Do Hydroponics create more Waste?

[Vikerus Forrest]

Not as in unusable cannabis.

My question is about conservation and responsible growing in the climate era.
I've been realllllllly curious about starting a hydroponic setup since my grow area is a shower stall, perfect for catching a leak should it ever happen.

Right now my plan is to recycle the media I use, while one batch is in use the other will be fermenting back into a nutritious meal for future plants. My aim being to reduce the waste created from growing. But I've recently considered that a reverse osmosis water filter could actually serve to concentrate the old nutrients while creating water that can be used again for the system. I've only taken an advanced chemistry class in high school but from what I remember there are ways to gain useful material from a melting pot of chemical compounds.

Now, I don't want conjecture if you can spare it. Would it be possible (albeit complex) to recycle the concentrated waste? And if so how many steps might that realistically take? More importantly would you spend the extra effort to use a local service which would do this for you at cost or for free?

 

[jijiandfarmgang]

My aim being to reduce the waste created from growing. But I've recently considered that a reverse osmosis water filter could actually serve to concentrate the old nutrients while creating water that can be used again for the system.

I don't think you understand how RO works, and what plants need as nutrients. You should research how RO works, and the contents of your local water supply. Then ask an educated question, because really what your asking doesn't make sense.

Btw RO uses filters, electricity (to develop pressure) and wastes around 2:1 to 5:1 water. So umm its not really a good starting point if your solely looking for lest waste.

Actually, indoor growing is probably one of the worst things you can do for the environment.

- Jiji

 

[Vikerus Forrest]

RO is the process of a membrane and pressure pushing only molecules that fit through to create purity. I do understand. The waste does concentrate in the first tank does it not? So with that waste couldn't we reverse engineer what is left into more basic molecules and rebuild the compounds plants need?

Also electricity is easy to overcome as a source of waste. I'm far more concerned with water waste considering we are talking indoors with lights anyway.

Thanks for assuming my ignorance... What an interesting way of living.

 

[bird mcbride]

Actually, indoor growing is probably one of the worst things you can do for the environment.

- Jiji

I totally disagree.

 

[blackforest]

Not as in unusable cannabis.

My question is about conservation and responsible growing in the climate era.
I've been realllllllly curious about starting a hydroponic setup since my grow area is a shower stall, perfect for catching a leak should it ever happen.

Right now my plan is to recycle the media I use, while one batch is in use the other will be fermenting back into a nutritious meal for future plants. My aim being to reduce the waste created from growing. But I've recently considered that a reverse osmosis water filter could actually serve to concentrate the old nutrients while creating water that can be used again for the system. I've only taken an advanced chemistry class in high school but from what I remember there are ways to gain useful material from a melting pot of chemical compounds.

Now, I don't want conjecture if you can spare it. Would it be possible (albeit complex) to recycle the concentrated waste? And if so how many steps might that realistically take? More importantly would you spend the extra effort to use a local service which would do this for you at cost or for free?

What is your definition of 'concentrated waste'?

Soil has a lot of waste (used soil)
Flood and drain would have waste (rockwool cubes)
rdwc 'waste' is just water

Also, what jiji said about RO.

 

[bird mcbride]

I run perpetual F&D and I use about what the average wash machine uses for one full load weekly minus detergent etc. I ph balance my res with dolomite lime and I use a minimum of NPK. The spent res' go to the green room, then drain to waste.

We definitly need more nuclear powerplants.

 

[bird mcbride]

A bail of rockwool would last an avid grower a lifetime if used sparingly. Rockwool can even be picked up around construction sites as bits and pieces gets tossed everywhere.

 

[bird mcbride]

I've got gravel thats been in use for years.

 

[Vikerus Forrest]

Waste would be water you can't drink cause you've poured ferts into it... I thought that was kind of self explanatory? Also I realized the RO idea of a single tank was incorrect after looking at the actual layout of the machine, but still. The nutes that would be separated from fertilized water going through an RO would be concentrated waste would they not be?

And try to use some imagination guys. Soil is never waste if it can be reconstituted. Which it can given you garden with organics. There are a lot more ways of doing hydro then rockwool cubes. Still curious about this. If you can collect the unpotable water you would normally throw down a drain and clean it. Why not do that?

 

[Budley Doright]

First of all your coming across like a bit of a dick FYI. Secondly you want to reuse (clean) both the waste water produced by the RO unit plus the waste water from the plant and yes it probably could be done with an industrial type filtration system but not a home RO unit unless you have a cheap membrane supply. The salt concentrations would be all over the map so re constituting them into a useful nutrient solution would not be economical for a shower grow lol. Commendable to try and save but your barking up the wrong tree on this one. It's a shower grow so economics will play a huge part. If concerned about the environment do a organic grow in living soil with water retention media. Good luck though, if you find a viable way to do this you could become quite wealthy lol.

 

[hotrodharley]

Waste would be water you can't drink cause you've poured ferts into it... I thought that was kind of self explanatory? Also I realized the RO idea of a single tank was incorrect after looking at the actual layout of the machine, but still. The nutes that would be separated from fertilized water going through an RO would be concentrated waste would they not be?

And try to use some imagination guys. Soil is never waste if it can be reconstituted. Which it can given you garden with organics. There are a lot more ways of doing hydro then rockwool cubes. Still curious about this. If you can collect the unpotable water you would normally throw down a drain and clean it. Why not do that?

You will spend a fortune replacing the membranes in an RO system doing what you suggest. Dilute your wastes and use them outside on plants or shrubs.

 

[mo841]

you can just use dirt. once you finish a crop, break up the roots and reuse the dirt. you dont have to let it sit at all, just reuse it right away. I have been doing it for ever with no problem. you just have to add a little more dirt to top off the pot because removing the root mass takes some of the dirt with it.

 

[bird mcbride]

They should make people put filters on wash machines and stuff to save the enviroment. And start putting massive filters on candu reactors so when they have to use the local water source to control a potential melt down killing everything in the water. Let's ban farmers from using NPK and dolomite lime. Ann Landers should be incarcerated for inspiring gardening in north america for the past 50 years. Gardening is bad.

 

[bird mcbride]

Just because some people are piled up with used dirt isn't my problem. Be careful where you toss them roots, could harm the enviroment you know

 

[Jimdamick]

You will spend a fortune replacing the membranes in an RO system doing what you suggest. Dilute your wastes and use them outside on plants or shrubs.

Why dilute? Waste water is perfect for every plant alive, as long as the PH is sane. Also one other point on this inane OP, soil and hydro are 2 different planets, so why discuss them seeing as you are talking hydro. Anyway, waste from a hydro system, unless it is HUGE, is a drop in the ocean as far as contaminates are concerned Just use clay pellets, use RWDC, and focus on growing, not waste water. Use your bath water a couple of times if you are worried about the envoirment.

 

[Jimdamick]

you can just use dirt. once you finish a crop, break up the roots and reuse the dirt. you dont have to let it sit at all, just reuse it right away. I have been doing it for ever with no problem. you just have to add a little more dirt to top off the pot because removing the root mass takes some of the dirt with it.

Easy on using the same dirt for more than 2 grows, unless you flush the shit out of it. Do a soil test on virgin dirt and soil that has been used twice. Big time difference, especially in salts which will kill your N take-up. I have 2 large garbage pails in my basement full of used dirt, and as soon as I put down the blunt, and get some ambition to have the ambition to dump it, it will sit there forever, unless I toss it in my garden. That's how I recycle.

 

[mo841]

I have 5 grows on my dirt, I must be the exception.

 

[jijiandfarmgang]

RO is the process of a membrane and pressure pushing only molecules that fit through to create purity. I do understand. The waste does concentrate in the first tank does it not? So with that waste couldn't we reverse engineer what is left into more basic molecules and rebuild the compounds plants need?

Also electricity is easy to overcome as a source of waste. I'm far more concerned with water waste considering we are talking indoors with lights anyway.

Thanks for assuming my ignorance... What an interesting way of living.

Your whole premise is wrong. What is the use of the RO anyways? The starting water is bad? The nutrient solution goes bad and instead of dumping it down the drain you want to keep filtering it through the RO, and the waste water?

Then it sounds like you want to filter it slightly and do water analysis and adjust for nutrients. These things aren't feasible.

I live in a very wet area with a well. The kind where a Perc test is an instant fail. I really could care less about water. Now I could see if your in dry area or where water is pumped from long distances. But the key is water conservation. There are many ways to go about that in a hydroponics system. Think agriculture in third world countries in arid climates. And hydroponics as been fairly popular worldwide for the past 70 years or so.

I totally disagree.

You don't think trying to recreate an ideal outdoor growing environment inside using a ton of electricity is bad? I'd love to post some statistics on electrical grid consumption but what I can find are just estimates.

- Jiji

 

[Budley Doright]

Your whole premise is wrong. What is the use of the RO anyways? The starting water is bad? The nutrient solution goes bad and instead of dumping it down the drain you want to keep filtering it through the RO, and the waste water?

Then it sounds like you want to filter it slightly and do water analysis and adjust for nutrients. These things aren't feasible.

I live in a very wet area with a well. The kind where a Perc test is an instant fail. I really could care less about water. Now I could see if your in dry area or where water is pumped from long distances. But the key is water conservation. There are many ways to go about that in a hydroponics system. Think agriculture in third world countries in arid climates. And hydroponics as been fairly popular worldwide for the past 70 years or so.



You don't think trying to recreate an ideal outdoor growing environment inside using a ton of electricity is bad? I'd love to post some statistics on electrical grid consumption but what I can find are just estimates.

- Jiji

Of course indoor gardening is a waste. It cost me $200 a month to grow indoors and zero outdoors for power consumption. No estimates required Jiji it's a given lol.

 

[Vikerus Forrest]

Wow, so much hate over someone trying to do the right thing... Name calling isn't wise and gives off no appearance of authority. Pack up and get out if you're going to be negative please. I've no time for it.

So basically what I'm hearing is: You can't cause you're not smart or rich.
Totally disregarding the fact that this would be in theory in the first place and then move to practical engineering.

I'll be waiting for cooler heads to chime in. Though reusing the hydroponics water waste on a dirt based grow wouldn't be a horrible idea since it's all going to the ocean anyway. My question stands. Is it possible to retreat a hydroponics water waste and further refine the results into something useful or safe?

 

[Vikerus Forrest]

You will spend a fortune replacing the membranes in an RO system doing what you suggest. Dilute your wastes and use them outside on plants or shrubs.

What about water distillation methods? Surely high volume high quality separation would do the trick. I suggest watching the new documentary Billions in Change, the 5-hour energy guy has invented a few truly life changing things. One of them being a water purification system that can do just that.

 

[Vikerus Forrest]

you can just use dirt. once you finish a crop, break up the roots and reuse the dirt. you dont have to let it sit at all, just reuse it right away. I have been doing it for ever with no problem. you just have to add a little more dirt to top off the pot because removing the root mass takes some of the dirt with it.

I think I'll be going with the 20 plus hours of research I did on organic soil remediation.... I'd suggest you look into it too! Kind of sounds like you're missing out on the nutrients you could be gaining.

 

[hyroot]

Hydro produces far more waste. Living soil doesn't produce any waste at all.

When you dump those resi's you are polluting ground soil and ground water with all those harmful chemicals and salts.


I do no till organic living soil. My soil is over 5 years old. I never throw out anything. I even use leaves as mulch and compost them too. The stalks either get shredded and composted or saved for fire wood. The roots left from chopped plants just get broken down by all the microbes.

I use led and induction lamps. So I never have bulbs to throw out either

 

[Vikerus Forrest]

Hydro produces far more waste. Living soil doesn't produce any waste at all.

When you dump those resi's you are polluting ground soil and ground water with all those harmful chemicals and salts.


I do no till organic living soil. My soil is over 5 years old. I never throw out anything. I even use leaves as mulch and compost them too. The stalks either get shredded and composted or saved for fire wood. The roots left from chopped plants just get broken down by all the microbes.

I use led and induction lamps. So I never have bulbs to throw out either

Now I've read that inducing mycelium growth will created an environment super ideal for root growth while creating micro pathways that can be used to bring nutrients to the root system. Have you experimented with this at all?

From the sounds of this thread hydroponics is speed and the detriment of conservation. Not ideal.