Hydroponic and Aquaponic Growing Media:
Gravel and Sand

You have either landed on this page for one of two reasons:
1) You already know you want to use sand or gravel for your hydroponic or aquaponic setup, and you need to find a supplier,

or...

2) You are not sure whether gravel or sand will work for your hydroponic or aquaponic project, and you want to learn more about their advantages and disadvantages.

We have provided reading sections for both purposes. Please read the appropriate section below for more information.

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Where To Find Sand And Gravel

While most hydroponic and aquaponic supplies will come from specialized retailers, either locally or online, sand and gravel can both be sourced from a wide variety of more general retailers. Home improvement stores and hardware stores can provide small amounts of sand or gravel, typically in either 25lb or 50lb bags. Larger bulk amounts of either sand or gravel are also often locally availble, but you may need to go a little farther afield. Landscaping suppliers, concrete contractors, topsoil suppliers and even local or regional gravel pits can provide sand and/or gravel by the container or truckload. Many of these businesses also offer a delivery service for larger quantities. If you are unfamiliar with local suppliers, click on one of these links to find sand or gravel supplies to meet your needs:

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Gravel
One extremely common growing medium is plain old gravel. Most folks use 5/8 minus, rather than a smooth pebble gravel, because the 5/8 minus has sharp edges that provide more surface area. Surface area is important because that's what holds minute quantities of moisture in between irrigation cycels. The sharp edges also help keep the gravel mass from shifting, and gives the roots a better anchor than smooth polished pebbles would provide. Other advantages of gravel include its relatively low cost and easy availability. Furthermore, it can be reused indefintely. All the grower needs to do after each crop is to let the gravel dry out, then spread out in a large area, wash down to remove dead roots and other debris, rinse thoroughly, then put back into the grow beds. Few growing media offer such longevity particularly at such a low price.

Yet gravel has its drawbacks. First, it is amazingly heavy. A small 2 quart bag of gravel weighs nearly 50 pounds. Any planting beds using gravel must be built to hold all that weight, particularly if they are to be raised above ground level for easy access.

Secondly, gravel can change the pH of the water moving through the system. Both hydroponics and aquaponics rely on fairly narrow pH ranges for optimum nutrient availability. Gravel can change that pH depending on the parent rock material. Some types of rock will chemically react with the water enough to raise the pH levels far higher than they should be. Sometimes, that swing cannot be corrected even with acidifiers. If your water source is also alkaline, that single problem can virtually guarantee your pH would never be where it should be. Or it will cost a lot to fix it. On the other hand, if your water source happens to be slightly acidic, that gravel can provide built-in correction. So it pays to know your water's natural pH and then work from that basis as you select your growing media. And finally, gravel has no water holding ability. If you are using drip irrigation that may not be a problem. But if you want to use flood and drain, you may want to provide for backup irrigation or power supplies to make sure your plants are never left high and dry in case of a power outage, or plumbing blockage.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sand
All the comments made about gravel also apply to sand, with one exception. The sand particles are already jagged enough that there is really no concern about sufficient surface area or anchoring characteristics. It is even heavier than gravel, so planting beds must be robust to support all that weight even if at ground level. It does not have any better water retention characteristics compared to gravel, but it does have better wicking abilities. So if a reservoir was built at the bottom of each planting bed, that water could wick up into the root zone more easily. That's not enough to supply your plants for long but it's better than nothing.