Sandponics Part 4 : Adding Plants & Fish: 2021

On this the 4th Day, the system is finally ready for the plants.
We transplanted various types of plants including:
Spinach, Lettuce (green and Red), Brinjals (Egg Plant), Chillies, Beetroot, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Corn, Garlic and Potatoes.
During the frist two weeks, we did not have any fish. We dosed the system with ammonia rich waste from the fish tanks in our Aquaponics system.
After 2 weeks we added some fish.
All plants have responded remarkbly well and the cucumbers and tomatoes have already started to fruit. Chillies and Brinjals already in flower. No signs of deficiencies are visible. The plants look very healthy.
All is looking very promising and my take so far is that its a better plant growing system than any of the aquaponics designs (I.e. DWC, NFT or media beds) .
In follow up videos, we will show how potatoes , garlic and beetroot have done. This is one of teh major benefits of sandponics, you can basically grow any vegetable or plant that you can grow in soil, unlike in Aquaponics or Hydroponics.
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[@ThousandYardStare]

Wow, I had no idea that 'Sandponics' was even a thing. Coincidentally I've been experimenting with an 'Ebb and Flow' type of system using a 'sand' made from ceramic filter media and it's working extremely well - it's great to see someone else doing this on a bigger scale and the results speak for themselves.

[@hondo2757]

Amazing growth rate very impressed you're a wealth of information and presented it very well and clear

[@MyAquaponics1]

thanks for the positive feedback

[@mcautics3914]

Such an inspirational episode!

[@MyAquaponics1]

thank you

[@prizonfrost123]

Waiting for part 5...Great work

[@brandonterry6194]

GRATITUDE 💥🐟💥

[@kelvinmukuka2260]

Amazing! Great work.

[@MyAquaponics1]

thanks

[@ozzypunk1]

Great work. Please keep the videos coming

[@henripereira7253]

thank you

[@saiedaljaberi1736]

Wow great stuff, thank you for the information and comments, I wish you all the best. I would like to know if you are adding any nutrients, and also for how long you are supply the water to the plants.

[@MyAquaponics1]

Thanks.. Yes we are adding a lot of the waste from our main aquaponics system

[@saiedaljaberi1736]

@@MyAquaponics1 Thanks for your help. So it means you are not adding anything else with aquaponics waste that is great.

[@MujahidAbdurrahim_65]

So cool!!

[@dorgham22]

Thanks and Good luck

[@melaniegarcia4089]

Bravo

[@hulk7814]

Amazing work sir, but how do you Eliminate the Residues and droppings. of fish , do use any mechanical filter? Or any other kind of filter?

[@MyAquaponics1]

Thanks.. You don't eliminate the residues and droppings. They will get trapped in the channels in the sand and overtime will be fixed by microbes and beneficial bacteria. That is one of the main advantages of sandponics over aquaponics, no need for a separate mechanical filter or biofilter

[@samkom33]

@@MyAquaponics1 Sandponics IS a biofilter in itself. 😉 Spesially if you add a siphon to the outlet side so that you always get NEW air and water to the lower roots several times a day, so that the bottom of the sandbed dont turn in to a lifeless swamp.

[@dylandariusmehri3362]

Great demonstration! Before transplanting into sand, what media are the seedlings/root vegetables growing in?

[@MyAquaponics1]

They were in peat before we transplanted to the sand beds

[@alisalman1275]

Great work. very impressive. What are the chemical and physical characteristics of the sand like alkalinity and size (fine or coarse)

[@MyAquaponics1]

Thanks.. We used washed river sand as it was cheaper than silica sand. The most important thing is that the sand is free of carbonates which can affect ph, and free of silt and clay (please refer to video 3 in the series) kzbin.info/www/bejne/anrRk6l4g9OHoqs The sand we used is a coarser type sand which is recommended ,1-3mm grain size.

[@alisalman1275]

@@MyAquaponics1 Thanks ! What is the ratio of fish tank size to the area of sand beds?

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@alisalman1275 we have calculated that for every grow bed in the video (5m x 1.2, x 250mm deep), removes 200l from teh fish tank once fully flooded.. In our system, with the 3 growbeds we should have used a 2000l tank instead of the 1200l

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

@@MyAquaponics1 Above 2mm is classed as gravel. The proper sand should be .3 to 1.2mm.

[@rentonschmidts1926]

Great setup. I was wondering what are the stocking density of the fish in the tank and also the feeding rates of the fish?

[@MyAquaponics1]

at this stage only 15Kg of fish per 1000l.. Though we are also feeding the system waste from other fish tanks.. In summer we feed our fish 3 times daily

[@chilledoutmo1895]

@@MyAquaponics1 Nice work on the 4 PART video, I has given me a starting point, Who would have thought of sand, genius.

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

@@chilledoutmo1895 Dr Mark McMurtry is extremely smart. He also had a team of professionals, including Laureates, to provide advice and assistant. The greenhouse, and horticultural advice, used in the original trials was provided by Paul V. Nelson himself!

[@ernestbwalya5572]

What's the width of each mould on the grow bed and what is the spacing between moulds ( where water passes)

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@AN-gl3jx Yes, that is what we mainly do in summer

[@sandponics]

Your systems appear to be the best of the best that I am seeing anywhere, so what exactly are you doing that others are not doing. Is it the specific sand you are using, which appears to be quite gritty, or is it something else? I notice that when your guys are planting they sometimes tend to include a good amount of coco peat with the plants, possibly that has something to do with the outstanding growth rate that you are achieving. Or is there anything that you added to the sand although forgot to mention, such as small amounts of charcoal etc?

[@henripereira7253]

Thank you for your kind words.. There are many great systems better than ours out there, especially in Egypt and Jordan. We're trying our best though. I think growth rate on most plants we have used is due to us adding a lot of the ammonia rich gunky waste water from our commercial aquaponics system. We havent been so lucky with carrots or onions, but that seems to be due to teh coarser river sand we used.. We will be doing some tests on those with finer sand

[@POVmauritius]

Is the water constantly flowing in the sand or do you turn it on and off?

[@MyAquaponics1]

Yes, in one of the videos we explain that the water pump is controlled by a timer, so around 30mins on and 1 hour off for the whole daytime. Can be turned ff at night, or left on as per same on /off periods

[@aldenchan8324]

so is the system similiar to flood and drain aquaponic systems or does water flow out before the top of the siphon ?

[@MyAquaponics1]

It is flood and drain, but controlled by a timer. So not a bell siphon ..Siphon and timer explained in the other videos on our channel

[@juelznavi5646]

great video but the music is stressing af also, does the algae make problems?

[@MyAquaponics1]

thanks, unfortunately we have to use royalty free music on KZbin, so not very good options available. Algae no issues, microbes take care it of, especially as plant canopy increases and blocks out sunlight to the furrows

[@juelznavi5646]

@@MyAquaponics1 do you have to wash the sand after some time or how are you handling the dead roots / other stuff that accumulates in there? yah man .. i always listen to music in the background, so i always hope that there is nothing in the video, but for others it might seem like long "dead" scenes .. dilemma hehehe:)

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@juelznavi5646 Microbes take care of most of the organic matter.. One can also add worms into the system. When we harvest, most of the roots come out intact as sand is looser than soil. Yep, regarding music its very difficult to make everybody happy, but that comes with the territory.. LOL

[@timnitz2654]

Have you ever tried growing the fish in the beds with the plants, akin to how eels are grown in rice paddies?

[@MyAquaponics1]

W have not tried that yet as the water level in the sandbeds completely drains out every hour

[@paulhenderson4449]

Can you explain how there is no root rot when the roots are constantly so wet? The results in the sand beds look impressive but would an auto syphon be better or do roots tend to grow laterally to avoid being totally submerged or do they reach down into the wet zone? Thanks

[@MyAquaponics1]

Hi, the roots are not constantly wet.. The pump is controlled by a timer, so the sand beds flood and drain accordingly (30mins on and 90 mins off). When drained, oxygen flows into the sand and to the roots. Sand mounds where plants are planted give the roots extra lift from the bottom, allowing some of the lateral roots never to be fully submerged.

[@gertengelbrecht5848]

What sand can i use for the sandphonic system

[@MyAquaponics1]

Silica sand is the best, but expensive. We used a washed river sand.. Grain size between 0.5mm and 1.5mm

[@yasmanist]

any more updates on this amazing system ?

[@MyAquaponics1]

thank you.. we are working on more videos, showing progress. Hopefully another one in January

[@yasmanist]

@@MyAquaponics1 awesome. Looking forward to it. Did you just use any kind of sand ? Or is there a specific kind of sand ?

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@yasmanist hav e you watched video 3, on the sand test, etc? We used a washed coarse river sand that passed all the tests. Best is silica sand, but expensive

[@yasmanist]

@@MyAquaponics1 just watched the video now. Very helpful. Thank you guys. Looking forward to the new video

[@unscriptedrides]

Water is water loss due to evaporation in such system? In DWS, water is covered and majority of water evaporated would deposit and drop down again in the water thus lessening the lost. Also, for one bed how many fishes would require to produce the waste?

[@MyAquaponics1]

We do not measure water loss due to evaporation as we always have plants in the system.. Total water loss is a combination due to evaporation plus plant uptake. Plant uptake varies depending on climate, type of plant and plant life cycle. We top up daily based on a level that we mark on the fish tank. Calculations to work out feed required to supply enough nutrients is complex and explained in our aquaponics ebook. Specific formulas calculate that. Its also not about the number of fish but the biomass of fish per 1000 litres. We keep it on average to 25Kg of fish per 1000 litres

[@ernestbwalya5572]

​@@MyAquaponics1is this the stocking biomass or harvesting biomass? Kindly help. I have a 5000L fish tank. How many fingerlings of 5g should I put this tank? Kindly help please

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@ernestbwalya5572 Max stock density is 30Kg of fish per 1000 litres. Number of fish is dependant on the average weight of fish. Keep in mind that if you add 30kg of fingerlings, that you will have to remove some as they grow

[@ernestbwalya5572]

@@MyAquaponics1 thanks

[@kennethpruitt7799]

What is the total depth of you sand? Thanks Wayne

[@MyAquaponics1]

The beds are 250mm deep, and the ridges where we plant on, are maybe another 50mm-80mm higher.. so an average of 300 mm depth

[@DanielMatulich]

Does this system have any type of settlement filter, or does the sand handle all of the filtration?

[@henripereira7253]

No separate settlement filter. The sand is it .

[@DanielMatulich]

@@henripereira7253 Thanks for the reply. How's the system doing today? Still running strong?

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@DanielMatulich Yes still going very strong. Trying out some strawberries. Posted photos on the IAVS sandponics África group on FB a few weeks ago

[@DanielMatulich]

@@MyAquaponics1 Great to hear. Looking to add one of these beds to my next system. My teacher (Murray Hallam) had some issues with his system after 2 years, so I'm trying to find as many successful examples as possible before I set mine up. Yours was on the list of systems to check out. Thanks for the update.

[@happychappyy]

⁠@@MyAquaponics1will the sand need replacing eventually or will it continue to be self sustaining? Thanks

[@dtm2448]

where do they get minerals from

[@MyAquaponics1]

Nutrients mainly from nitrogen and other traces found in uneaten fish feed and breakdown of plant matter. Irrespective, as in aquaponics, always important to supplement with potassium and calcium and magnesium for larger systems.

[@freehogs]

Hi, is the water flood and drain? Or constant flow?

[@MyAquaponics1]

Flood and Drain, on Video 3 we explain.. 30 mins flood and 90 mins drain from 7 am to 7 pm.. Water pump off during the night

[@MujahidAbdurrahim_65]

I wonder how you deal with the solids from the fish waste. Is it broken down in the sand? Will it accumulate?

[@MyAquaponics1]

Solids are broken down by microbes and beneficial bacteria

[@MujahidAbdurrahim_65]

@@MyAquaponics1 so you're saying it sinks to the sand? (where the bacteria live in) Won't it accumulate on top of the sand?

[@MyAquaponics1]

@@MujahidAbdurrahim_65 some sinks a little, some accumulates, but all is sorted by the bacteria over time. Reserach IAVS, lots of literature on how it all works.. It is a magical natural process that is tried and tested

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

@@MujahidAbdurrahim_65 It only penetrates a few centimetres. It does accumulate on top of the sand, that is the goal. The detritus layer allows a smooth path for even distribution of the water, it also helps to keep the furrows in place. The short pumping cycle (on) followed by the long off cycle allows complete (forced) atmospheric exchange of oxygen. It is the microbes and the oxygen that is the core driver in the iAVS engine. The bacteria mineralize the organic waste into plant-ready forms. They also store nutrients and water within their bodies - and the microbes that eat them. The pore space in the sand also retains moisture in the bio-film created by the bacteria.

[@M-4organicos]

👏👏👏👏🇧🇷

[@denisdb725]

What are the plus's in this system eo soil? In this I only see working at hight as a plus and the re use of water and nutrients. But you can not grow more as what would be possible in the soil. So to be a big plus for the always more people on the planet, this is imo no benifit. Sorry, my opinion. In order for multi level in hydro and aqua ponics makes more benefit to the amount of always more people on this planet.

[@MyAquaponics1]

Everybody is entitled to their opinions. You answered your question yourself.. Always more benefit in terms of water consumption by having a recirculating system as opposed to pumping huge amounts of water into normal soil based agriculture. Hence why the biggest commercial sandponics systems are located in Egypt. Feeding more people on this planet is all relative.. You can achieve it by empowering people to grow for themselves in their backyard, or get some to go commercial and grow for others. This is not meant to be a "space saving" solution, but an alternative to Aquaponics, with added benefits of being able to grow tuber type vegetables. Also perfect for arid areas or areas where good soil is not available. For us, the change from aquaponics DWC to Sandponics was an eye opener.. Much better growth , quantity and quality.

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

@@MyAquaponics1 You could also setup iAVS in remote places with no electricity and no plumbing. iAVS uses less parts (no settling tank, for example) therefore less costs, less space and less waste. Sand + light + oxygen + water + microbes = soil. The primary goal of iAVS is to feed malnourished children in arid, remote places like Namibia.