Modular Hydroponics Tower w/ Grow Lights

Intro

This is a modified version of boundarycondition's Modular Hydroponic Tower Garden and some features of ghoofman's Smart IoT Modular Hydroponic Tower Garden.

I finally decided to upload my remix of boundarycondition's Modular Hydroponic Tower Garden. I initially just planned to do a make, but soon I decided to invest some time and modify the project to suit my needs and capabilities.

What I intended was:

I wanted to utilize the space as much as possible and this meant that I needed a tower at least 6 feet tall. Thus, the base of the tower had to be extra stable to support the weight of the tower. I might have overengineered the base to make it extra stiff, but it worked!

I have a Prusa MINI+, which has a fairly small bed (180mmx180mm). This somewhat complicated things.

Due to the weather I live in, I needed to place the tower indoors. This required the use of grow lights. I couldn't find a grow light holder that fit my print bed and could, in the future, be extended further outward as the plants grow.

• Finally, the project had to be modular and easily upgradeable.

Thankfully, I have decent experience with Solidworks. Thus, I downloaded the STEP files from the two aforementioned projects and modified a few parts. The pot lid and the LED supports were entirely my creation.

I'll provide a link to the STEP files in case someone wants to keep modifying the project.

The tower has been up and running for a week now. It has 8 4-way planting modules and 3 spacers. It is surprisingly stable and I plan to add at least a couple more modules once the plants grow a bit more. The pump I'm using is more than capable of pumping enough water all the way to the top. Right now, I'm using only 3 42W 4ft LED grow lights, but I add 3 more for a total of 6 if needed. The grow lights are pretty well secured from the bottom with the arms I designed.

I'm also gonna provide a parts list in case anyone doesn't want to do all the research looking for the specific pump or lights needed.

Hope this helps!

Printing Recommendations

These are the print setting I used. Feel free to modify them if you see fit:

• Printer: Prusa MINI+
• Filament: PETG
• Layer Height: 0.25mm
• Infill: 20% (except the lid and the LED arms, which are 50% for extra strength)
• Print Speed: > 40mm/s
• Supports: Not needed (except for the LED arm tip, which has to be printed vertically)
• Print bed: 18'mmx180mm (if your print bed is larger, you can print a 3-way planting module.
• Brims: Yes
• Perimeters: 3 (makes it watertight and adds extra strength)

Recommended Parts

I will share a link to an Amazon shopping list with all the parts and supplies required. The most important elements are:

IKEA 9 1/2" MUSLOT pot: I usually fill it with 2.5-3 gallons of water.

EcoPlus 290 GPH (1098 LPH, 17W) Submersible Water Pump: The current tower is about 5 feet tall and the pump could go up to 6 feet whilñe still delivering enough flow

4ft Barrina T8 LED grow light 42W: These are not the best grow lights, but I'm just getting started and I wanted to get some affordable lights to get started. You can install up to 6 grow lights.

• Kasa smart Plug: I use these smart plugs to control the scheduling of the lights and pump according to the plants I'm growing and their growth stage.

In addition, the following screws are needed:

9x #8-32 x 1-1/2 in. machine screws & nuts (for the LED arms)

• 24x #10-32 x 1 in. machine screws & nuts (for the lid)

Obviously, you can find alternatives and/or better components. This is just a guide.

STEP files

The STEP files for this project can be found here.

Minimum Build

At the very least, you need the following parts:

• 1x 4-Way_Planting_Module_Hollow_Twist.STL
• 1x Dispenser_Module_Internal.STL
• 1x Filling_Cap.STL
• 1x Filling_Cap_Symbol.STL
• 3x IKEA_Muskot_24cm_Petal.STL
• 1x IKEA_Muskot_24cm_Petal_Plain.STL
• 2x IKEA_Muskot_24cm_Petal_w_Hole.STL
• 3x LED_Holder_Arm.STL
• 3x LED_Holder_Attachment.STL
• 3x LED_Holder_Tip.STL
• 1x Lid_Without_Holes.STL
• 1x Module_Spacer_40mm.STL (it goes at the bottom of the tower to provide enough clearance to open the watering and pump caps).
• 1x Pump_Cap.STL
• 1x Pump_Cap_Symbol.STL
• 4x Standard_Pot_02_For_4-5-Way_Planting_Module.STL