Hey all. I purchased and have used a CannaKan germination set for my last several seed starts. Some marijuana seeds, some vegetable seeds, and some flower seeds. I do think that overall it is a good system, but I did struggle with it at first. I mentioned it in another thread, but I wanted to start this as a separate specific topic. If you are thinking about getting one, please reach out to me. There are a few modifications that I have done that makes it immensely easier to use and better overall. I reached out to CannaKan directly with my comments and concerns, but I never heard back from them. Which is really too bad, I would think that companies would like to hear customer feedback, especially when their products are newer. I do recommend it, but it can just be made easier and more convenient with just a few tweaks. Let me know if I can help you.
Hi there
how can you help regarding the Cannakin germination set ?
James in Wales
Hi @James68 . Thanks for reaching out and asking. I found several things that really need to be improved upon in the basic design for the CannaKan to be really effective. As stated, I did reach out to them via their website when they asked for a review of the system. Never heard back from them, not even a thanks for participating. That said, let’s get into it.
First thing wrong is the water level markers that are cast into the mold of the main body unit. As you know, marijuana seeds are relatively small overall. I found that if you use the top water fill mark as instructed, that when you sink the divided housing unit into the main body unit, there is too much water. Your seeds will float from one chamber to the next. You definitely do not want to mix your seeds up if you have more than one type in there. I was using Trainwreck, White Widow, and an Alaskan Dos-Si-Dos, using three of the available eight chambers for separating your seeds. Luckily, when I saw it happening, I was able to get the seeds separated again with no mixing them up as there were only 3-4 seeds in each chamber. I thought that I had done it wrong the first time, so I did it again and paid strict attention to where the fill line was. Put the basket back in and they floated across again. Tried a third time with the same result. The soaking fill mark is too high up. Maybe with bigger seeds, (like sunflower seeds) they would not float across, but with small seeds, it happened all 3 times. Plus, the high level mark is cast in the body, so it is the same color, so unless you are in extremely bright light, it is hard to tell where the mark is. The fix is to move and mark 3/16ths to a 1/4 inch (US measurements) down with some sort of high contrast marker. I actually used Super Glue and some fake rhinestones that I had to delineate the correct high mark and the lower humidity mark as well. Here is a picture. You can clearly see the top markers are lower than the cast in marker. Pen for pointing to the top mark. Also, MUCH more visible in all kinds of lighting. You could use a spot of white paint or anything else that might be high viz. Needs to be lower and brighter than stock.
The next thing is the basket that has the holes in it that separates the water from the divider tray. There are four cast-in tabs (two on each side) that hold the divider tray firmly into the soaking basket. The problem here is due to the casting, it is damn near impossible to get the divider tray out without a lot of force and potentially spilling your seeds out if you have not already removed them. Even if you have removed them, unless you have very good hand/finger strength, it is difficult to get apart. There are a lot of people in the growing community that are older, weaker or partially disabled. This is an undue burden on them and makes it difficult to take apart for cleaning and sterilization. The fix is to use a sharp knife or X-acto blade to shave off two tabs on one side. It still holds the divider firmly in place, but it becomes MUCH easier to take apart for adding the filter paper, cleaning and/or sterilizing. Here is a picture of the two full remaining tabs as well as the two on the opposite side that I shaved off. Pen for pointing. On-
Off-
The next thing you don’t really need pictures of, but it is highly important. The heat matt works really good and I am overall impressed with it, especially the adjustable temperature. However, what they do not tell you and it ruined my first 10 marijuana seeds that I put in there, is that with the heat mat and the CannaKan body being black, DO NOT PUT THE MAT OR THE UNIT ANYWHERE THAT IT WILL BE EXPOSED TO DIRECT SUNLIGHT. Like through a house window, a greenhouse window, anywhere that even for a couple of hours that it will be in direct sun. It will absorb the heat, the mat will go into an over-temp mode on the controller but it does not shut down. It will just read 00-00. Plus the body of the unit is getting heat from the mat as well as absorbing the solar rays/energy and it makes the inside way too hot. With my BBQ portable temp probe, mine was reading over 150 degrees (US measurement) and it killed all 10 of my seeds. That cost me over $149.00 (US), not a single seed sprouted. I tried it again with sunflower seeds (cheap), put the unit by the window where the sun hit it in the afternoons, and it happened again. Controller says 00-00, internal temperature of over 150 Fahrenheit in the main body of the unit. Since I moved it away to a shaded area in the house, hasn’t happened again. Word of warning to the wise because of the cost and availability of your special seeds.
Last and final thing to say is that you do not have to order the filter paper from CannaKans website. It’s like $3.00 (US) for six of the papers. Then it’s another $7.00 for shipping the six papers. Go on Amazon and search for Lab Paper filter. I believe that it is 6-inch round (US). I got 100 pre-cut round lab papers (same quality or better) for around $4-$5 (US). Huge savings difference. I have now used the unit for many seed germination projects with great success. I have done Hot Pepper seeds, Bell Pepper seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Bean Seeds (different varieties), and some other flower seeds. I’ll include a picture of one of my Sunflower Seed germinations and a Cannabis germination.
I hope that helps you James68. Please feel free to reach out if you need any other clarification or explanation. I’m happy to help people get the best experience possible out of the unit. I think that the sad part for me was that I lost more money on the cannabis seeds that it killed than I spent on the unit itself. Have a great day.
Thank you so much…I shall stick to my two saucers with distilled water and bleach free coffee fillter paper mode on a heat pad and it will be business as usual.
I tend to think that CannaKan is style over content at this stage of their evolution…terrible bloody shame about your 10 seeds…so sad.
Hey @James68 , thanks for responding back. I can appreciate the tried and true method that you use. I too was using a similar method myself. I was hoping that if I was able to save or sprout just 8 more seeds over the next year as compared to the previous method, it would have paid for itself. And the divider function, the reusable chart, and the fact that the unit seals up is pretty cool. I once spilled a bunch of seeds I had germinating in a saucer because I accidentally bumped it. Also, the adjustable temperature on the heat mat is a nice feature. Hope you are having a great grow.
I only distill my own distilled water and let it sit for 24hrs to gas off any nasties, that is the key for me to pop my seeds and importantly acid free paper (my coffee papers claim to be clean and the occasional prayer to ‘The Great Pot Goddess’
Greetings from Western Wales…James soon to be 75 ! Wowser !
Greetings from Southern California in the USA! Congrats on 75, I’m 64 myself. Got to retire a bit early and started playing around with growing marijuana again for fun. I’m lucky to live where we can legally grow for personal use and I do all my stuff outside. Just such a beautiful plant to grow and it’s terrific to see the differences between strains, how they flower, how they smell, all those things. I don’t really smoke much myself anymore, but I give most of my crops away to some friends who are disabled, veterans with PTSD, and some others. Makes me feel good to know that it’s helping others. Once I get a bit better at the crops, I’m going to learn how to make gummies for fun. I’ve done cannabutter for cooking and it was successful. Just a great journey to be on. Have a great day.
I lived in Cali, Santa Monica /The Valley back in '74 to 80…great days …The cops are HARSH here when it comes to pot…its like Alabama way back when and puts a very interesting vibe on tripping the light fantastic…ru down south or up north ?..humboldt count way ?..I grow organically and only use sunshine…America was very good to me. 
Hey @James68 , nice to know that you had the California experience. Santa Monica during the 70’s and 80’s was early DogTown days for skateboarding, some of the greatest surfers, etc… I’m down south in Cali, I always tell people that I am about 15 minutes from The Mouse Ears (Disneyland) We can hear their fireworks every night when they have them (9:40pm start time) and are also close enough to hear when the Angels Stadium puts them off for special occasions or anytime that the Angels hit a home run. I’ve been to Humboldt, but never bought directly from there. Although back in the illegal days I bought a lot of pot from local guys who claimed it was from there. Like the original Skunk Weed, Cali Red Hair Sinsemilla, etc… I did buy some direct from Fallbrook down by San Diego a couple of times though. So glad that it is legal now and can grow my own. Although, now it is cheaper to buy good quality weed in the dispensaries than it is to grow it yourself, not even mentioning all the problems that comes with Home Grown. Weather, pests, mold, bud rot, etc… My local dispensary has ounces of good mid-grade weed for $50-$75 each. And a variety at that price point. Of course it’s more expensive as you start getting into the latest hybrids, highest THC, newest flavors. I’ll add a picture of one of the digital billboards that they have up so you can see the pricing if you zoom in. It’s just crazy. (Just in case you can’t zoom in, the place is called the Farmacy and they have an on-line site that you can look at). I’m so sorry to hear that it’s a hard time and a harsh punishment for you there. I’m sure that there is a lot of amazing things about being there. But it must be difficult about this one thing. Have a great day!
£20 per gram here buying off the Albanian gangsters…weird scene here with Putin so close and so crazed.
Hi Darran,
I’m following some of your modifications to the CannaKan. I shaved off the two tabs on the divider tray & I can separate it much easier. I wasn’t intending to use it again because of poor results after I used the provided paper separator discs & started using copy paper. I’m going to try some free seeds I have with the lab papers (btw they were about $15 on Amazon. I ordered medium flow rate. Should I have ordered fast flow rate?). Thank you for providing this guidance. Not wanting to go back to the horse & buggy just yet.
Welcome to the forums @so . Really appreciate your being here. Lots of great folks with a ton of information and advice to share with.
Here are the filter papers that I purchased from Amazon:
Healeved 100 Sheets Qualitative… Healeved 100 Sheets Qualitative Filter Paper 3.54 Inch Round Lab Filter Paper for Chemistry and Filtration Ultra Fine Cellulose: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
Not really sure of the micron size or flow rate, but when it describes using it in chromatography or as a coffee filter (usually 20-40 microns for both) it seemed to be a reasonable flow rate. Especially just because it’s really being used as a separator and not a filter anyway. The water flows through it quickly and well. And they are about $10.
My method for germination is to fill with distilled water up to the modified high level mark with about a 1/2 teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) added into the water. That’s for sterilization and to help the seeds crack open. Put it on the heat mat at 90 degrees (it will be about 5 degrees cooler inside the container) and make sure that it is not in any sun exposure. Let the seeds sit for 24 hours in the water. At the end of 24 hours, some seeds may have gotten their tails to pop. You can plant those then if you want, but some may not have popped open yet. For me, even if they popped, I will leave them in with the others. Take the whole tray out and dump the water. Add fresh distilled water to the lower water mark in the unit, add the separated tray back in, put the lid back on and back on the heat mat for another 24 hours. This is so the seeds are in the humid environment in the chambers. Takes about 5 minutes to do. After the second 24 hours, open it up and transfer out all the seeds that popped into your growing medium. Some tails may be kinda long by now. Any that have not popped yet, I leave in the unit for another 24-48 hours, checking every 12 hours. Chances are if they haven’t popped by the end of that last 48 hours, they are duds. I have only had a couple that haven’t popped by then as the seeds were kinda white and small to begin with. I hope that helps and please feel free to reach out to me again if you have any questions or need any clarification.
Welcome again, best of luck with your unit and your grows. Let me know if I can help.
Thanks Darran,
I’m not really sure what it shows as my name, but I’ve been called by yours a few times. I’m confident your advice is solid, so I’ll be testing soon & will let you know how my freebies do
Thanks @so . If you want to tag me or anyone else so they are notified that you mentioned them, hit the @ key. It should bring up a list of names in that thread. But even if someone isn’t in that particular thread, hit the @ symbol and start putting in their first few letters of their name, it should activate a drop down list. As an example, when you start a new topic like a grow post so people can follow along, just do that so people will be alerted to look at the new topic. Very handy.
Super glad to hear you will be starting a new grow soon. Be sure to tag me and I’ll be sure to follow along. Please list what seeds, what type of setup, nutrients, etc… so those with similar grows can help and jump in the conversation. I grow only outdoors, but do containers, in the garden ground, and some outdoor hydroponics. I’ve done Autoflowers and Photoperiod plants in cannabis, but also garden veggies and other plants for fun. I live in Southern California so I can garden year round outside.
This forum is really a great place to be with a lot of people that are happy to help and share experiences. Welcome again am looking forward to your adventures.