DIY Hydroponics Garden Tower Build | Less than $150

Working and spending more time at home has recently gotten me more interested in gardening and growing my own vegetables. It has also been a pretty expensive past-time given the amount of materials, soil, and water needed to upkeep and grow a garden.

I looked into cheaper alternatives and started learning more about hydroponics, however, that in itself is also pretty expensive to start. I figured I could build my own hydroponics system on my own for much cheaper.

This is part one of a short series where I start my very first attempt at a hydroponics garden build.

List of materials (not including tools):
Charlotte Pipe PVC Pipe 4-in 10-ft - $18.45
Charlotte Pipe 1/2-in x 10-ft - $2.96
5-Gallon Plastic General Bucket - $3.75
4.25-in Drain Cover - $16.68
4 In. PVC Drain Cap - $2.48
4-in x 4-in Dia Schedule 40 Coupling - $2.91
1/2-in x 1/2-in dia Adapter Adapter PVC Fitting $0.55
4-in x 4-in Dia Schedule 40 Adapter - $8.48
4-in x 4-in Dia Schedule 40 Adapter - $6.48
Yokgrass 800GPH Submersible Pump(3000L/H) - $21.99
Garden 50 Pack Lightweight Economy Net Pot Cups - $8.95
Pure Coconut Coir Netted Pellets 42mm (100 pack) - $23.99

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hydroponics | gardening | vegetables | garden | fruit | seeds | grow | DIY | tools | hydro | soil | plants | sun | pvc | vertical | tower | construction | build | Unboxing | unbox | grow

[jabocjacob]

I’m a hydroponics grower and one thing I’ll recommend is adding some sort of beneficial bacteria like hydroguard. Running the pumps all the time keeps your level of dissolved o2 high, but it also generates a lot of heat. Things can get pretty funky when your water goes above 24° (75°). Also, black buckets keep light out, which keeps algae out. Great build 👍

[Arterexius]

A bit late here, but please use a mask when heating up PVC and _always_ do it outside. PVC will release Chlorine gas when heated up, which, if inhaled, will liquify your lungs, making you drown in the residue from what used to be your lungs. PVC stands for Poly Vinyl Chloride. Always use a mask and be outside, when heating plastics. Always. It's the same reason why Laser cutters _must_ have ventilation that leads through an air filter, before being vented outside and away from the building. Other than that, good video and lots of great tips :)

[robertmiller]

Outstanding! As a retired automotive mechanical designer I have to say you did very well. Your design meets all criteria for a great design! It's inexpensive, light weight and easy to assemble. And for the bonus round, it's attractive in design. Nice work, my hats off to you!

[wshep]

Don't forget the tower will become significantly heavier as the plants grow. So an oversized, heavy reservoir/base is crucial.
You could also use a float valve to maintain water levels - like a toilet tank.
And a liquid solenoid to control nutrient inputs (with a bit of a jump in complexity).

[bmcgc]

Good job. A few suggestions. Cut your 1/2" near the top and use a coupler to reattach the 1/2" and use that lip to hold your diffuser in place, eliminating the need for the extra 4" pieces. There are several pumps that will fit inside the 4" allowing you to drop the pipe all the way to the bottom of the bucket. That will put the weight of the garden on the ground vs the lid. Drill holes in the bottom of the 4" to allow water flow.

[scottrowe]

Hi, Chris —
This is the first of your videos I've watched, and wanted to let you know how impressed I am with your design/construction abilities, as well as your informative (but not boring or dumb) narration skills. This is a really superior DIY tutorial for constructing a hydroponic grow tower and you should be proud of the final product. I hope you will do a follow-up video, once your first vegetables and herbs have been harvested, with more refinements and suggestions for others interested in building the same sort of setup. Thank you again, and I'll be watching. Take care.
👏💯👍

[MegaMemimo]

Chris, thanks for a super "how to" video. Your hydroponic design system works brilliantly. I now grow a variety of "food plants" with great success and also added orchid plants. I have marvellous results thanks to this video you made. 10/10

[TheSingingCelebrant]

DUDE this was amazing and what I love is how down to earth you are no BS just what's needed. Very very well done indeed and even more so that you are trying to reach out and help people who are struggling with enormous food price hikes recently (2022).So, from me all the way over the other side of the pond Thank You sincerely Chris
P.S. you could save a small fortune by growing Stinging nettles and or similar and make your own fertiliser at near Zero Cost

[joegargery]

Chis,
To minimize or eliminate rips at the ends of each cut in the pipe stop drill holes at each end before cutting the slit and do not cut beyond the hole (this would create a stress point increasing the likelihood of a rip).

Make the holes equal to or slightly greater than the kerf width of your saw cut.


Otherwise a very nice job.

[silvioschroeter_tesla]

Hello from Germany . You can use propylalcohol or isopropanol to clean the pipes from the lettermarkings. Normaly the markings are printed so you dont have to clean it by sanding. I think i will do something like this hydroponic in a smaler scale. Nice work.

[NorKavon]

I have some commercial grow towers. They are all minimum 20 gallons for the reservoir. This is very important for stability from heavy plants or wind. It's also important to have enough liquid to buffer the nutrient solution temperature changes. Your success will depend on controlling the nutrient solution temp. I user an aquarium heater in the winter and cooling in the summer. Lastly, plants near maturity will use much more water and nutrients than you think. Currently my towers with 20 broccoli and cauliflower plants use 5 gallons per week. Nice job on the build and good luck.

[bocfat]

was smiling throughout the video at your clever, humble and detailed ingenuity, and then you took the time to share it. Thank You KB, Clev, OH

[jeffw]

Thanks so much for demonstrating how to make the 2" pot openings on the 4" PVC pipe. I've seen the end result many times...just never actually saw how they were formed. Nice job!

[gballmaier]

Love it when people like you do all the work to bring the cost of something I consider essential down to where we can afford it. Great job!

[tc]

You have taught me so very much ! And yes those other towers are very expensive ! And the way you built it is fantastic ! I am a disabled vietnam veteran but I love to build new things ! Thank you so very. Much !

[universityinstructorj.p.sm]

My 7 year old was fascinated while I was watching this. Spectacular.

[cindygordon]

Wow, this is SUCH a great video! You give just the right amount of detail but don't make it boring - thank you!!!

[kaitymcclary]

I would love to see how this turned out, or any updated changes you may have made if necessary. This looks amazing, so much more sustainable than using soil as far as water consumption goes; thank you for sharing!

[rafaelmolina]

You're a modern day hero buddy. Great job. Thank you so much. It looks so pretty, innovative, space saving, cost efficient and not too complicated to build. True job well done 👍

[debragwynn]

Thank you Chris! You are a natural in front of a camera. It is refreshing and we really enjoyed this. Can't wait for the next video!