100% germination, every time ... EASY !

[the image reaper]

OK, I lied :wtf:, I haven't gotten 100% germination this way, more like 99.5% ;) ... just do as I did, and don't change anything ... if you disagree, go away :D ...

1. build the bubbler box I built ... I built mine for cloning, then found out it is an incredible seed-starter :thumbsup:

2. use dim lights during germination and cloning, until roots are established ...

THIS REQUIRES ME TO MAKE SEVERAL POSTS, SO PLEASE DON'T INTERRUPT THE THREAD, UNTIL I'M DONE !

OK ?, here we go ........................

[the image reaper]

go to wallyworld, etc., buy TWO identical clear plastic tubs ... one will be for the bubbler tank, the other will be a humidity dome (that's why the clear) ...

buy a bag of 'Rapid Rooter' plugs, NO SUBSTITUTES !

paint the bottom box black on the OUTSIDE with either Krylon Fusion plastic sparypaint, or simply cover with duct-tape, etc ... makes it lightproof

drill 1" - 1.25" holes in one lid ... if they are too large, just stick a toothpick thru your rapidrooters ...

[the image reaper]

you will need an aquarium heater, cheap, automatically keeps the solution about 75 degrees

also, need a cheap aquarium pump, and airstones, that will bubble well

you will be using ONE DROP of SuperThrive per gallon of water ... I use chlorinated tapwater, helps guard against fungus, algae, etc ...

you will change this water every 5 days, replacing it with same

[the image reaper]

see what we're doing here ?

[the image reaper]

place a DRY seeds into a RapidRooter plug, about 1/4" deep, and lightly tuck a small piece of rooterplug into the hole ... the emerging seeds needs a little resistance to peel it's shell off ... besides, if the seed is to weak to push thru, it isn't worth growing out ...

with the bubbler going 24 hrs a day, dim light, and about 75 degree solution, just walk away .... leave it alone, come back on the third day, this is what you will see ... in my case, 13 seeds, 13 sprouts, one male (No-stress is the Key)

[the image reaper]

which, grow into this:

[the image reaper]

now, you can use your extra bottom box (remember, we bought two of them) ... the spare lid can be flipped upside-down and used as a humidity dome, and your spare lid can be cut for 1 or 2 large net pots holes, or a bunch of small RapidRooter plug holes ...

now, that's how I do it ... if you do the same, you'll be glad you did ... if you do it differently, don't whine to me :D

[the image reaper]

:thumbsup:

[the image reaper]

and, it gets a lot easier :thumbsup:

[the image reaper]

I apologize for the typing errors, and spelling, I was in a rush, to get this done, before comments, questions, etc ... ;)

[Shovelhandle]

But how much water, or how high in the res.?
thinks

sjov

[the image reaper]

I run the water level far enough under the bottoms of the plugs, that they stay damp, but not soaking wet (can't give a distance, as that depends on the air pump and stones) ... the photo shows them too wet, really, I dropped the level down after ... that's the beauty of the RapidRooters, supposedly, the way they retain and drain water, is just right for seeds and clones ... you need to watch the roots don't dry out, that's about it ...

[the image reaper]

and, I should give credit to 'Opie Yutts' :thumbsup:, this is basically a copy of his bubble-cloner :smokin:

[GreenThumbelina]

That is brilliant.

[Redneck020]

Very nice!!:)

I think i will make one for myself.

[gypski]

Fantastic, gotta rig up one of those very soon!!! :thumbsup: :jointsmile:

[Divestoned]

Good work man (even if you did steal it from opie) it's easy too build,easy too use, and cost effective.I think many noob's will like this.


Dive:stoned:

[FourTwenty4Life]

Thanks a lot IR, this worked good! :thumbsup::hippy:

[cman20118ut]

omg...i actually did this while the server was down...well minus the humidity dome....but i got 100 percent out of 15...i just place my seeds...(the viable looking ones) in a solution that is around 20 parts distilled tap then when they drop down i place them into the rooters...no super thrive for me....oh and my top is covered with reflective duct tape...but almost identical...hmm...terrific post tho....when i fill mine up again do you mind if i take a post a pic on this thread?...it wouldnt be for a couple weeks anyway tho

[Garrett]

Very clever idea but how much did the whole setup cost?

[frostymcfailure]

*round of applause* Looks great! This method will prove priceless for all those lost souls left over from the DIY bubble bucket thread who are stuck wondering how to hydro from seed without clones. +2kudos :thumbsup:

[jlve187]

place a DRY seeds into a RapidRooter plug, about 1/4" deep, and lightly tuck a small piece of rooterplug into the hole ... the emerging seeds needs a little resistance to peel it's shell off ... besides, if the seed is to weak to push thru, it isn't worth growing out ...

with the bubbler going 24 hrs a day, dim light, and about 75 degree solution, just walk away .... leave it alone, come back on the third day, this is what you will see ... in my case, 13 seeds, 13 sprouts, one male (No-stress is the Key)

which one is the male???and how did you know it was male from them being so little???

[Dutch Pimp]

IR... meant...later ...when the plants (sprouts) showed their sex...usually at the start of flowering cycle

(at least, I think he did...knowing IR?...it's hard to say...:thumbsup:...)

[the image reaper]

:D yup ... I determined the male, after they had grown out, and showed sex, of course ... :smokin:

[bananaslug80]

Did you add the dome cover after they sprouted or did you use the cover while they were still seedlings??

[smello]

Looks and sounds good-how much for the set-up

[smello]

how much for set-up

[the image reaper]

I recently built one for a buddy, with all brand-new parts ... I think I spent almost $60 on it, but, I could have done it cheaper ... I 'overbuilt' it, with a large airpump, etc ... if you already have a couple rubber tubs, aquarium heater, and pump, you're pretty much 'good to go' :thumbsup:

[the image reaper]

although, I have to add, just recently, I went entirely 'old-school', and took DRY seeds, placed into warm, moistened-soil cups, and still had 90% germination :greenthumb: ... anytime you can avoid the pre-soaking, 'wet paper towels', and too-damp soils, you avoid the risks of Pythium Wilt (damp-off), and other fungal problems ... :smokin:

[smello]

IR-this is excellant&very doable thanks!

[j5isalive]

My first post here, I just wanted to say thank you for this! :thumbsup:

I successfully germ'd atleast 3 out of 6 seeds using a copy of this RR bubblebox. This might not sound impressive at first but the seeds are atleast 10-12 years old... Its amazing how long seeds will last in a black film canister.

It's been 3 days, 3/6 sprouted.. the other 3 appear to be cracked but are lazy or something. Hoping for atleast 1 mum to bonsai, these seeds are possibly a NorCal "hogsbreath" strain circa ~1999.

Thanks again reaper!

[Pudish]

Awsome man awsome I will build and try one of these guys. Might save me loads of time when starting seeds for my hydro grows. cudos man.

[uncleweed]

I was wondering what the ph level should be for the water? I built the same set up and was wondering why after 5 days my seeds weren't germinating... when it hit me to check the ph. It was too high... around 7.5

Now it's down to 6, should I bring it a bit lower?

[uncleweed]

just lowered it to about 5.8

[t3rmites]

Would there be any downside to using small rockwool cubes instead of rapid rooters?

[uncleweed]

Quick question, so I built this thing and one of my seeds emerged!

It is about half an inch long, with a root sticking about a half an inch from the bottom of the rapid rooter plug. I would appreciate a bit of help from someone who knows what they are actually doing.

1. What should I do now? I know I still need to keep it within the rapid rooter plug for about 10 more days at least until it is healthy enough for a transplant, however how do I ensure it grows? The way my house is positioned dim lighting is hard... I can put this over my 150 watt HPS or a small 20 watt florescent, however I noticed if I do that the rapid rooter get dry really fast..

At what point should I put the humidity dome on?

Thanks in advance!

[stra8outtaWeed]

http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-growing/181723-growing-more-females-seed.html

the attachment is a page from Jorge Cervantes MMJ Bible and his tips to get more girls from seed!

[fusionsrt4]

So this worked great ! amazing write up and great pictures but what next?! i feel my plants are now maxed out in this unit do i just move them over to soil now ? or do i build something else? im new to this and really could use any type of help thanks!!

[420Somehow]

Use it for seeds and clones!!!

[CovertCarpenter]

...but see about using the tilted-test-tube sproutling method, with rockwool as soon as it's got a tail.

On the other hand, the RapidRooters are only about 25bux for a bag of 50. On the other other other hand, cash is tight... sigh... "If I were a rich man...

GREAT basic design, mon! Very no-muss-no-fuss! :rastasmoke:

fusionsrt4: After you see nice white rooties coming out the sides of your initial rooting medium, then, yes, you /have/ to take 'em outta there, or basically dedicate the thing into DWC (Deep Water Culture, see many threads on this site regarding), and make sure they stay fed.

If there's not enough space to properly grow all yer plantlets from their rootything, either put 'em into individual plant pots/bags of soil/soil-like mix, or a bigger tub, with bigger mesh pots and some hydroton, for example. Again, see many excellent threads/grow logs on this site for ideas.

[bobhead]

3 days for those results. I'm gonna give this a shot.

I have a question though, do you soak the rapid rooter plugs first.
I know the water will splash them but it seems like it won't be enough to make it to the seed.

I've been working with other growing medium and have been failing.

Alright, I'm gonna go construct my germination station.

[bobhead]

Alright, I constructed mine out of a bucket. I popped a dry seed in the rapid rooter; Came back 72 hours later and I got a sprout!
Not the results you got, but I'm very impressed with this.

[Eln0mbre]

this i have to try, i have some seeds that i can`t get to sprout, tried like 20 of them in wet soil and the papertowel metod. :thumbsup:

[clongo]

can I use plugged tubing running underneath two plants with holes in it instead of the airstone and can I use oasis foam instead of rapid rooters for clones going into soil? thank you

peace

longo:rastasmoke:

[leftreartire]

what do you feel is the cost of your germinator/cloner? one thing i would highly recommed when germinations is to try and get your seedling into their perminate home as soon as possible. if you just get them there you eliminate alot of human facts that could cause stress and damage to your young seedlings. i start all my seeds right in the pots i am going to grow them in. that tap root/anchor root is on of the most important part of the seedling that is very highly over looked

[Slevinkal]

Keep in mind that growing seedling in large containers is not all good, my friend.

A lot of times the moisture sinks to the bottom and outruns the roots of young plants causing un-needed stress and extra watering to keep the soil damp where the roots are. Keeping the bottom of the pot saturated just to keep moisture near the roots will cause other problems in return...

[bobhead]

It's been awhile since I've posted. Starting seedling seem to be the scariest part about growing LOL. I would like to update some information on this method. This is what I've learned throughout my growing journey. Actually I'm still on my first grow, but almost finished!

---------------------------------------------------------
1) Soak your seeds in water 24hrs prior to using them, this increased my germination by 1 day. Not required.

2) Keep your reservoir level only half ways full, or turn down your air pump. I've noticed the rapid rooters get soaking wet. If this is the case, don't plant the seed to deep. The roots like being suspended and misted with water.

3) Make sure your reservoir is light proof, especially if using super thrive. Algae loves super thrive and it will rape your roots. I stopped using super thrive and switched to thrive alive b-1. Bring your ppm up to 100-120 once your seedling has 2 sets of leaves.

4) Allow some space between your seedlings, my roots grew vigorously and began tangling up with one another. I ended up pulling some apart when transplanting.

5) Only transplant when the roots have those little hairs on the sides of them. Allow some of it to poke through the net pot and have most of the roots near the bottom of the hydroton.

6) Keep PH between 5.8 & 6.8. Drop it to 5.8-6.0 once you start nutrients.
I germinated with success at various ph levels, it didn't seem to make a difference at this early stage. If your ph is above 7 or below 5.5, their may be some problems.

7) Keep the humidity very high when germinating. Find something to cover them with, spray it with water.
------------------------------------------------------------------


I'm sure using other growing medium would work just fine, you will have to gauge how the medium holds water and make adjustments accordingly.

The basic concept of this is that it eliminates the need to manually check and water them.

You can just as easily throw your seeds in a rapid rooter, put them in a tray and keep them moist.

Many growers seem to stress how fragile this stage is. However, seedlings can actually overcome a lot of stress. I've screwed up a lot my first attempts. I tore apart a seedling in rock wool one time and found all dried rotting brown roots, there was a small piece of white root. I tore the brown roots off and put it in a new growing medium, and sure enough it grew nice and healthy.
Another seedling wasn't sprouting, I dug into the hole and seen that it was kind of starting and went ahead and ripped it's shell of while it was still in the dirt! It sprouted and it is looking good.
I've also had seedlings suffer an onslaught of algae! Stunted their growth for like 2 weeks. I rinsed them used h202, changed my reservoir and they are growing nice.

So don't be discouraged if things aren't going well. If it's a seed from a reputable breeder, than it will surely be forgiving.

[b1growsgreen]

hahaha i just started doing something similar, but with rockwool

[GrowingInGeorgia]

can I use plugged tubing running underneath two plants with holes in it instead of the airstone

You won't get the fine bubbles that are so turbulent without the airstone. You'll get bubbles, yes, but a good airstone with enough air moving through it will really move the water. I learned this back in my aquarium days. HUGE difference.

[wg420]

This is great, can I use this setup to grow plants to maturity. By adding more lights?