Ideal size for lava rock as grow media - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T10:36:41Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/ideal-size-for-lava-rock-as-grow-media?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A350567&xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=nothanks TC. I did not know th…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-16:4778851:Comment:3511192012-06-16T06:00:20.019ZWilliam Crain Jr.https://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/WilliamCrainJr
<p>thanks TC. I did not know that..</p>
<p>thanks TC. I did not know that..</p> Stalite or Permatil is good b…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3507832012-06-15T17:49:53.590ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Stalite or Permatil is good but I recommend an acid soak/rinse before starting up an aquaponic system with it since their kiln process involves hydrated lime so the media will have a temporarily high pH right at the beginning.</p>
<p>Stalite or Permatil is good but I recommend an acid soak/rinse before starting up an aquaponic system with it since their kiln process involves hydrated lime so the media will have a temporarily high pH right at the beginning.</p> Thanks for all the comments b…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3506662012-06-15T17:13:26.452ZWilliam Crain Jr.https://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/WilliamCrainJr
Thanks for all the comments been helpful. Now I have to find a local supplier for hydroton at a good price. I was also thinking about using stalite a.k.a. Permatil for the top section of the Grow bed it is somewhat cheaper than hydroton.
Thanks for all the comments been helpful. Now I have to find a local supplier for hydroton at a good price. I was also thinking about using stalite a.k.a. Permatil for the top section of the Grow bed it is somewhat cheaper than hydroton. TC is correct, I use the scre…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3507802012-06-15T16:58:14.215ZChris Smithhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChrisSmith
<p>TC is correct, I use the screen strictly to size grade the media prior to placing into the grow bed. I do not use the screen in the beds during growing. My layers do not mix too much. When I pull plants with aggressive roots, like celery, I tend to leave the deeper roots in place so that the bigger rock on the bottom does not get pulled up. Any roots left behind are eaten up by the worms very quickly.</p>
<p>TC is correct, I use the screen strictly to size grade the media prior to placing into the grow bed. I do not use the screen in the beds during growing. My layers do not mix too much. When I pull plants with aggressive roots, like celery, I tend to leave the deeper roots in place so that the bigger rock on the bottom does not get pulled up. Any roots left behind are eaten up by the worms very quickly.</p> To be honest, the mixing is n…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3507742012-06-15T14:05:42.553ZJapan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本https://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JapanAquaponics
<p>To be honest, the mixing is not too great if you are careful when you pull the plants out... it is just that it is of course the hydroton that gets shifted down to the bottom, and damn that stuff is expensive over here... at least 2 to 4 times the cost that you pay in the US, and so I don't want to lose it! But in reality, it is not a big problem and I think it would take a number of years before the bed would be completely mixed. </p>
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<p>The top layer of hydroton is really only…</p>
<p>To be honest, the mixing is not too great if you are careful when you pull the plants out... it is just that it is of course the hydroton that gets shifted down to the bottom, and damn that stuff is expensive over here... at least 2 to 4 times the cost that you pay in the US, and so I don't want to lose it! But in reality, it is not a big problem and I think it would take a number of years before the bed would be completely mixed. </p>
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<p>The top layer of hydroton is really only a luxury and is not necessary... it is more comfortable to work in, but other than that, more often than not we use 1" lava rock for the entire growbed and it works absolutely fine.</p> To TCLynx's point, If the agg…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3505672012-06-15T13:46:01.434ZBrant Moorehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/BrantMoore
<p>To TCLynx's point, If the agg were to be screened for size twice, say a layer of 5/8' over the top of a layer of 1", the 5/8 functions a little like the screen. When plants are taken out, and you don't want to add the larger media that was pulled out with it back to the bed where it will be closer to the surface, replace that media (volume) with hydroton (or other small media). Is this workable?</p>
<p>To TCLynx's point, If the agg were to be screened for size twice, say a layer of 5/8' over the top of a layer of 1", the 5/8 functions a little like the screen. When plants are taken out, and you don't want to add the larger media that was pulled out with it back to the bed where it will be closer to the surface, replace that media (volume) with hydroton (or other small media). Is this workable?</p> Personally I don't think it w…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3505582012-06-15T11:36:47.008ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Personally I don't think it would be worth it to put a screen in the bed since I expect that roots would tangle into it and make it difficult to remove single large plants without distrubring the whole bed. I mean is a little bit of mixing really a problem?</p>
<p>Personally I don't think it would be worth it to put a screen in the bed since I expect that roots would tangle into it and make it difficult to remove single large plants without distrubring the whole bed. I mean is a little bit of mixing really a problem?</p> Thanks TCL... given that Chri…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3505222012-06-15T02:57:03.122ZJapan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本https://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JapanAquaponics
<p>Thanks TCL... given that Chris does a lot with Wicking Beds, I thought perhaps he was using that screening method to some degree in the media beds. I wonder if it could work though if you have large lava rocks and the smaller hydroton. We have noticed them mixing together over time, but this might be an option to keep them totally separate?</p>
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<p>Thanks TCL... given that Chris does a lot with Wicking Beds, I thought perhaps he was using that screening method to some degree in the media beds. I wonder if it could work though if you have large lava rocks and the smaller hydroton. We have noticed them mixing together over time, but this might be an option to keep them totally separate?</p>
<p></p> JA, I don't think he leaves t…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3505182012-06-15T02:49:46.239ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>JA, I don't think he leaves the screen in the bed, he uses the screen to sift the rocks so that he can separate the bigger rocks to put in the bottom of the bed and uses the smaller stuff on the top.</p>
<p>JA, I don't think he leaves the screen in the bed, he uses the screen to sift the rocks so that he can separate the bigger rocks to put in the bottom of the bed and uses the smaller stuff on the top.</p> In our own beds worms do just…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-06-15:4778851:Comment:3504252012-06-15T02:08:35.666ZJapan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本https://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JapanAquaponics
<p>In our own beds worms do just fine in the big cinder zone.</p>
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<p>In our own beds worms do just fine in the big cinder zone.</p>
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