Fermenting jars with air locks?

[Guest guest]

After packing my fermented kraut into quart jars last night, I have a

greater appreciation for the idea of fermenting in the jar. I purchased

wide mouth quart jars (Kerr), and I'm thinking of rigging something up

similar to the pickl-it jars. I'm thinking of drilling a hole in some lids

and either installing a rubber grommet for an air-lock, or just using a

drilled rubber stopper to hold the air lock. The question is what to use to

weight the cabbage? I'm thinking of using the clear glass " gems " like you

might find in aquariums & such.

Here's a link to the " gems " I'm talking about:

http://www.mcgillswarehouse.com/ItemsList.aspx?ProductID=125300001

It sounds like there may be some kind of coating on them; so, if I get them,

I'll probably leach them in muratic acid for a few days to remove any

metals. Packing a 3/4 " inch layer of the " gems " on top of the kraut

could hold the cabbage down and allow a little room for the air lock to

protrude into the jar. Once it's ready for the refrigerator, I would simply

remove the " gems, " replace the drilled lid with a new lid, and tighten down

the screw ring.

Any thoughts on this? Any ideas for what I might use in place of the glass

" gems " ?