"Egg Rock", "Colorado River Rock", and "Marble Rock" useability - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T15:48:54Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/egg-rock-colorado-river-rock-and-marble-rock-useability?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A522528&feed=yes&xn_auth=noGillian,
If you're still look…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-10-08:4778851:Comment:5225282013-10-08T23:05:11.092ZRobert Jhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RobertAJohnson
<p>Gillian,</p>
<p>If you're still looking for expanded shale contact <a href="mailto:RTorcellini@BigelowBrook.com">RTorcellini@BigelowBrook.com</a> his company sells it to most universities and he can tell you who might have it near you. In my case I had to drive about 85 miles with my truck, but i filled the bed for $200. Shale is lighter than most rock, has more surface area for bacteria--but will be hard on your fingernails. I filled two IBC grow beds, a small tub, and half of the bottom…</p>
<p>Gillian,</p>
<p>If you're still looking for expanded shale contact <a href="mailto:RTorcellini@BigelowBrook.com">RTorcellini@BigelowBrook.com</a> his company sells it to most universities and he can tell you who might have it near you. In my case I had to drive about 85 miles with my truck, but i filled the bed for $200. Shale is lighter than most rock, has more surface area for bacteria--but will be hard on your fingernails. I filled two IBC grow beds, a small tub, and half of the bottom third of two barrel grow beds (I had hydroton for the top third). And also a 24" X 15' X 6" bed. And still have a pile in my driveway.</p> Randall, the bucket with the…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-10-08:4778851:Comment:5224582013-10-08T18:56:01.902ZKerry McMahonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KerryMcMahon
<p>Randall, the bucket with the holes worked great. I have a bunch of cat litter containers in the garage, so I drilled holes in the bottom of one, then set up 5 more with water in them. Put the media in the one with holes then sloshed it around in the first water bucket, moved to second and repeated, and so on. By the time I got the last water bucket, the media was nice and clean. The last 3 bags of the expanded clay went much faster than the first one did.</p>
<p>Randall, the bucket with the holes worked great. I have a bunch of cat litter containers in the garage, so I drilled holes in the bottom of one, then set up 5 more with water in them. Put the media in the one with holes then sloshed it around in the first water bucket, moved to second and repeated, and so on. By the time I got the last water bucket, the media was nice and clean. The last 3 bags of the expanded clay went much faster than the first one did.</p> I didn't even know that Home…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-10-08:4778851:Comment:5224572013-10-08T18:52:50.438ZKerry McMahonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KerryMcMahon
<p>I didn't even know that Home Depot had expanded clay balls (Lowes doesn't).</p>
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<p>Gillian, since you know the dimensions, you can find the gallons pretty easily. Its 7.4805 US gallons per cubic foot. So, for you, 36in X 36in x 10in is roughly the same thing as 3ft x 3ft x 1ft, or 9 cubic feet. 9 cubic ft x 7.4805 = 67.3245 US gallons. Just say 67 gallons (or even 65 gallons if you want a more even number).</p>
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<p>If Randall's estimate of the bags of rocks being 0.4 cubic…</p>
<p>I didn't even know that Home Depot had expanded clay balls (Lowes doesn't).</p>
<p></p>
<p>Gillian, since you know the dimensions, you can find the gallons pretty easily. Its 7.4805 US gallons per cubic foot. So, for you, 36in X 36in x 10in is roughly the same thing as 3ft x 3ft x 1ft, or 9 cubic feet. 9 cubic ft x 7.4805 = 67.3245 US gallons. Just say 67 gallons (or even 65 gallons if you want a more even number).</p>
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<p>If Randall's estimate of the bags of rocks being 0.4 cubic feet is correct, then you would need 4 bags (9 cubic feet of grow bed x 0.4 cubic feet per bad = 3.6 bags).</p> It is the top 1/3 of an IBC,…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-10-08:4778851:Comment:5224312013-10-08T01:03:41.423ZGillian Burrushttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GillianBurrus
<p>It is the top 1/3 of an IBC, I was guesstimating. If the IBC is 275 gal, and I am cutting the top off , then there is about 200gal left. My grow bed it approx. 36x36x10 I have found a light weight media that passed the vinegar test, though I am worried that it is too small for a bell syphon. I will post a picture of what i found. </p>
<p>It is the top 1/3 of an IBC, I was guesstimating. If the IBC is 275 gal, and I am cutting the top off , then there is about 200gal left. My grow bed it approx. 36x36x10 I have found a light weight media that passed the vinegar test, though I am worried that it is too small for a bell syphon. I will post a picture of what i found. </p> How many bags do you think yo…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-10-07:4778851:Comment:5223342013-10-07T18:51:40.187ZGillian Burrushttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/GillianBurrus
<p>How many bags do you think you would need from Home depot though? </p>
<p></p>
<p>How many bags do you think you would need from Home depot though? </p>
<p></p> "I have a bucket with some ho…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-10-01:4778851:Comment:5210972013-10-01T12:49:50.386ZKerry McMahonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KerryMcMahon
<p>"I have a bucket with some hole drilled in it like a plant pot that works good to rinse media"</p>
<p>That was the idea I had too. I just haven't gotten a chance to start drilling it yet. Glad to hear my idea will work though. :)</p>
<p>"I have a bucket with some hole drilled in it like a plant pot that works good to rinse media"</p>
<p>That was the idea I had too. I just haven't gotten a chance to start drilling it yet. Glad to hear my idea will work though. :)</p> I gave up and drove in to tow…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-09-30:4778851:Comment:5211052013-09-30T13:02:40.544ZKerry McMahonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KerryMcMahon
<p>I gave up and drove in to town to Third Coast Horticulture and bought the expanded clay balls. Only got one bag of it rinsed off pretty good before the rain came and I had to stop. That stuff has a lot of dust on it. I need to find a better way of cleaning it.</p>
<p>I gave up and drove in to town to Third Coast Horticulture and bought the expanded clay balls. Only got one bag of it rinsed off pretty good before the rain came and I had to stop. That stuff has a lot of dust on it. I need to find a better way of cleaning it.</p> River rock is a commonly used…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-09-26:4778851:Comment:5201882013-09-26T22:07:30.997ZAlex Veidelhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlexVeidel
<p>River rock is a commonly used media, but I think it needs to be tested for limestone. Give it the ol' vinegar test.</p>
<p>River rock is a commonly used media, but I think it needs to be tested for limestone. Give it the ol' vinegar test.</p>