Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ok. I am not very computer savvy on forums. I have tried the search and am either overwhelmed with the responses or i dont get any at all for this question.

I am planning on a continuous flood grow bed. I have a very plentiful source of peagravel. $25 US for about 1000 kilos. I also have access to river sand (very coarse sand) for same price. I can. Ot find anyone with clay around my area. Does anyone have suggestions of a material that i can use with pea gravel to grow in? Does anyone have pics of a pea gravel only bed? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Pea gravel is perfectly fine to grow in, I used nothing but 1/4" gravel for the first few years of APing (most people prefer using a little larger but I didn't have problems with it that small). The only concern is to put a sample piece in vinegar to see if it bubbles which would mean it was made from limestone and will give you a pH that is consistently too high. Otherwise who told you it was not OK to grow in gravel? The main benefit from other media is lighter weight, but that is not important to the biofiltering function.

gravel is perfect try and get 1/2" or 3/4" (i hope thats right we use 20mm gravel in the uk)

Good. So you can grow everything n the fine pea gravel?? That sounds great snd thanks for the quick responses.

finer gravel may take a little more monitoring, as it may clog.. i got #57 "river gravel" (3/4") from a landscaping company... tested by putting some in vinegar to see if it bubbled as noted..

So if u put larger rocks around the drain, then ur smaller rock around the rest, would that prevent it???

you might be better off doing the bottom with larger, then putting the smaller on top..