Since Practical Sustainability began, it has been completely powered by volunteer efforts. Because selling products or accepting corporate sponsorship for this website would taint this project beyond repair – I’ve started a sister company that will sell products under it’s own power. If successful – Solid Sustainability will donate 30% of profits towards Practical Sustainability…
Aquaponic Test System (2014 – 2017) Design Review
This is the full overview of the Gravity-driven Aquaponic unit prototyping system that ran from 2014-2017 in Sydney, Australia. The system was designed to have zero high pressure plumbing joints or complex fittings, and only use very low flow rate feeds to multiple grow bed prototypes for testing. Every part of the system was modular,…
D.I.Y Two level planter box tutorial, with free plans
Hi there! This article will show you how to build a two level planter box, with a raised deck inside the upper level. Plans follow, plus tutorial info below. Modify these plans as needed – heights for each level of the box were chosen so that no palings had to be cut length-wise. Materials Required…
Aquaponic Nexus Tank planned prototype
The Nexus tank is a project to incorporate all previously built Aquaponic component prototypes into a single, compact, easily accessible unit. Grow beds are not included in these plans, but any style of grow bed can be attached to the system as long as it’s lower than the Header (1) and higher than the water…
Gravity Header Manifold prototype #3 tutorial
This article covers the creation of the 3rd prototype “Gravity Header Manifold” – designed to route water at low pressures – for Aquaponics or Hydroponics. The many outflow pipes led to spray bars for aeration, grow beds, glass fish tanks, and bio filters. This was the most recent design built, and it is running fine after more…
Gravity Header Manifold prototype #2 tutorial
This article covers the creation of the 2nd prototype Gravity Header Manifold – designed to route water for Aquaponics or Hydroponics, at low pressures. This will only be a brief tutorial, as Prototype #3 is better in many ways. It’s been a while since I’ve posted something, so here’s and old project! Prototype #3…
DIY Solar Oven prototype #1
Cooking is something we all have in common, whether we do it ourselves or have someone do it for us. Almost half the world currently cooks by burning biomass directly; wood, coal, dung, waste plant material, etc. The other half of us burn fossil fuels such as gas, or use electricity generated from burning fossil fuels,…
$8 DIY Compost bin prototype using recycled pallets
Here’s the tutorial on creating a cool looking, sustainable compost bin! Don’t be scared by the sloped sides and sweet angle, you won’t need to measure or cut any diagonals, this is quite easy to build. Check this YouTube video to see the results: A note on composting. There are two main types of composting,…
$6 DIY Planter Box using recycled jugs and a pallet
Welcome! Here’s what we’re trying to build, Youtube video of the results: Not everyone has space to plant a traditional garden – or they may be renting and are not allowed to change the space they do have. Garden planter boxes are simple solutions to these problems. The only real cost will be filling them with soil,…
DIY basics tips
This article covers common DIY basics, so I don’t have to explain them in every tutorial! If you have questions about any steps shown in any tutorial on this site, leave a comment so I can explain further. Getting things square. Don’t own a large builders square? You’ll need to square up your timber using a measuring tape….