I have heard that Tap Water is better for clones.. as it has a small amount of nutrients already in the water.. vs RO water that has absolutley no nutes at all.. I also have found that peat pellets work best for growing in soil.. the pellets have enough nutes in them to keep the plants alive with tap water alone for the first few weeks while they root and get ready for transplant. I also dont dip the cuttings in water before the rooting gel.. seems to me like the gel does the same thing in preventing bubbles as dipping them in water first.. so I dont see much point to this step. I also have found an "Assembly Line" technique to work quite well.. Cut the clone on 45 degree angle, quickly trim the bottom couple of nodes and then dip it in the gel right away.. all of this happens within about 5-8 seconds and then its in the peat pellet. I have also found that making a slightly bigger hole in the peat pellet (I use a chopstick) helps to keep the rooting gel from getting wiped off when I stick it in the hole. The peat pellets are soft enough that once the cutting is in the hole.. you can squish it back into good contact with the stem and keep the rooting gel where you want it! ;-) Once all the cuttings are in the tray, I mist them with tap water and snap the lid on.. I havnt cut any of the leaves.. but I may try it as the leaves seem to get a little crappy at the ends anyways! I put them under CFL aquarium/plant lights on an 18hr cycle, and open the lid a few times a day to blow inside and move new air around the plants.. and mist them with water again. I am definately not the most experienced grower on this site when it comes to cannabis.. but I have taken a few hundred cuttings like this far, and not lost a single one yet.. so I must be doing something right! Thanks for the great thread!