Smooth River Stones

[chrisfoerst]

Are smooth river stones the same as pea gravel. I heard somewhere that gravel is really rough on the hands (my hands are already pretty roughed up but I don't want to take an additional beating every time I need to see the plant roots.) Any suggestions?

Also, if pea gravel is a good choice, where can you get it locally and cheap?

[badflash]

They are not the same. Pea gravel is much smaller and is pretty rough. Check landscaper supplies, or home depot. They cost nearly the same.

[chrisfoerst]

Great, thanks. I am also considering a combination of gravel and perlite for the top layer. In Aquaponics 101, Oliver recommends at least a 12" inch depth for growbeds if using hydroton and another 50% if using gravel. I would rather that the growbeds not be too heavy so what would be the ideal depth if you were combing gravel on the bottom and perlite on the top? Would it still be 18" or do you think you could reduce it some?

[dufflight]

Perlite breaks down in AP and make a mess. Haven't heard a good thing about using it and most people never use it again. I like gravel for the bulk of the media and 100mm ish of clay for the top.

[chrisfoerst]

Ok, that helps.

[urbanfarmer]

Hello and welcome!

I didn't know perlite readily breaks down in Aquaponic systems... can you cite some reference for us?

The University of Florida has done a study specifically of perlite in Aquaponics, and the 120 pages does not mention once that it breaks down. On the other had, it does suggest perlite is good in Aquaponics: http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0019861/tyson_r.pdf

chrisfoerst, please go post a new thread on this subject so we can really address it for you. This thread is just to say "hello"

[keith_r]

pea gravel seems to small to me

my gb's are half "river gravel" from home depot and 1/2 hydroton

i've seen/heard about a couple of people that have tried perlite and because it floats so readily, it ends up through the whole system

[chrisfoerst]

Thanks for the responses! I will start a new thread soon.

[RS_]

full stop....!!!!! perlite is a PITA!!!, it gets everywhere, some floats and some sinks, its not that it breaks down, it just gets smaller and smaller, and clogs screens, filters, etc...... i will never use it in AP again..

[chrisfoerst]

As I am designing my system, one of the conundrums is the endless choice of possibilities. It is a relief to know that I can at least cross perlite off of my list!