Water level for media beds

[Christine]

Well...we lost most our fish and cleaned out are system and found the problem....oil from sump pump!!....now we have put everything back together (oil free pump) and have a disagreement on how far below the water level should be from the top of the media beds. We had it too high before and it was creating algae. I think .25" - .50 " and my husband says 1"- 2"...I tossed my argula, basil and salad seeds and spread the rocks around like I did in our previous system but very little is coming up. Before it worked great....I think the water level is too low now. Feedback and advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

[Rob Tolette]

The best way to set up a media bed is to have a dry zone at the top of the media bed that is about 1.5-2".  Any higher, and you will have algae growth, and some of your media might float.  When you plant you seedlings, just make sure that the very bottom of the grow plug or roots is touching the water.

[Jeff S]

Seeds need water to germinate and if they're sitting above the water level they won't germinate.  Spray the top media daily with clean water until the seeds have germinated and developed small roots.. This will help avoid algae growth.