Do Sand Grow Beds Work in Aquaponics Systems?
This Video is from the Youtube channel: “Rob Bob’s Aquaponics & Backyard Farm”.
Hi Folks. In this video we'll be touring Owens Aquaponics system & answering the question, do sand beds work in aquaponics? We'll also be looking at Owen's Wicking bags in the sand grow beds and answer a number of questions like,
How are the drains set up?
What grows better for Owen, sand or Wicking bags?
What taste better, sand or soil bags corn?
Can you grow Potatoes in sand?
What is the best sand & where can you find it?
Cheers all.
Rob, B & Jack. 🐾🐾
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0:00 Introduction
0:09 Fish & Plumbing
1:10 Collecting Solids for Grow Beds
2:42 Grow Bed Plumbing & Irrigation
5:10 Preventing Sand Erosion
5:47 How Sand Beds Process Solids
6:20 Owen's Opinion of Sand Beds
7:07 Nutrient Deficiency Test
8:25 Nutrients Added
10:27 Nutrient Auto Dosing Unit
12:43 DRZ VS Sand Beds
14:21 DRZ & Sand Bed Corn Comparison
15:24 DRZ VS Sand Bed Lettuce
15:51 Root Crops In Sand & Potato Harvest
18:14 What Sand & Where to Buy in SEQ
18:40 Soil Used in DRZ Pouches
Fact is they don’t work, they clog, the dont magically generate nutrients from nothing, they need the exact same supplements as any other aquaponics system, they create major food safety problems and are much more likely to cause food born illness than real aquaponics systems. You can see the nutrient problems in his beds all his plants have iron deficiency and potassium deficiency. Its even worse for fruiting crops.
Owen mentions the deficiencies he had with the beds in the video. 👍 Definitely not the hassle free system some folks claim.
Thanks for the tour Rob! and well done Owen, those potatoes looked great!
They would have don’t better growing in season looking at what he got.
Cheers ZN.
Is that toxic blue algae on top of the sand? If so he might need a pre-filter of some sort to reduce the fish-waste getting to the food. It looks amazing either way. I am still researching mulm, my aquarium plans love it. I’m surprised these larger systems don’t use shrimp or snails to further treat the fish waste. My nano shrimp are doing amazing outdoors, & my aquatic snails just never stop keeping their population maxed out.
Not toxic, just normal green algae that all sand beds get. 👍The algae is said to help store elements & help with the overall available nutrients of the beds.
Cheers mate.
Nice set up Owen. Thanks Rob for another informative vid.
Cheers Anna. Glad you enjoyed it.
I have been using a bottom fed wicking bed in my aquaponics set up for past 2 years. I use the highly hydrophobic sugar sand from my yard here in north central florida. I’ve grown carrots, ocra, squash etc and used the fabric pots to start seeds and the dual zone method. After about 6 months, the organics added to the soil break the hydrophobic properties and I replace with new crappy soil and put the previous wicking soil in my garden.
Sounds like an interesting set up Spencer. Have you posted any pic’s or vids online of the setup?
Cheers mate.
@RobsAquaponicsNo sir. Have thought of it, but too phobic myself to put too much online! Plus my setup is pretty ghetto but running strong (for 10 years of Fiddle Pharting around with it!) Cheer!😅
No problem. Let me know if you ever do as I like seeing how folks innovate their systems. 👍
I will get some pix together one of these days. Thanks for your informative content over the years, You have been inspiring!
👍👍 Awesome setup.
Sandbeds are nice for systems with a very low fish density. With 50 to 100 barramundi, it will of course be no problem.
However, we build high-yield aquaponics systems for both private and commercial producers.
If you run a system with high stocking densities, sand beds are a disaster—they clog up way too fast.
I’m talking about systems with around 250 kg of fish per m3 fishtank volume. This is easily achievable with African catfish, as they actually thrive in high stocking densities.
What would happen if instead of a sand bed, you would have a “composting” tank/bed. A deep bed above sump level filled with compost on the top the fishpoo water would be pumped in and at the bottom it drains into the system as a compost tea. On top you add plant matter just like on a normal compost heap. The idea being that you put in plant nutrients that are not part of the fishfood by recycling the unused plant matter taken from the system
Why all this complexity? We want a simple and straightforward sand aquaponics system: from the fish tank to the sand bed, and then the water flows right back to the fish tank with no extra complications!
Currently in the process of making sand beds. I got a bellsiphone and a separate bottom drain that is connected to the main drain by opening a ball valve on bottom drain line. I did this in anticipation that the sand will slow down the flow for the belsiphone, in which case i can switch over to bottom drain by opening the valve. I am also wrapping the bell shroud with geotextle. My beds are set up to run belsiphone if flow is suffiecient, a bottom drain on 4 hour timer and a wicking system. Just have to test the system now.