Tempered glass as media?

[jim mckee]

I have broken tempered glass from sheets of 3/8" thick glass.

It doesnt have sharp edges or shards .

Any thoughts on using it for grow media?

jim

[TCLynx]

I love beach glass

(The stuff that is already naturally tumbled, not the sharp fresh stuff that cuts people.)

[Bob Vento]

What is pea gravel and what kind of stone is that. Does it work well for you as a grow media? I priced out the expanded shale, at my local stone yard and it was $110 for a cubic yard.

How many cubic yards is a ton of pea gravel? I'd rather spend $32 bucks than $110.

The discussion about packing peanuts was interesting but think that wind would displace it very easily.

Regards,
Bob

Ronald Wickline said:

I see your point.  I use pea gravel from a local supplier for $32 a ton and never needed anything else but it did make me stop and think  about seeing old glass in the local rivers with algae growing on it.  So if Jim has the time and desire to tumble the glass it should work fine (biologically). 

[Ronald Wickline]

Bob,  the pea gravel that I purchase is just a type of river gravel that is primarily Quartz/Granite based and sorted/screened so that it is about the size of a pea (1/4" - 3/8").  For me it works great as a grow medium with no detectable leachate or degradation.  If disease ever becomes a problem in the system you can boil the stone to steralize it or use ethanol and let it dry.  In my area even LOWES sales bags of pea gravel but its more expensive than bulk ($4 -$5 a 50lb bag) last time I checked.  I don't remember for sure as to yardage but I beleve it's about 1 to 1.5 cubic yards.  It fills the bed of my pickup (Nissan Frontier) to about 14" all across.  Hope that helps.

Bob Vento said:

What is pea gravel and what kind of stone is that. Does it work well for you as a grow media? I priced out the expanded shale, at my local stone yard and it was $110 for a cubic yard.

How many cubic yards is a ton of pea gravel? I'd rather spend $32 bucks than $110.

The discussion about packing peanuts was interesting but think that wind would displace it very easily.

Regards,
Bob

Ronald Wickline said:

I see your point.  I use pea gravel from a local supplier for $32 a ton and never needed anything else but it did make me stop and think  about seeing old glass in the local rivers with algae growing on it.  So if Jim has the time and desire to tumble the glass it should work fine (biologically). 

[TCLynx]

Pea Gravel really only describes the size/shape of the gravel.  It doesn't describe the kind of stone so the kind of stone that pea gravel is will likely vary depending on where you are and what is cheapest there.

Here in FL, pea gravel is usually limestone and therefore totally inappropriate for aquaponics because it would keep the pH too high for the plants to thrive.

Also 1/4-3/8" is a bit too small for aquaponics normally.  1/2"-3/4" is a better size range.

1/2"-3/4" river rock is often a good choice of media but do get a sample to test for suitability.  Testing is easy, just use a glass of vinegar and do a Fizz Test

[jim mckee]

I may try the glass and pea gravel 50/50 tumbled together then put it in water to settle out the fining's.

I'd guess the 3/8" glass is about the same size as our local pea gravel.  May even then mix it  with something slightly larger size like Hydroton and something slightly smaller like coarse grade sand.

jim

[TCLynx]

Jim, I would recommend against the sand, it would likely cause drainage through the grow bed to be too slow.

[jim mckee]

TCLynx

Ok, I'll do that.

Thanks

jim

[Ronald Wickline]

Jim,

Be careful how you handle and dispose of the glass finings.  They are considered hazardous as they can easily enter the skin and internally can easily cause serious injury or death.  Good Luck

Ron

[George]

4-feed down at my place - good quality too.  Sounds like a lot of work.

Meir Lazar said:

But yeah clay is cheap (if you source it from your ground) and if you want to spend the time and effort, kiln away.