Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

No..
But this is a rubber frog !

what have you used to clip the liner on with? I cut some lengths of 19mm poly and split them lengthwise to clip ours on.

Duct tape... hmmm. That'll do the trick... hehe. Nothing a few 100 metres of duct can't fix....

if you want to use THE ductape nitto is the best IMHO and cheap when you buy it from an AC ductwork supplier

Liner held on with gaffa tape, covered with duct tape.
Will do something more permanent (maybe 19mm poly)
One day ......

If it ain't broke, don't fix it....

Gravel BED - bad AP pun.

but, good for washing gravel..

I will be interested to see what your ph does with using the quartzite/marble gravel. I would imagine it will be well buffered. From memory I was supposed to take a hit for the team and do a bed with similar material as a test. I have a pile of it up by the shed so maybe just maybe....

Good point about the marble pebbles.
I chose the pebbles because they are round and I was worried about sharp edges puncturing the 0.5mm PVC liner.

However, now I have played with it. I realise the following.

1) It is very smooth - bad for bacteria growth
2) Might make the water too hard - marble being CaCO3
3) It varies allot in size (maybe 5mm to 20mm) bad for root aeration ?

So I might mix in a little Hydroton for the bacteria.

On the other five GB's. I'll try a thicker liner (don't know how well it will shape into a round tank?) and use regular gravel (blue metal / screenings).

Having said all that, it is nice on the hands (and looks good)

Anyone got any thoughts / experience on river pebbles ??

we've got screened gravel from sand that is extracted from rivers, so technically that is river gravel. It's fine, it's gravel and it does the job.

Hi Scottt,



One word ... heavy! Sorry, I still have to carry & wash 1 more tub of river rocks. It's making me focus more on some attributes (ie weight) than others (ie. good medium for bacteria & plants).

By the way, your gravel doesn't look TOO smooth - plenty of places for bacteria to live me thinks. (Not like those ornamental Japanese rocks.)

also you should take into account what steve has said in this thread

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... 7150#87150

i wouldnt be too woried about your bacteria

Don't sweat it. I have found almost anything will work for medium unless it is toxic.

You could make all the gravel same size by using your bed with a course screen to allow the correct size rock to fall through. You would need more gravel and would have to find a use for the bigger stuff.

Hi all,
Thanks for that, looks like I'll give the river pebbles a go.
Better start washing.........