Building an aeroponic cloner bucket, aka The Cloninator!

How to build my cloninator aeroponic cloning bucket! This is the original but I've made a few modifications since then. I'll put those at the end in case you'd like to try them.

I started with a 2 gallon bucket and lid from Home Depot. I got this pump from Amazon:
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Which came with these adapters:
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None of which will connect to the sprinkler head, so I had to buy these in brass at Home Depot because they don't carry PVC smaller than ½:
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So when it was connected it looked like this:
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Next I centered the pump in the bucket:
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And laid out the 2" baskets from Amazon (they came with the inserts):

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Hole drilling was next. Here is a tip I got from youtube...after you drill the center pilot hole, run the hole saw backward and it makes a much cleaner cut. Here are the cuts and a notch for the wire:
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Baskets inserted with the bottoms cut off. It should keep the roots from getting tangled:
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Finished bucket with the neoprene inserts:
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I used barbecue skewers to test the spray:
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Maximum wetness! I filled the bucket about ¼ full (so around 64 ounces) and added 4 ounce H2O2 since I don't want to buy any z7 etc:
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I needed a timer that would do short intervals, so I got this one and set it for 1 minute on / 15 minutes off. I may make that interval longer after a couple of days. Setting the timer was a lot easier than some of the reviews mentioned on Amazon:
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I hung a single 23w 6500K CFL over the bucket:
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And that's the original! Since I built it I changed the sprinkler system twice, and now I'm using micro-sprayers in PVC:
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I also wrapped the bucket in duct tape and spray painted it (red was all I had) to make it more light proof. Did the lid as well.


And now that the weather is cooler I'm having pretty good success. Certainly better than my previous attempts :).

:Namaste:
 
Yep good read! Nice and detailed, I should have no problem building that, the problem will be making clones that grow.
I also see the lst one now too but I’m baked and tired of reading for the evening... got to walk the dog, play some boom beach then weigh all my plants, which I must say I really like doing...not sure who I seen doing it but I copy cat’d that up too.
Have a great nite Shed
 
Thanks! I'm just using plain tap water (mine is around 7.8 and 230 ppm) and as long as it's cool they seem to do fine. They were not happy over the summer though as it's in an outdoor plastic shed :oops:. I have to remember to get all my cloning finished by May!
i have recently neen using "tap safe " for aquariums for getting choramine and chlorine out of tap water with some success i think. it does have bennies in too according to the blurb. can usr tap water instantly as even standing doesnt rid it of the chloramine only the chlorine as gas. hadnt bothered the ladies at all. i have similar tap water reading to you but 130ppm to start before any nutes.
 
Someone posted that ascorbic acid (vit. C) will dissipate chloramine. I never bother to get rid of it because I have enough to think about!
i think knowing thay chloramine and chlorine kill everything beenie realted by design , i worried it would also kill the hrwat white and the hydroguards beanies too ?. after knocking waterbutt over amd drowning our ceiling amd bed. i have to hose pipe it into res directly. have undercurrent pipes so cant stop it reaching the roots. the tap safe seems to address this easily and with added benefits .
 
Nice write-up, Shed.:goodjob:. I'm curious: About how much all the parts ended up costing you?
 
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