I recently made my first aero-cloner in an effort to automate the cloning process and i could not be happier with the results. The construction process was super easy and using it is even easier! I cannot recommend a DIY aero-cloner enough. Even for a beginner they would be nearly fool proof, RONCO style i like to call it, Set it and Forget it.

My cloner is made from a simple 5 gallon bucket and lid, I used a drill and hole saw to make 13 x 2" holes in the top into which i inserted 2" net pots with the bottoms cut off.[They could be left out entirely since all they do is act as a support for the neoprene collars but i had some sitting around and they make it a little easier to use} I used a 300 GPH {ish} pond pump hooked to a piece of Toro funny pipe that goes up afew inches and T's off, On the top of the T i mounted some micro sprinklers and a couple misters all of which spray up at the lid. All these things can be bought at the home depot. My neoprene collars were cut from a Golds gym brand workout mat i found at Walmart, Just trace the circles on it and cut them out with some scissors. I also put n airstone in the bottom of the bucket hooked to a small aquarium pump but i doubt it's necessary.

I was able to use alot of stuff i already had but i bet all in all if you had to buy everything it would be 50-60$ to construct.

Truth be told i am to busy at the moment to write up a proper tutorial but i hardly think it's necessary, The web is loaded with great ones and nothing i did was in any way original. My main goal with this post is to tell people how easy they are to make and how well they work. Mine was built as sort of a personal proof of concept and i had planned to build a larger/Nicer one if this one worked but i now see no reason to do so as i have discovered that each collar can be loaded with more then one cut, I have had success with up to 3 and i plan to try more, That means that my little bucket can root at least 39 cuts at a time!

My process is simple, I cut a branch afew nodes long, Shave off the bottom node, make afew vertical cuts to the bottom of the stem, cut af 45 degree angle, stick it in the collar, drop the collar down into the pot and drop the pot in the hole in the bucket lid. I do mist the leaves once when i first put the clones in but after that it's pretty much good. I come back in 2 weeks to find extremely well rooted clones.

No hormones, no additives, no domes, no nutes, no daily maintenance and no re-occuring cost. I do use distilled H2O to avoid salts clogging the misters but my water is super hard so you may not even need that. It's really pretty self sufficient left all to itself.

BTW, Anyone wanna buy some Rockwool cubes, Rooting Hormone, Heat mat, Propagation tray and Dome let me know. Come to think of it i bet i spent more on all that stuff then i did making the aero-cloner. And buying rockwool all the time is expensive aswell as a pain in the ass, This whole setup was made with parts from homedepot and walmart so no trip to a grow shop was required, a major plus for those of us who are out in the boonies

BTW, It occurred to me that i failed to mention something in my first post. As i was planning my aero-cloner i read a lot about water temperature being important, So much in fact that it was my main concern. 70 - 75 is apparently ideal and the space that my bucket is in is a constant 85 degree tent, add to that the fact that i put a cheap constantly running 300gph pump in a reservoir that holds about 2.5 gallons and I'm sure that heats things up abit. so i was more then a little concerned but it proved to be a non-issue and my clones continue to root away.

If anyone has any questions i would be happy to help in anyway i can.

Sounds Great, I Really Like Them Myself As Well..Pictures Of The Build & Full Of Clones In Action Would Be Nice To Add To Your Thread!!!Thanks For Sharing..

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Thank You, this is what I've been looking for.

A couple things i have learned in the past couple months of using it.

1. Distilled water only for me, Failed horribly when i tried filtered tap.
2. I can do 2 runs without changing the water out but 3 is to many and they begin to fail.
3. Some strains clone easier then others just like in rockwool, My purple wreck roots like crazy in a week, some others need twice that time.