuttings the end of January and they took 17 days to show roots in rock wool cubes, with two days between the first and last of the four. I did spend some time making the mom real happy, including up-potting her and putting her under the T5 for a couple of weeks in her very own tent complete with CO2. I think it helped. Failure ain't an option when you're only allowed six plants and the clones count.

My summer time best with her is 9 days in rock wool, 11-12 days is about average.

 

all these days in the high 60's it must be contamination from heat (high 70's), and then crappy cleaning. The only things I can't get really clean is the pucks. They are cheap. I think I will start to buy new ones every few months. I give them a good rinsing but something tells me that's not enough. They absorb lots of stuff and begin to smell like a wet suit which can't be good.

I've had enough success in cloners to know they work a treat if you don't have whatever I have. Seriously round after round of 95-100% success and big success too. Big healthy white long roots. Big crops.

I think my problems started with bacteria or mold or a virus or something that screws clones. Then I failed to clean good enough to get rid of it in the pucks. We will see. I have one cloner going with 64 cuts (the old ones) and another going with 50 or so, newer cuts but old pucks still. Fingers crossed.

 

Here is my heartbreak loaded up looking so promising

 

Don't boil pucks.

 

Good point and also brand new pucks every month is like $20.

I spent hours ruining these. Rigging a contraption to hold them under water while they boiled for 20 minutes LOL

In my defense as a kid the rule to boil drinking water to be sure to get rid of beaver fever was boil for 20 minutes.

 

I swear I need someone to save me from myself. Tough job though I'm a formidable adversary.

 

Aaaaaand strike two.



These are 11 days old. White fuzz on pump cord.


Which stuff on every single stem. This is not slimey. It feels like wet cotton balls. And rolls up into little balls when you rub it off into your fingers.




I gots roots in all the wrong places.


I re-cut all the stems, washed out the cloner, removed the circ pump (just more stuff in there to clean and hope doesn't stay infected) and added about 30 ml of 29%h202 to the 3 gallon res. Phed to @ 5.8. Not giving up.

I don't know what the white stuff is. Temps are pretty steady at 68-72 both ambient air and res water temp. It is def NOT root stubs or beginnings. RH has been 50-60 so a little low.

To hedge my ass I bought a 50 site tray of rapid rooters and filled it up about halfway. Was VERY careful to disinfect scissors, razor and cutting board. Wore gloves, dipped in rooting powder. Dome. Made up one gallon of very clean de-gassed tap water with 20ML of H202 and phed to 5.8 or so. Bought a new sprayer dedicated to tap water only.

The last few runs that have failed I used this Clonex green rooting gel. I have no idea if there is any connection, but to be on the safe side I tossed it.

I am worried about the mother plant. I have taken so much and each time I take a round of cuts she goes into freak out mode for a month at least and starts growing a node like every 1/4 inch. It is the same hormone that occurs when topping, and causes growth to be directed at side branching. I figure this poor mom has been flooded with this hormone so many times, the plant is almost unrecognizable. And the stems of the entire plant even the top growth are hard as a rock, thin, and red. Prob root bound. At least I kept this one alive long enough for it to get this way.

Time to make a new mom. Lets hope at least ONE of the **%##!! cuts roots!

I have been lazy about RH and spraying, and I was also keeping the light too close I think.

I'm down but not out. Although this little hiccup may just be the ax that falls. I may have to sell out and go devour my brethren at a liar firm again. Or the salt mine. Either or. Sad really on the heels of my first full successful harvest where I made my numbers and then some. Now I know I can do it. If I could just do it every time...

 

Try putting recharge by real growers in the cloner, i did it on the last run and got roots quicker then usual and they started growing quicker and healthier to.
It is basically a tea so a read, bacteria and molasses i think.

 

That sucks man, this may help... http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/lessons/fungi/ascomycetes/Pages/WhiteMold.aspx

 

Thanks man. This sounds like it. White cottony stuff.

From the article: "To reduce disease due to S. minor, hyphal germination of sclerotia can be reduced by allowing the soil surface to dry thoroughly between irrigation events. Each irrigation event must therefore provide sufficient water to allow for a prolonged dry period."

Maybe the fact that (on top of it all) I left the damn pump off for 4 hours last night will actually help me cuz the stems probably got nice and dry.

They look so bad already I can't even tell if it hurt them or not LOL