Reddit reviews Hydrofarm GMC10L GROWT Clay Pebbles, 10 Liter Bag, Brown

WAIT! You mean I can use 50/50 mix of cactus soil and clay pebbles like this: https://www.amazon.ca/GROW-GMC10L-Horticultural-Pebbles-4mm-16mm/dp/B009LNOZQ2 ? Or are those too big a size?


I use 50/50 cactus soil and perlite now, with Bonsai Jack as a top dressing because the perlite always floats to the top :(

• A bucket
  
• A lid
  
• Clay pebbles
  
• Air pump
  
• Rockwool cubes
  
• Nutrients
  
• Ph control kit

Absolutely. I’m using these in a DWC system I made. Hydrofarm GROW!T GMC10L Clay... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009LNOZQ2?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

You also told me not to use a glass enviorment, but I've done other research and with where I live, it makes most sense. I had a chameleon before with the mesh enviorment but had major humidity issues. I could never hold humidity for more than 30 minutes. Even in the summer because we run our AC constantly. Us northerners don't like our homes above 68 degrees. And in the winter, when its -10 F outside, the house gets extremly dry. So substrate and glass is used to help keep humidity. My old cham was constantly dehydrated and had shedding issues.

I plan on buying This for my bottom layer to take care of any standing water and then another layer of substrate/dirt/leaves. A few trees/shrubs to make for shelter on the mid range of the environment and then an open canopy near the heating area. My enclosure has a screened top and on the bottom there is a ventilation area. I plan on cleaning and whiping the glass down as much as possible.

i just read some reviews on amazon of people complaining that it floats. So i guess i'm not the only one.

http://www.amazon.com/PLANT-GMC10L-Clay-Pebbles-4mm-16mm/dp/B009LNOZQ2

Since this is my first system i thought maybe it was supposed to be like that and i just didn't understand. Any ideas on how to make them sink?

Hey, looks interesting. I'll try to weigh in on this.

1. The pH might be ok, but it's a little low. Bell and hot peppers like 6.0-6.5, but 5.8-6.2 is a general rule of thumb that I follow for most veggies.
   
   
2. Your fertilizer is a 4-3-6, meaning it's got more potassium than nitrogen. While this isn't inherently bad, I tend to use something with more nitrogen for the vegetative phase. Again, you could probably use this and see no negative flaws, but a high potassium fertilizer like this is typically better for a fruiting phase. (Not sure how much you know about fertilizers, so just in case, the 4-3-6 are your N-P-K ratios, for Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium). Another option is to use this for all of your fertilization, and just add a 14-0-0 fertilizer for the vegetative phase to really boost vegetative growth. That being said, just follow the instructions on the back of the bottle and you should be tine :).
   
   
3. I typically flood 4 times a day for 15 minute flood periods each, unless I'm planting directly into the system (for plants that don't like transplanting like spinach or cilantro) when I'll flood 8 times a day for 15 each.
   
   
4. Tough to tell what size those are. If they're 6" you're probably ok, especially if you just cut the bottoms out so that the roots can expand further down if they want, and provide some type of support for the fruits and shoots. Some string across the top should do just fine.
   
   
5. What you have looks fine if you cut the bottoms, otherwise, I'd fill them a bit higher, and maybe wick the bottom of the roots at transplant.
   
   
6. You're going to want to drop your light WAY down. At that wattage, that may not be enough for your plants, and if it is, you're going to want it AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE without residual heat burning your plants. You may want to consider another one so you can have two of them covering the entire tank hovering right above, but really, you may want to just invest in a HPS bulb. LED is promising, but realistically the tech isn't quite there yet unless you're willing to shell out boo-koo bucks. If you have the money, I'd probably go more for something like this https://www.amazon.ca/Watt-Hydroponic-Light-Electronic-Ballast/dp/B008RSGPEC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1497742699&sr=8-7&keywords=hps+grow+light+and+ballast, but at the very least, drop your bulb so that it's as close as possible. As for timing, 12-16 hours a day for vegetative phase, 8-12 hours a day for fruiting phase, but you may want to look into this a bit more.
   
   
7. Ummm...not sure ;). I don't know how well it will retain water, so maybe? I use these for my ebb-and-flood system https://www.amazon.ca/GROW-GMC10L-Horticultural-Pebbles-4mm-16mm/dp/B009LNOZQ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497742859&sr=8-1&keywords=clay+pebbles+hydroponic and they work well because they retain water, but you should be fine with the coconut fiber liners as long as the roots can reach them (again, wicking the roots to the coco fiber before transplanting will help with that).
   
   All in all your system looks great! You're probably fine with the fertilizer and pH, maybe just raise the pH a tad, but the light does concern me. If anyone has success with it, especially with a demanding plant like peppers that love light, then please chime in, but at the very least, I'd want two of those to cover the top of your tank and hover right above. If you're using that light for the seedlings and they really start to stretch, you know you need more light. Hope this helped!
   
   

That is a great question to ask /r/aquaponics, but I'll give you my take. Obviously plants need air to live, so a completely enclosed system (while possible) is not practical. But there are features in many aquaponics systems that lead them to loose less water, so you can design with very low water use in mind.

Plants in aquaponics systems typically grow in a media bed - essentially some material made to replace the soil of in-ground farming. Common growing media options include gravel (which is heavy) or expanded clay pebbles. These materials are important because they provide a surface for beneficial bacteria to grow on, and that cleans the system. But they also have another benefit - they reduce evaporation dramatically. If you put your hand into an aquaponic dry media bed, you'll see that the top layer of gravel/clay is dry, but dig a layer or two down and you'll find that the media is wet. So this gives plant roots the ability to soak up water without exposing your water supply directly to air.

I also mentioned floating rafts to hold plants, and these are fantastic at keeping water in because as they float they provide a cover for the water.

You can see why people like me who live in the desert get excited about the low-water use of aquaponics versus traditional gardening.

$16 for a 10L bag is cheap enough that as a hobbyist, I'd rather replace them than deal with all of the scrubbing and washing it takes to get the roots out of the pellets.