https://www.compostguy.com/aquaponics/garden-girl-aquaponics-system/ Composting, Gardening, Sustainable Living Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:59:28 +0000 hourly 1 https://www.compostguy.com/aquaponics/garden-girl-aquaponics-system/comment-page-1/#comment-128855 Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:59:28 +0000 https://www.compostguy.com/aquaponics/garden-girl-aquaponics-system/#comment-128855 I too am fascinated by the aquaponics… even vermiponics as a potentially awesome growth method… I note that patti is using perlite in her grow beds… I had heard, or thought I had heard.. that perlite will breakdown in a AP system… it is also possible to cause havoc with pumps if it manages to get back into the fish tank… All grow beds will eventually need to be cleaned out also, you ever try to clean or rinse this stuff?
that being said… may different sources are being utilized for grow media… clay balls/pellets from various manufacturers… ( I find them too light to support taller plants… they want to fall over) , and many use lava rock… ( which is light,has sharper corners but appears to lock together better…. what seems to work is a plain old river gravel that has been washed thoroughly…( keeps dirt out of the tank) make sure it is not altering the ph none…. ( pro’s?.. smoother, more mass to support plant roots and keep them upright, probably more cost efficient to most people…. Cons… heavier than either perlite or clayball / pellets, or lava rock… and if you have large grow beds weight can be a concern.
Sorry, I dont want to discredit anything patti has to offer, I really enjoy watching many of her videos on gardening and her collection of various animals. But perlite is possibly not the best for this application.
One site I didn’t see mentioned was AquaponicsHQ… they are a very valuble sorce of free info also….

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