[PapaBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by Akai-San Thanks MikeM, I was just thinking of all the bad things that come out of trying to incorporate plants with the trays (cleaning, pruning roots, etc.). Just trying to innovate and think out of the box when designing for aesthetics but still maintain functionability. Has anyone out there tried or know of a cascading setup? Much like a waterfall. Instead of stacking the trays and water drop straight down, how about breaking water pouring over the long edge into another tray and so on. Same results? Maybe heavier flow rates can be achieved? Might not be a space saver, but could be quite nice I think. Any thoughts?

I've actually read (on another forum) of several people using the technique you describe and plan to incorporate the idea into my remodel this winter. Stepped waterfall cascades with a biomedia "basin" arrangement in each step. It winds up being somewhat of a hybrid Bakki Shower/Trickle Tower. Lots of oxygenation and gas exchange. With the kind of splashing and agitation you would get it should prevent any detrius accumulation from occuring.
Insofar as the original question of debris accumulation on Plants in a BH, I would think the environment would be self-regulate root growth. The more effective the BH is working the less Nitrate the plants have for a food source which should limit the plant growth. The Hyacinth I have in my filtered water are free of any detrius whatsoever. Those that are in my pre-filtration chambers are filthy, but as I use them as a substitute for brushes that just tells me they are doing their job very well.