Tower media

[Tawnya Sawyer]

I'm sure that I have missed this along the way. I know that Nate uses a specific fiber media in his towers that was purchased from a supply company that only sells in bulk. I have also noticed that other people have setup towers. What media is everyone else using? I have investigated pads for air conditioners, swamp coolers, green scrubby sponges, floor buffers, Coir mats, etc. Looking for the solution that works for others, fits well in the 6" x 6" fence post, is inexpensive, easy to get and safe for plants and fish. Any help would be appreciated.

[Tawnya Sawyer]

Thanks for the response Nate. I love the tower concept you have "perfected" and look forward to seeing your products once they are market ready. Very impressive.

[Nate Storey]

Hi Tawnya,
You asked if there was an alternate media that can be purchased locally. Right now, no. Hopefully in the future we'll have enought local retailers that our products can be found relatively easily. The reason for this is that the media is custom made for us by our manufacturer from recycled water bottles and is guaranteed fish and system safe. We're basically treating it as a proprietary material because of the time and money spent developing it. We'll be selling the material shortly from our website in bulk (not up yet) and Sylvia will be selling it as well from her website as refill media for ZipGrow Towers. The folks setting up towers now are mostly using ZipGrow Towers and this material, although I know others have experimented with other medias. I do caution people against AC pads, etc, because there can be flame retardants and antimicrobial substances embedded in the material and it's not the same thing as ZipGrow matrix material. The material I use also has high shear strength so it doesn't tear when pulling and loading towers- AC pads will tear. I guess what I'm saying is that you won't find a replacement for the media I'm using because I tried almost everything before I started having this stuff made for us.