Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello friends, I'm wondering if I will need something to use as a base filter underneath my clay pellet grow bed in the bottom of my four half barrel growing beds. I just read of the hard ships a fellow and his wife have had with pea gravel in east Texas. I was going to use pea gravel to cover the strainer at the bottom of the bed. So, am I wright thinking that I need something to filter the water and slow down the flow rate or am I way off base?

Just the clay pellets will be fine.

I have tried pretty much all of the different materials used for hydroponic/aquaponic cultivation. Using just Clay pebbles provides the best O2 to water ratio for the plants. My plants have always formed healthier, larger roots in clay pebbles, even when compared to Rockwool, Coco Coir, and soil. One of the major benefits of clay pebbles is that they do not retain nearly as much water as other options, but require much more frequent flooding. I have also found that some plants, such as peppers, gain exponentially from having less moisture around the root space.