Yes, I probably should have mentioned that perlite and/or vermiculite would be a bad choice for a ebb & flow (flood and drain) system. They float like Styrofoam, and the first time you flood the system it would all overflow out of the container. Though for the
drip system I was thinking of it would be fine. I like what Luches had said about "coarse Sand and fine Gravel" even for a drip system because of cost. Where I live I need to drive 3 1/2 hours to get to the nearest hydroponics store. Buying online and shipping all that growing media to me is a killer, about $10 of product equals about $10 shipping most from places. Growing a plant for root vegetables and considering all the growing media required for root vegetables, that is a good idea. Using a drip system you can mix them all without the floating problem.