Making a 3d printable hydroponics system for my window sill

Making a 3d printable hydroponics system for my window sill

Since I am really bad at watering my plants, I wanted to create some automatic system for that.

Here’s my first hydroponic system, 3d printable and fully automated.

You can download the design on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4540792
(it includes the Fusion 360 project files, so it is adaptable to your liking).

My 3D printers:
Creality Ender 3
Elegoo Mars

My video equipment:
Camera: Panasonic LUMIX GH5
Lenses:
Panasonic Lumix G H-H020 20mm f/1.7
Panasonic LUMIX G Vario Lens, 7-14mm, F4.0
Panasonic LUMIX G Vario Lens, 14-140mm, F3.5-5.6
Main light: Viltrox L116T and a self-built studio LED panel
Fill lights: Godox LED64
Micropone: RØDE smartLav+ and RØDE Wireless Go

50 Comments

  1. Gregory Carrier on May 21, 2022 at 12:06 am

    Fun! My purchased flood/drain system uses separate pots filled with media, making it easy to remove or swap one or more. Flood/drain are great for root crops like radish and beets.



  2. sr3tb on May 21, 2022 at 12:06 am

    What program are you using to model?



  3. weng03 Plays on May 21, 2022 at 12:09 am

    Hi there, how are you able to print a watertight container?



  4. Matthew B on May 21, 2022 at 12:11 am

    Pretty cool idea. Would love to see a setup for a flood and drain system using a bell siphon sitting on top of a fishbowl. Tick rock times a waistin’ 🙂



  5. Andy Koehler on May 21, 2022 at 12:13 am

    This is so cool! you did a wonderful job! could i suggest a bell siphon in the center, it would also leave a small pool as well kinda like a dutch bucket! best of both worlds!



  6. liamm on May 21, 2022 at 12:13 am

    This was randomly recommended to me randomly but probably because i have been interested in propagation, bonsai trees, terrariums, and mainly 3D printing recently.
    Looks like the algorithm is on your side right now.. thanks for the quality content!



  7. DJ Deckard Cain on May 21, 2022 at 12:15 am

    Love how the cat is like whatcha doin hoooooooooman?



  8. Analogcolor on May 21, 2022 at 12:16 am

    Is the resin food safe? Id worry about it leaching into the water



  9. Hannah Walters on May 21, 2022 at 12:17 am

    Hey this is awesome!!! When I saw the video quality I just assumed you were a massive channel, this is great!!! Is the trashbag/3d plastic foodsafe? Or is there a resin you can coat with that is foodsafe?
    Thank you for sharing the file!!! I look forward to trying this 😀 I have a lot of large outdoor NFT/kratky/DWC systems but not flood/drain yet. I love the idea of trying with a small one like this!!!



  10. Rizqi Fadlilah on May 21, 2022 at 12:17 am

    Cooll!!



  11. cho4d on May 21, 2022 at 12:19 am

    the roots will get anywhere they can. those little drain holes included. in time, she will stop draining and dump the water out.



  12. Nico S. on May 21, 2022 at 12:22 am

    Nice project, I had the same idea a few weeks ago, but I lost the interest. Haha 😅



  13. vaibhav karar on May 21, 2022 at 12:24 am

    it was A Verry Good Content



  14. glouisfr on May 21, 2022 at 12:24 am

    brilliant idea and I don’t have a 3D printer but fair play for sharing the plans. Maybe one day … Love the kittens but do you have another video on your system for turn on/off the water pump?



  15. TheSonbroly on May 21, 2022 at 12:27 am

    Dehner
    Marken-
    qualität



  16. Durahl on May 21, 2022 at 12:29 am

    Mhh… I think a better working solution, and one possible due to it being 3D printed, would be to change the formerly open nature of the waterway at the top and close it entirely with small holes pointing inwards through which the water gets injected into the main section housing the plants ( and a large overflow siphon at the opposite end to feed overpressure water back into the system ).
    Regarding the filter either consider mounting it to the bottom using magnets for easy removal or relocating it to the pump inlet? Could possibly also section the bottom into a bunch of chambers where the debris filled water would fall into the first section with some debris flowing to the bottom before overflowing into the next chamber and so on until it reaches the pump. I’d also consider the installation of a floater marking the water level ( of the last tank with the pump ) or maybe a transparent wall section to show the water level like that? Ya kno’… Overengineered stuff https://imgur.com/gallery/ZYpHEk9 😁



  17. Bob Wareham on May 21, 2022 at 12:31 am

    The cat was the best bit of the video



  18. Сергей on May 21, 2022 at 12:32 am

    Hello. Try adding a Bell Siphons to your system instead of a drain hole. such as this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia1BQFTaG7c&ab_channel=RobBob%27sAquaponics%26BackyardFarm. You will also have to increase the size of the water reservoir equal to or larger than the size of your substrate reservoir.



  19. Graham Wesson on May 21, 2022 at 12:33 am

    Hey I just an idea you could have used a water Cypher



  20. micha egi on May 21, 2022 at 12:35 am

    This is a cool design.
    Regarding the trashbag: I would fold it without cutting, so it’s perfectly closed without tape.
    Hope your kittens don’t use it as drinking fountain after adding nutriens.



  21. paul ciranni on May 21, 2022 at 12:37 am

    ok so could you instead of having a sensor to drain the water could you do like a bell siphion ?



  22. Jamil Khan on May 21, 2022 at 12:39 am

    power it using a solar panel



  23. Andy on May 21, 2022 at 12:40 am

    What’s nutrition solution did you use? And where you get it?



  24. Code Blue on May 21, 2022 at 12:40 am

    I used to make these for ahhm reasons. you want a pump that can feed into the bottom end with an overflow tube at the top; run the pump for 5mins to 15mins , stop pump, it drains back out via the pump. set to flood between 2-5 times per day depending on medium. the benefit of this method is you can use a cheap segment timer (15min sgements) to automate the filling and no need to stop when its filled as it will run into the overflow.



  25. E. Matt Armstrong on May 21, 2022 at 12:40 am

    I like the idea, try and use a bell siphon. Maybe one could be 3d printed…



  26. Bambeakz on May 21, 2022 at 12:41 am

    Does anyone calculate in how much such a pump use over a year? I see so many people use that kind of things on YouTube for a couple of plants.

    A pump on a solar panel would make this much more economic viable.



  27. AndreaFromTokyo on May 21, 2022 at 12:42 am

    now loose the bottom part and replace it with a nano aquarium, both your plants and fish will love it



  28. Manuel Lübeck on May 21, 2022 at 12:43 am

    Hey! Nice Video. Can you add what kind of pump you used and what sensor you used? Maby a detaild version how you can automate it



  29. Graham Wesson on May 21, 2022 at 12:44 am

    Bell Siphon sorry



  30. Ebony Black on May 21, 2022 at 12:44 am

    Kittens had best reaction. Also a ‘greedy cup’ design might work too, then it drains when it gets to a certain fill automatically.



  31. John Rodrigues on May 21, 2022 at 12:45 am

    What kind of resin did you paint this reservoir with? Was it one that had to be cured with a black light?



  32. Chris L on May 21, 2022 at 12:45 am

    If you drained from slightly above the bottom, the drainage rate would be easier to get right. A typical Dutch bucket allows for some water retention at the base so that there’s always water at the roots and nit just in the reservoir.

    Adding a bell siphon would be helpful if you want to go with more of an ebb and flow style of setup.



  33. MrMarzworld927 on May 21, 2022 at 12:45 am

    water pump? and what mm nozzle are your walls being printed at??



  34. Sebastián Miranda on May 21, 2022 at 12:46 am

    hi, i love the video. what is the software you use to 3d modeling?



  35. VoCoZeMozna on May 21, 2022 at 12:46 am

    Love this! Great work



  36. just_here to_nap on May 21, 2022 at 12:47 am

    what did you use as a growing medium



  37. Lu Peters on May 21, 2022 at 12:48 am

    I’d recommend using food safe plastics or coatings for everything, if you plan on eating from your planter. Plastics can contain unhealthy chemicals and I would not run the risk of accidentally accumulating those in my food. Same goes for duct tape or any other glue. The more chemical inert the building materials are the better.



  38. RikusNel on May 21, 2022 at 12:50 am

    Just an idea, but id replace the holes with a siphon. This will ensure that small particles wont clog the tiny holes



  39. The hype Kid on May 21, 2022 at 12:51 am

    nice!



  40. PrintsAndPrints on May 21, 2022 at 12:53 am

    Hey ho, that is a great video. Do you use PLA for the printing? With my hydroponics systems I am trying to switch to PETG as it is according to the technical data sheet pretty water resistant. I also love the dedication how long you have had the water running on the floor 😀

    Have you made any further hydroponics 3d-printing systems yet?



  41. Catbus_Driver on May 21, 2022 at 12:56 am

    Es gibt wohl noch deutsche die (gute) Ideen haben.



  42. Dan Sharp on May 21, 2022 at 12:57 am

    Really liking this design! Just getting into hydroponics and been looking for a 3d printable flood and drain system so this looks perfect! One question, where did you get the water sensor from? What make is it as it looks exactly the sort of thing I want to use? Thanks and good job on the design!



  43. Natalie Mae on May 21, 2022 at 12:58 am

    Love this, Will be putting this on my list of to dos.

    i will try to make one out of fiberglass reinforced concrete and a bell siphon sounds like a great idea.



  44. Nicolas Retief on May 21, 2022 at 12:59 am

    It could be better with a bell siphon, this way you can leave the pump always on and whenever the water reaches the height you want it wil automatically self drain so it can star over



  45. DVS on May 21, 2022 at 1:00 am

    You should do a bell siphon when water reaches the top it will drain very quickly. And it wil never overflow



  46. [TW] Nate Lo on May 21, 2022 at 1:02 am

    What resin do you use? Is it food safe? Thanks!



  47. Sergio A. Ortiz B. on May 21, 2022 at 1:02 am

    cat ♥



  48. Jeremy C Barnhart on May 21, 2022 at 1:02 am

    Printer used?



  49. SeamusHarper1234 on May 21, 2022 at 1:03 am

    Ah, its like 1,5 cm too wide to print it on my Anycubic xD



  50. Sumguje on May 21, 2022 at 1:05 am

    What a nice kitty.