by ryan kelley
Toilet hydroponics (not wasting waste water)
10:47 pm in Being a good member of this community, Curriculum Proposals, energy consumption, environmental impact, Getting Started, Help the project by testing this, How-Tos, International, made from scratch (without a kit), Materials and Resources, Other Cool Urban Ag. Stuff, posts with pitcures!, Projects in Process, pumps, questions, R&D-I-Y, Recruiting, Water flow by ryan kelley
Lets cut to the chase we waste 2 gallons of water everytime we flush worse yet when the water is not being used it sits idle doing nothing. i am working on a design to use this water in hydroponics heres a picture.
Its not really hydroponics because you are using soil. Basically you are just maximizing water usage with every flush.
The difficulty is that plants need 12-17 hours of light in an indoor environment. I don’t know about you but my bathroom light is usually off.
Main thing I would design is a cover for the top to prevent dust and dirt from clogging the system.
Its a neat idea though.
Actually it’s just peat moss ( an organic plant based growin meduim) I do have to enrich the water about once a day with a fetalizer spray. As far as the light I just use a CFL on a timer 12 hours of light is about perfect beacause it needs sleep time to grow just set it to be on when your not there. The system is fine most systems now adays are rebuts enough the cover is purrly for astetics. Although a filter to filter the water goin back into the system from the plants might be good
I just downloaded the instructions yesterday, so I’m new to the whole thing, and I noticed they mention pH control. Have you thought about how you will control your pH? I am imagining that you loose your water and start fresh each time you flush. Also, if you write this up I would include a bit about making sure you know where your building is getting it’s tank water. With some new buildings it’s could be reused runoff water. Way to think outside the tank!
Cool idea, Ryan! I’m usually for always growing food in hydroponic systems, but in this instance I might grow something that smells lovely to make your bathroom more appealing or useful, such as lavender or mint.
I definitely like it. I would agree with Hardware Junkie though. I had a system without a top on it and it definitely began accumulate dust. It wouldn’t be hard just to adapt a rubbermaid top or something else to cap it.
As for Cameron’s comment, most of the cities I have lived in have had water with tolerable pHs. In fact, I almost think that draining the water every day might be better at ensuring a stable pH because resevoirs have a tendency to get away from you and you sometimes have to overmanage their pH in order to get it right. I think that your city water will have a more consistent pH, though I’m no expert.
Any concerns with bacteria? I have seen several articles stating that we should cover our toothbrushes because when you flush, microbes, or bacteria from feces gets sprayed into the air. I have a garden tub that doesn’t get used, would love to grow in it, but am worried about this bacteria thing. I totally love the idea of growing flowers that have lovely aroma, what a beautiful toilet tank that would be….if your threw a party, all your guests would be in the bathroom admiring your ‘garden’
in korea, a few people use the constant change of water and dark atmosphere to grow bean sprouts in the toilet tank.