Gravel as medium

What does everyone think

Gravel is an excellent medium with the only problem being heavy
we used it back in the days when hydro was little known it was also used commercially as well
It rocks with flood and drain

Dwc???????

greentrip said:

It rocks

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indeed
I've never done DWC timmehvl but I don't really see the advantage of using gravel anywhere in the setup, surely hydroton would work much better?

Would it not depend on the type? Would limestone (thats all we get here) gravel not effect PH? If not I would probably give it a try just for the throw away when done factor .

waterdawg said:

Would it not depend on the type? Would limestone (thats all we get here) gravel not effect PH? If not I would probably give it a try just for the throw away when done factor .

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Limestone would wreck ph for sure. Depends on type of rock. Sterilize it for sure. I'll stick with hydroton.

There is Seramis if you're not keen on the bigger clay pebbles?

If you go with gravel, do a quick test by putting the gravel in a clear glass and pouring in some vinegar. If the gravel forms bubbles on its surfaces, I wouldn't use it for hydroponics.

Gravel was always used because it worked great the irregular surfaces etc
but most importantly it is cheap granite pea gravel lava rock etc all good

I bought a huge bag of hydroton 2 years ago and still have loads left. I reuse it and just rinse in a pail with screen in bottom. So cost is not an issue for me, or others I would think, as well.

ive never understood why people need to improvise growing medium, picking up some soil, or hydroton, or any growing media thats proven to work is litteraly dirt cheap

Probably to experiment, nothing wrong with that imo. Some things work, some dont lol.