Why You Need a 3D Printed Hydroponic Garden

Modular Hydroponic Tower Files: www.printables.com/model/7200...
Complete list of parts and 3d models used to create your own Hydroponic Tower: kit.co/AllYourTech/3d-printed...
Today i'm putting together a 3d printed modular hydroponic tower garden. It's an exciting print, and just in time to get your backyard garden ready for summer.
Below you will find all of the parts used so you can get started building your own.
Hydroponics tower 3d printer files: www.printables.com/model/7200...
5 Gallon bucket adapter files: www.thingiverse.com/thing:458...
The lid uses 18 M3x6 bolts and nuts to fasten everything together.
General Hydroponics Maxigro and Maxibloom Fertilizer: geni.us/BI1hrD
VIVOSUN pH and TDS Meter Combo: geni.us/ZB8V
General Hydroponics pH Control Kit: geni.us/0N8XhRP
Rockwool Grow Cubes: geni.us/bKYaVm
3000 Pre-Fed Live Ladybugs: geni.us/8u8z
Infinite repeat cycle timer plug: geni.us/oAtH
VIVOSUN 800GPH Submersible Pump: geni.us/y8krA
3/8" ID 1/2" OD Clear Vinyl Tubing-25 Ft: geni.us/VgmElP
5 gallon bucket: geni.us/UIAAhJl
OVERTURE PETG Filament: geni.us/g1sC
🖨️ My 3D Printing Gear: kit.co/AllYourTech/my-3d-prin...

[@cynthiaevemoon]

This is so much cooler and nicer than the $1K Tower Garden I used to have (and I LOVED that thing!)

[@choicecarter]

Thanks man. I started this same print last week. There are not a lot of good videos on this model. Thank you again.

[@DDCRExposed]

This is quite a nice system. I made one many years ago that doesn't hold the water nearly as nicely as this one does. I've also been on the fence about buying a 3D printer but I finally have a reason to get into printing! Thanks a bunch for the video and I'll certainly be coming back to this when the time comes to print.

[@lairedejohannes6618]

Thanks for sharing a link for the base. The timer you showed is a good idea. Think short cycles, a few minutes on, a few minutes off.

[@JDas2k]

Thanks for sharing this. I'm going to explore this next year for our herb garden

[@makouille495]

just found out your channel and the content is quality ! keep it up ! thx

[@rpals5412]

Very good video, right to the point! Thanks for sharing your experience

[@BotanicalOdyssey]

Can't wait to see the follow up video! I'm in the process of researching 3d printed hydroponics :)

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Coming soon! I've already learned quite a bit (water PH matters). I'll give it a few more days of growing and follow up.

[@religionisapoison2413]

@@ALLYOURTECH3DP do you use stainless steel nozzle to print? Brass releases lead into the print (which absorbs a lot into root vegetables, slightly less into leafy greens, less for fruiting veggies)

[@lazyman1011]

Nice roundup! Thanks!

[@lineuve]

Excellent job, very modular (great Design)

[@keithforbes8482]

Great stuff brethren!

[@barbarastefani254]

Love the design

[@DC9848]

Perfect, thank you for sharing

[@MarkSnop]

great video thanks for everything!!

[@justinlwerner]

Outstanding.

[@violettracey]

Cool! Thanks for showing this!

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Thanks for watching!

[@markmalonson7531]

Superb!

[@TamilLatest]

Looking forward to the follow up!

[@remka2000]

I need to try this! I would probably not put peppers (or tomatoes) in this since they tend to have massive root bowls. Should be perfect for leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, maybe strawberries and herbs too.

[@AndrewMurphy8383]

i have put my peppers and tomatoes in those

[@dontbanmebrodontbanme5403]

Many people put tomatoes and even vining veggies, like cucumbers in them. Even grow them indoors. The work fine.

[@kierancarter3693]

im super interested in this and amazing quality design, i only have pla at the moment unfortunately but will look at investing into some petg i think thanks so much

[@latriciacagle4873]

Impressive system. 👍🏻 I understand the focus of this channel is probably the 3D printing technology and that provides a different level of satisfaction on any project. However, I accomplished the same end result with an inexpensive stacking tower garden, a pump, tubing (that I have leftover from my outdoor drip irrigation system) and an inexpensive container for a reservoir.

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

I’m excited about any creative solution to a problem. That sounds like an awesome project! Great job!

[@Hydro3D]

I too can see it would cost me about $160 NZD to print and build but I think getting PVC pipe and creating a tower of a similar diameter and height as this would quite likely cost around the same don't you think?

[@teleclast]

@@Hydro3D There are very few options that are going to be that much cheaper, mainly they would involve PVC and heating it up to bend it to fit the pots.

[@kolobkolobkolobkolob]

Depends. 4" wide schedule 40 white pipe from Home Depot and other places gone up in price but does come in 10 ft sections and scedule40 safe for hydroponics. Using food safe glue makes it all possible and practical if going that route.

[@brad1574]

Very cool.

[@rsomorai]

Amazing video, amazing presentation, thank you so much for this!

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Wow, thank you! I appreciate the kind words

[@Stavrossspand]

How much did it cost to build it? Thank you very much

[@Franckidoo35]

hi, really good video you made. for the pump a 290 gph really does the job . That is what i use on mine :)

[@hfmleasing444]

Hi dear. What a lovely set up. Excellent. Where were you all the time? I had been looking for you frantically for years.😊❤

[@carsonvogt3297]

Awesome, definitely hoping to see a followup. I assume it's a relatively small variety of tomato you've put in?

[@joelmwangi456]

Awesome

[@matthewwilson3673]

Fun video!

[@sidekick3rida]

Nice design. I would've made parts that fit standard pvc pipe instead of printing the entire setup. Also would be nice to add zip tie mounting points to support larger plants.

[@s.l.287]

very cool I will build that🤙

[@LindaMcEnernybeth]

My son printed this for me for Christmas . . . was super excited and it went together well. We mounted it on top of a 30 gal blue barrel for more reservoir and weight. Unfortunately a month of daily 115 F summers here in Arizona destroyed it before we got any produce. Trying again using PVC pipe and heatgun formed pockets by another tower builder site. It was really cool - until it disintegrated.

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

What filament type did you print it out of? PLA will definitely melt and deform at those temperatures. I always use PETG for anything outdoor in the summer heat. Nylon would be another option as well.

[@LindaMcEnernybeth]

@@ALLYOURTECH3DP we used PETG as recommended - the other thing was each set of netcup holders printed out with the perforated water distribution plate on the bottom of each section. This caused each section to quickly become root bound, clogging the water flow and leaking water at each connection. I don't know why - he downloaded the files you provided but I see in the video that yours were printed open except for the hose guide. Was there a correction to the print that we missed?

[@blockhead3654]

Awsome

[@jimrogers7841]

You might have pushed me over the edge to add an FDM printer to the shop!

[@kolobkolobkolobkolob]

Hello. Really enjoy your channel very well done and to the point well done. The pump your using works well but you are correct you can really power down on your pump will be find at a trickle. ALSO would one of these small novice type printers like the Ender 3 V2 suffice at making a few of these or would it burn out fairly quickly. Not in market for commercial printer just something under $500 I could have fun with. Thanks sup vid.

[@uturnski]

The whole reason why I picked up a 3D printer.... ;) Thank you!

[@kolobkolobkolobkolob]

What printer u end up getting and how did it go printing this system up.

[@GaryMcKinnonUFO]

It's faster to make them from plastic piping, but more costly of course. I used the white plastic pipng and a heat gun to bend and make the pockets for the net pots.

[@zundappwatercooler]

The 3-way section i printed on a bambulab x1 carbon in just 3 hours with a 0.6 nozzle and 0.42 layer height

[@Ltpyren]

In the middle of printing this system, thank you so much for sharing it! I found the link on Printables, but the hollow version of the 3-way module seems to be missing (it's available as gcode but not STL). I notice that the customized version you uploaded is slightly modified so that the walls are printed just as perimeters with no infill; the STL that I got by converting the gcode back to STL is much thicker, and uses infill like you mentioned in this video. Do you happen to have a STL for the hollow-bottomed 3-way module that you figured out, and would you be willing to add it to the files on Printables? Thanks a bunch!

[@michaelgraff6978]

Printing. I have a lot of spare white PLA, so going to go with that for now. When/if it melts, I'll change to PETG, which is usually my go-to functional material anyway. I also plan on sealing the prints somehow, likely food-safe epoxy to coat the inside, which will hopefully prevent "stuff" from coming through the layers.

[@j.o.p.9270]

I’ve had 2 pla skulls baking outside in the sun for 2 years now. I can’t tell any difference from when they were first printed

[@shiftednrifted]

I imagine it will be fine- its water cooled

[@patkenney7226]

This is an absolutely fantastic design. However, I am curious as to why the original top "cap" had the vents (where the water was splashing out) and not a solid, watertight piece to begin with ?

[@mindsofgreatness]

As far as nutrients go, seaweed concentrate is all you would really need. If extra nutrients are needed you can buy mung beans for pennies on the dollar sprout them until the tail is 2x the size of the body, blend them up and strain out the pulp and mix into the water too aka Sprouted Seed Tea

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

I'm 100% going to give this a shot. Love the idea of using seaweed as the fertilizer. I wonder if my saltwater aquarium could actually export enough nutrients to fuel the growth.

[@joselopez633]

​@@ALLYOURTECH3DPwhat in the saltwater aquarium would you add to the hydroponic tower? What's in the skimmer?

[@workinprogress5936]

This is a fantastic idea and I really wish I owned a 3d printer. It is probably overkill, but I would add a locking spinning bracket to the bottom of the bucket so I can rotate the entire planter, this way they can get even amount of sun over all the planters. Again, overkill, but something I would consider. Saving this video into my favorite videos for something for me to build.

[@snuffoutrouge5109]

I was investigating 3d printing services is this in the realm of affordable rather than buying a 3d printer ?

[@ilovefunnyamv2nd]

that submersible waterpump looks like the same one I got (not that shape and color pallete means anything) and the damn thing shorted to water. One day I started cleaning the bed and plants and didn't realize I was getting shocked until my fingers were numb! Anyways, I definitely recommend getting a DC pump instead. even if it fails in the same way, it's a hell of a lot safer

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Oh no! Great tip. I haven't had any issues with either of mine, but that doesn't mean I wont at some point. Thanks for sharing the tip!

[@mattomjohn4314]

Neat! Looking forward to trying this. Thoughts on using PP filament?

[@DalXe.]

Better because less chance of micro plastics

[@mattholeton]

Thank you so much for this, what a help. On thingiverse your 4 and 5 way with bottom are coming up the 3 way. Any way you can correct this please. Thanks again for all you did on this project.

[@hydroponikstuttgart4515]

hi, you can print a dispersion nozzle and put it on the end of the tube/pipe to distribute the waterflow more evenly. And then put your pump on a timer like 2mins on 10mins off. So the roots will get exposed to some air/o2, and roots love o2

[@tombo7719]

you could design caps for 4" pvc that could save time. Pretty awesome vert garden dude!

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Cool idea, I might give that a try. You could use PVC for the separators if nothing else.

[@tombo7719]

@@ALLYOURTECH3DP exactly! Just to speed up the process of it all, cost/time etc. You can get a piece of 4" (I believe) right at 10.00 IIRC (bought some this season for drain)

[@alanshipley6084]

I was hoping in your follow-up video for this you could going to some of the settings that you used and maybe recommend a good printer for this as this will be my first printer for me and my son

[@maxva6245]

Seriously. How much was it to print each piece?

[@Cordelish]

I keep a reef tank, I would recommend hitting a pet store or pet section of a store and getting a pump built for a 55g or 75g tank at max. Since you are going straight up, you could probably get away with just the 55g.

[@T0tenkampf]

pond pumps typically have higher head pressure, which is what you need for vertical lift. I do actually use DC powered aquarium pumps myself though as they are quiet, energy efficient, variable speed, and have run dry / clogging protection circuits. They are also about $80 though.

[@robertfares6120]

Absolutely incredible. what printer would you recommend for someone just starting out. Do you have a website?

[@ritacachia1416]

Thank you for this video. I’d like to use .6mm nozzle . Which settings do i need to change on the code ? Thanks in advance.

[@moniqueprice6948]

That's a great design, would you be willing to share the stl?

[@dustintinsley3899]

do this but as an areoponics set up. it would use less water an energy. also you could get away with much cheaper pumps. I guess I need to get the 3D printer going again and build one for the top of my aquarium.

[@kikecueva8924]

awesome design! , do you have the stl file to print it? =)

[@robertlavine9120]

Super interested in doing a hydroponic garden in the HOA community that I live and involving members. How do I connect to printer/printing, materials, and design files? Thx, Bob

[@IlfStoyanov]

KZbin randomly proposed this to me, and it is a great idea, but just a small note on the filament. You should use a filament that is food-safe and you should make sure that you print it in such a way that you don't end up with toxic microplastics in your food. That is if you plan to use what you are about to grow for eating. If it is decorative, you can print from whatever can withstand water and UV light.

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Great call out. In my case I only use food grade PETG for my prints like these.

[@IlfStoyanov]

​@@ALLYOURTECH3DP As long as it's food safe, you shouldn't have any problems. I checked some of your other videos and you seem to print mostly of PETG, so you should be safe, but this is mostly for anyone else who might decide to print from ABS or any other material. Maybe you should mention it in further update videos so people can be safe too. Btw, if someone doesn't want to spend money on PETG, but wants food safe filament, DIY approach works too. Plastic bottles from PET - water, milk, whatever consumable food/beverage comes into such a container (in Europe it's quite a lot) can be turned into a filament. There are great tutorials how to create your own filament on YT, so it can be also a good engineering project, along with the gardening one. Love the videos, especially the fact that you seem to focus more on printing practical stuff, especially around gardening and plants.

[@L2SB-BrianMichelle]

Where did you get your STL for the spacers between the 3 way pieces? I have the model printed but didnt have that in my sources. I'm printing a work around I designed but hoping you might be able to direct me to a STEP or STL. Thanks!

[@MrJmduffy]

just came across this video, will difinatly do this, have you thought about solar water pump

[@brookestephen]

nice system! Could you combine it with a fish tank to make aquaculture? I am curious about the Tomato plants - will you transfer them to earth, or do you have a 3d template for a support for the long tomato stems?

[@ArtificialDNA]

i just saw ur comments yes i was thinking same thing at less if not grow fish to eat it reduces use of fertilizer because of fish .. combine 2 in 1 ssytem :) ..

[@barbarastefani254]

Wish I could afford it but it’s out of the question I do love the designs maybe someday I’ll get enough money

[@nathanjohnson83]

I'd be really curious how that black PETG holds up to sunlight. I know its better than PLA but you should do another video in 6 or 8 mo showing how it all worked.

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

It does well. I’ve had black PETG parts in direct sunlight for going on 3 years now with zero warping.

[@T0tenkampf]

Did you have an issue removing the black plant pots after a while? I saw on another video that the tolerances were too tight and they lock up in place.

[@enima68]

does the pump work 24/7 or is there a programmable clock if so what is the timing does each plant have a different timing? thanks a lot

[@hanjajsok2872]

where can we get the print files for the one you showed at the end with the spacers? PS the link for the files in the discription is not viable atm, pls help... Ty

[@twanskys]

where did you get the lid youre using, with the locking tabs? its not in the files.

[@uwood2886]

Help! In the file, my lid file is one large piece that is too large for my print bed. Yours has pieces that you've bolted together. Am I missing something in the file? I have all the parts printed but that one.

[@TheOzembuch]

Hi, nice system and great video work. What if my pump has 1/2" ID outlet, can this be used with 1/2" hose?

[@graychenault1435]

just use an adapter

[@paulpeters324]

great video. i just got a 3d printer (ender 3pro). i want to print one of these. but confused about what settings to change. i know to use petg. and have a infill of 15% and a wall count of 3. and no supports. is this right . HELP.

[@IDreamInMini]

I absolutely love this whole system. However, I finished putting together the lid yesterday and it won't fit on my bucket 😢 Has this happened to anyone else?

[@labmitch]

What would be the 3D printer to get to create a Aquaponic systems. One where it looks like either the aerogarden farm 24xl but with a bigger water collector to put FISH in to Fertilize the water

[@robbinwynings7532]

I wish I had one

[@unknownuser2058]

I'm excited to build my own. But link in the description are broken, not in stock. Can you renew them please? Also, is it safer to use diamond nozzle than steel nozzle for food-safe?

[@chrisz.9974]

What size net cups do you think would fit on there?

[@polskieyt9191]

whats the model of your 3d printer? can you have a video while demo on printing setup. Thanks!

[@Boatnuts14]

What are the names of the files for the parts you used in the video. There are so many options and I’m kinda new to this and want to make sure I get the right files

[@Kachelator]

I love the concept of vertical hydroponics, but I tried a very similar design three years ago with a 3D printed tower from PETG. It worked great in the beginning, but after a while (months) it started growing mold and algae (?) because the print wasn't really solid, but had a lot of little cavities. Maybe works better with a 100% infill -- I used less than that. Pump pressure indeed was significant, my tower was around 150 cm high with a fitting pump. Tell me what you think. And by the wasy, thanks for the video, I am convinced we should explore these technics

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

I found the color of the tower matters. I ended up printing a green tower and didn't have any algae issue. I do take the tower apart and clean it once a season, otherwise, it has held up well.

[@skolker9]

This is so awesome! Going to make this for my mom and for me :) Two things: the link to the 5-gallon bucket does not work, will any 5-gallon bucket work or is there a specific product link you can re-share???? Also, I see you used OVERTURE PETG filament. Do you know if this company's product is FDA approved? I couldn't find that info online so I thought id ask

[@michaelcrippen4298]

Hi there. FDA approved filaments are incredibly expensive and geared toward commercial uses. The consumer grade filament used in this print is not "FDA" approved. The FDM printing process is the weakest link in food safe printing. However, in this application, your not coming in contact with food for consumption, this is being used for farming, like dirt which isn't "FDA" approved either.

[@PawPawsWorkShop]

Is this filament considered food safe?

[@LeroyHaggard]

I currently do not have a printer so where would I find the plans or printer information to print this tower

[@darkmask123]

Any issues with algae and the white color print? Mine seems to develop algae even on the outside i have to clean.

[@bydecko1]

did you printed as they where? or did you scaled up/down?

[@johnhoth5960]

Did I miss the update video? I was wondering how it all went?

[@ElDooderino]

I bought a 3d printer to print this hydroponic system. why buy a system when i can print it myself.... and then lots of other cool things. The printer will arrive tomorrow. I am very excited!

[@mdnghtkr6907]

Curious how long does it take to print everything? And cost of filament

[@robertfares6120]

Is there one type of filament that is better than another for printing the tower?

[@reginaldburnbridge2217]

Is there live protein on mars, can we make burgers up there.

[@RedBreather]

In EU we don't have gallons, we have litres. What is the dimension of the lid? Great video :)

[@MRCreations3D]

I just got a Bambu Lab X1 Carbon. Are you worrier at all for micro plastics getting into the food?

[@solarpunk9994]

Have you thought about using Hemp pla/ filaflex purifier 82a, or olivine pla? The Hemp and olivine filament capture carbon and the filaflex purifies the air

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

I haven't looked at any of those filaments, but thank you for letting me know about them. Sounds like a fun research project!

[@dougdederich]

Can you post a link for them?

[@Mdcilg]

The lid I printed didn't have the little holes did u drill yours out

[@markguiragossian]

hi , how many sections 1 roll of filament can print??

[@tedo3332]

Looks like a 6 foot head pump. That means it will pump your 800 gallons 6ft vertical from the pumps location.

[@domsense]

can someone please tell what elemnts do i need to print exactly to obtain a system like int he video? In the link i see more than 50 elements

[@Andreas-gh6is]

If you don't want to put screws everywhere, just use a soldering iron around 200°C to fuse the parts. Actually works better than screws and most glues, works on any 3D printed material.

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

great tip. I've done that, and also use a 3d printing pen.

[@Sarge92]

@@ALLYOURTECH3DP abs can also be welded using acetone

[@tin2001]

Just don't use a soldering iron tip you want to use for actual soldering. Burnt plastic is hard to properly clean off and it causes all sorts of problems for solder.

[@MrTomac4]

Is pteg safe for growing vegetables etc? I am concerned the plants will absorb plastic material and it may end up in the food. Would love to hear if there is research that has been done here.

[@BearMeat4Dinner]

I like to guess to the area by the trees I see the back yard. 4 season you see snow!???

[@jibawabba2]

Do you sell this 3d printed kit for us that don't have a 3d printer?

[@TheLivebaitdrifter]

You need to print the water deflector that goes on top of the diffuser. That will stop the geyser.

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

It’s in there, I had to restrict the water flow as well from the oversized pump. Otherwise it just blows the deflector off

[@GirlTawk101]

How many rolls of filament did your tower take?

[@VincePolevault]

The like count was at 999 when I got here. Feels good

[@ALLYOURTECH3DP]

Woohoo! Thanks for being number 1,000!