Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Howdy all.. long time reader, first time poster...so, Im trying to find "affordable" grow media here in West Virginia (Marietta Ohio/Parkersburg West Virginia area) and I cant find anything. Unless I'd like to fork out $600 for delivered expanded shale.
I have 6 grow beds, each needing 17 sq ft of media...Ive called all the area nurseries, gravel supply, pond supply, concrete companies and even pond builders....not to mention lowes, home depot ect..ect..
Hoping someone on here is from my area and can point me in the right direction...

Hello and welcome! I'm not from your area but you could use 3/4 blue stone. I would think that would be very available. It's not the best media but it's cheap and it's what a lot of people use. The concrete place should have it. For your 6 grow beds assuming they are all 12" deep you would need 6 tons of gravel. In NJ I paid $22 a ton plus delivery. Sorry I couldn't be more help, good luck.

Thanks fo the reply jonny...havent heard of the blue stone. Just curious, you said "its not the best media"...whats its drawbacks?

i used "brown river gravel" (they also had blue) that i got from a local lanscaping company (#57 - about 3/4").. 3 cubic yards delivered was $110
i did bring a coffee can and vinegar to their yard and asked if i could test first..
there was a little bit of the gravel that did react, but from past experience, i wanted a buffering "agent" built in

It's just not the best as far the weight and pain in the butt of planting in it. But once you get the hang of it, it's not so bad. Just make sure your growbeds can handle the weight! Also you have to wash it thoroughly before putting it in the gb's which is a task, but that's with any gravel.