General Hydroponics RainForest 36 User Manual

ACCESSORIES

General Hydroponics offers many useful products
to support your RainForest Model 36 system.
These include:

Controller—for interconnecting many planters

Advanced Nutrient System: FloraMicro,
FloraGro & FloraBloom

Growing Cups and Covers

Hydroton®

pH Test Kit and pH Control Kit

Digital electronic pH, ppm and

temperature meters

Meter calibration solutions

pH Adjustment Solutions

WaterFarm—for growing large plants

Thank you for selecting the RainForest Model 36
modular aero-hydroponic system. Please send
any comments or suggestions to:

PO Box 1576, Sebastopol CA 95473

Phone [phone]

Fax [phone]

We’re open from
9 am - 4:30 pm PST
Monday thru Friday

Please visit our web site at:

www.generalhydroponics.com

for further information and also for our full line of

hydroponic systems and nutrients.

ongratulations on your new

RainForest Model 36 modular aero-

C

enables you to rapidly and successfully root

cuttings and germinate seeds. Once rooted you

can trasnplant to any growing system like the

General Hydroponics WaterFarm. You will be

amazed by the kinds of plants that can be

propagated from cuttings using the RainForest.

These include even the most difficult fruit and nut

trees, ornamental shrubs, vegetables, and

hydroponic system. This system

© General Hydroponics 2001

flowers - many of which have never been

propagated from cuttings before. Of course,

easily propagated plants will root quickly and

grow phenomenally in the RainForest. The

RainForest secret is the patented aero-

hydroponic method of delivering the nutrient

solution. Oxygen-charged nutrient solution is

sprayed through the air onto the cuttings, seeds,

and newly formed roots. This oxygen-rich nutrient

solution constantly circulates within the

RainForest reservoir, so that a lot more oxygen

reaches the root boundary zone than with other

hydroponic systems. The roots absorb optimal

levels of both oxygen and nutrients, so that the

entire plant thrives. The RainForest Model 36 is

at the cutting edge of technology with technical

features to satisfy professional growers and

scientific researchers, and a simplicity that

makes it ideal for hobbyists, as well.

Your RainForest Model 36 consists of the following components:

• Reservoir container with drain/level tube indicator

• Motorized spray pump

• Reservoir cover (with 6 plant sites)

• Six growing cups and cup lids

• Hydroton and polywool

• Flora Series Nutrient Kit

spray diffuser

growing cup lid

TROUBLESHOOTING

Sympton: Wilting

Cause: Excessive heat

Remedy: Move to cooler location

Cause: Excessive cold;

Remedy: Move to warmer location

Cause: Low humidity

Remedy: Mist plant foliage regularly

Cause: Low water level

Sympton: Various signs of plant disease (only

one of the six plants may show
symptoms)

Cause: Infected plant

Remedy: Extract the

diseased plant intact by
pulling the pot. If necessary, lift the
motor housing to collect infected
roots through the opening. Discard
the plant, disinfect

and rinse the pot,
replace the nutrient solution and
start with

a new seed or cutting.

reservoir cover

clip

high mark

low mark

drain/level tube

grommet

Air line

** IMPORTANT **

Ali gn p ump out put so it c an
sho ot s tra ight up a t sp ray
dif fuser o n res ervoi r co ver

Pump Output

intake filter

Pump assembly sits inside reservoir container

.

electric pump cord
(110 vac)

electric pump cord

10 vac)

(1

reservoir container

cup with Grorox and poly­wool for starting seeds.

cup with lid for rooting
cuttings.

Remedy:

Sympton:

Add water for proper aeration

Yellowing:

Cause: Low sunlight

Remedy: Move unit or add supplemental lighting

Cause: Exhausted nutrient

Remedy: Drain

and renew nutrient solution

Sympton: Nutrient isn’t getting to roots

Cause: Pump is not working properly

Remedy: Make sure that nutrient

level mark and that the pump is

“low”

not clogged.

Check the plug and
electricity source.
fails completely. If it

is above the

The pump rarely

is damaged (for
example, from operating dry),
can replace all its moving parts with
a General Hydroponics Pump

disassemble the

Rebuild Kit.
pump, remove the intake elbow
rotate the impeller

90 degrees clockwise and pull

pump

of

it

f the pump

To

, then

housing on the

body. Pull out the
impeller assembly and spin it on its
shaft to make sure it spins freely and
does not wobble. If it does wobble,
the assembly must be replaced.

This
usually occurs only if the pump has
been running dry

.

you

Sympton: Discolored leaves, leaf-tip burn,

deformed

young leaves

Cause: Deficiency or toxicity

Remedy: Discard nutrient solution, rinse roots

with tap water

and use distilled or
purified water to mix fresh nutrient
solution

Sympton:

White buildup on support foam in pot

holders, on top of unit and on under­side of lid

Cause: Salt deposits resulting from exces-

sive nutrient strength or heavy min-

in water

Remedy:

eral/chemical content

Use distilled or purified water

PLACEMENT:

Light & Temperature

Abundant light, proper temperature and adequate
ventilation are crucial to the fast growth, healthy
plants and higher yields made possible with your
RainForest Model 36. Remember that, while your
system provides plants with proper nutrition and
water, plants need adequate light to flourish.

Seedlings and cuttings generally develop faster
when the nutrient is warm (70-75° F). Keep the
RainForest in a warm room or place the reservoir
on a small electric heating pad. The RainForest
should be placed in bright, indirect sunlight or
directly under color-corrected or sunlight-simulat­ing fluorescent lamps. If you are using artificial
lighting, set the light timer to simulate a normal
day/night cycle. Note: Young seedlings are deli­cate: Avoid direct sunlight or high-intensity artifi­cial light.

OPERATION

If you are using a timer for the RainForest motor,
connect and set the timer and plug in the spray
pump. For sprouting seeds, it is preferable (but
not required) to run the RainForest motor one
hour ON/one hour OFF. For starting cuttings, the
motor should be ON 24 hours per day.

Once roots extend into the nutrient solution, you
can use the timer to run the motor intermittently—
either one hour ON/one hour OFF, or ON during
the day and OFF at night. If the motor is OFF dur­ing darkness, set it to turn ON for one hour
halfway through the night.

NUTRIENTS

For seedlings and new cuttings, we recommend
filling the reservoir with purified or distilled water
and adding no nutrient until roots begin to devel­op. When roots appear, use very mild nutrient
solution. As the root system grows larger
increase nutrient strength cautiously. For vigor­ously growing plants with fully developed root sys­tems, use a normal strength nutrient solution of
1,000 ppm with a pH of 5.8 to 6.5. Avoid strong or
aggressive nutrient solutions. Excessive nutrient
can do more harm than good!

As plants consume water, the water level in the
reservoir will drop. Top off the system with pure
water or very mild nutrient on a regular basis to
maintain the level between the upper and lower
marks on the drain/level tube.

Completely drain exhausted nutrient solution and
refill with fresh nutrient every two weeks. If nutri­ent consumption exceeds 1/2 gallon per day,
drain and replace solution weekly.

Water quality can profoundly affect plant growth. If
your tap water is “hard,” use distilled or purified
water for mixing nutrient solution. Avoid mineral or
“spring” water; the minerals in this water can dam­age your nutrient solution.

CLEANING

From time to time, clear nutrient deposits and
bits of plant matter from the pump intake filter.

Between crops, drain and dismantle the
RainForest system. Disinfect the reservoir
drain/level tube, cups, lids, spray pump assembly
and GROROX with a dilute chlorine bleach solu­tion (1/2 cup bleach per gallon of water). Rinse
well and reassemble.

Assembling your RainForest

Air line

,

Connect air line tube to pump as shown.

,

Snap the reservoir cover onto reservoir. Guide
pump electrical cord and air line tube into the slit
in the lid. Slide the slit grommet
tube and electrical cord.

around the air line

Place pump assembly inside reservoir. The pump
output should point straight up so that the spray
hits the spray-diffuser under the center of the
reservoir cover

Press the slit grommet into the hole in the lid. The
air line tube and electrical cord should now be
securely locked in place. The airline tube must be
above the lid in order to properly aerate the
nutrient solution.

.

slit grommet

Planting your RainForest

Seed Propagation

1.

Fill each growing cup almost to
the top with Hydroton that have
been “conditioned” in tap water.

2.

Place seeds on the Hydroton as
you would plant them in the ground. Cover the
seeds with a layer of Hydroton. Larger seeds
should be planted deeper and smaller seeds
should be planted closer to the surface. Place
very small seeds on a piece of fine nylon netting,
or other non-absorbent support, just under the
surface of the Hydroton.

3.

Insert the cups firmly into the holes in the
reservoir cover. To slow evaporation of the nutri­ent solution, cover any unused holes.

Cutting Propagation

1.

Put a cover on each growing cup,

and poke a pencil through the cover

to loosen any tight hole flaps.

holes

2.

Trim each cutting so that 31/2
inches can extend below the cup
cover (through the bottom of the
cup and into the nutrient solu­tion) and a few inches (contain
ing several leaves) can extend
above the cover.

3. Insert the cuttings into the

cups, making sure that they are
well separated where they pass
through the cup bottom. The
first roots will form at the lowest
node on the cutting, which must
be submerged in the nutrient
solution.

4. Insert the cups firmly into the

holes in the reservoir cover
slow evaporation of the nutrient
solution, cover any unused
holes.

. To

Cuttings

The RainForest Model 36 provides the best pos­sible medium for propagating cuttings. Rooting in
the unit
RainForest Model
about
achieve maximum potential, it is critical to take
cuttings intelligently

Illustrations 1 & 2.

Single-stem plants,
Craceanas, are propagated from stem or
cuttings. Select
diameter
will fit all the way down into the growing cup. Make
the cut just below a leaf, a place where a leaf has
been attached, or between two rings on a cane.

-

Illustrations

Multi-branch plants
knife or razor and cutting flush with the main stem

31/2 “

at
other foliage
will probably maintain buds or blossoms while
putting out
36 system.

is fast and root growth is vigorous. The

36 enables you to grow just

any plant from cuttings, but in order to

.

such as Dieffenbachias or

cane

a point on the stem where the

is less than 11/2inches, so your cutting

3 & 4.

can be cut by using a sharp

a 45 degree angle. Never use scissors. No

need be removed. In fact, the plant

new foliage in the RainForest Model

Illustrations 5 & 6.

Large cuttings may
including the weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) and

Schefflera (Brassaia actinopylla) by cutting

the
part or
diameter of

(Hoya carnosa), climbing Philodendron
(Philodendron scandens) and
(Zebrina pendula). Make cuts at the desired
lengths. Remove foliage

(Cyclamen persicum). Cut vertically through
tubers with
Thoroughly rinse
any broken or damaged roots with a sharp knife.

all of a branch of stem (with a maximum

11/2in.). Top-heavy cuttings can be

good foliage growth and some roots.

be taken from many plants,

supported with
dowel inserted into
the growing cup
until their root

develop suffi-

tems

.

ciently

Illustration 7.

Multiple cuttings
can be obtained
from most

cascading plants

or
such as

Wandering Jew

and flowers from 4 in. of

base and insert one

the
or several cuttings into
a single growing cup.

Illustration 8.

Root division is the
method for propagating
plants such as the
Peace
(Spathyphyllum was
sisii) and Cyclamen

any soil off roots, then remove

sys-

weeping

Hoyas

Lily

a

-