The Clay balls are cheap here. A big potato sack full for about 4 USD. Something like 10+ pounds. They are very light and I have some hard times with them floating too much until they get water logged. My next adventure is a sand bed test. The iVAs method.

So far with just the fish poo, I have not been happy and the fact that they say it takes from 6 months to a year before the beds become fertile. Not an easy sell. When dirt plants right away. I might be too well noted for writing that I think there is a lot of stuff that is never shared. NPK and bed stability are a mystery to most and the people that sell this stuff either know the answer and sell it to us or it is just a money maker for them.

Look at any decent veggie fert and it is way over 5-3-2 of fish poo and the micronutrients are in the fish Food? Since people can grow plants very well even with out a GB, ie Airoponics there is something big missing. Look at the npk stats on tomato miracle grow. We are all very far from those numbers. I can not compete at all with the dirt farmers here. They are all pulling in a harvest and I am still waiting for a bud.

There are 2 ways of doing AP, Buy or DIY. the ones that sell are hyping it so a lot of people buy and then get stuck with something that is useless. The idea is good but the fish Poo is just not enough to compete against dirt or other systems. Then we are left with a lot of money spent and a system that does not out produce even good dirt.

I am Mr Bad boy on this but I have read too many failures where people just give up. The ones who are doing very well are holding info back. And sobeit. Worse for me I cant even get a test kit here, So I am working in the blind. Do a little research on things with NPK and you will see a better picture against fish poo as the only additive. Then look up what you are growing and find the NPK requirements. Tomatoes change needs and so do other plants. Why do some commercial systems have a dozen tanks and raise 1 or 2 types of fish. They are all hooked up to different beds with different requirements.

Now the sand bed I am working on will not change the NPK ratios it is just a different method. I have read a lot on seaweed and maybe that is a good addition for me. But even then I would need to grind it and steep it. And then mix it into the water. Add this to the BBs.

I think there are only 3 or 4 of us here so it will be difficult to find any answers here.

Some people let their GBs run 24/7 so that is a choice you will need to figure out if it is working for you. Keep an eye on your water quality since you have no other filters. More watering should mean more filtering but rather the plants will feed at night is the question. I should say the bacteria surrounding them.

An ironic thing I noticed is that I have used more water rinsing thing so far then I would have used all year to water them in dirt. If this is a one time thing then it will balance out. Until the day they need to be cleaned and it takes even more water then. I never had to rinse out dirt. lol