Are you serious about cloning? Keeping your system sterile is crucial for success, and establishing a 24-hour oxidizer baseline is one way to ensure that your system is free from contaminants. This involves establishing a low-dose concentration of oxidizer that isn't completely eliminated in 24 hours.
To perform this test, you'll need plain bleach and pool test strips that contain both "free" and "total" chlorine values. Here's how to establish an oxidizer baseline for your cloning system:
- Clean your cloner and PermaClone collars according to the manual and circulate 3-5 mL/gal bleach overnight.
- Dump the cloner and fill it with the water source you use for cloning. Add 0.2-0.3 mL/gal bleach and test and record the free and total chlorine levels.
- The next day, test and record again. If free chlorine went to zero, spike again with 0.2-0.3 mL/gal and repeat until you can maintain the free chlorine overnight. Test your water source separately by dumping and refilling the system and testing with the same dosage of bleach used previously.
- Once you can maintain 1-3 ppm free chlorine for 24 hours and your water supply tests negative for contamination, you can be confident that the system is free of organic matter and that you interact with the system in a clean way.
Establishing a 24-hour oxidizer baseline takes time and effort, but it's worth it to ensure the success of your cloning system.
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Complex topic but simple explanation
I’m trying to do this, but I’m a little confused. Is the machine supposed to be running overnight? If not, how will i know if anything over the water line is sterile? Like the sprayers, manifold, inside lid and collars? Without water moving through the pump, will it even give me an idea if the inside of pump is sterile? Would running overnight and testing free chlorine tell me it’s stable? I get no combined chlorine after 24 hrs. It’s completely chlorine free. Does this mean i am safe? Can chlorine be used without forming combined?
I imagine the base of the rez and water are easily cleaned. It’s the rest i worry about.