Desktop Hydroponic System | Modular RDWC

prusaprinters

Modular Recirculating Deep Water Culture Hydroponic SystemI need to get a pump so I can get some images of it running. Check back later.This is my modular recirculating deep water culture (RDWC/DWC) system for your desk or window sill, or anywhere else you can set it up. If you are new to hydroponics see my attached pdf “Intro to hydroponics”This system can be set up a number of different ways, it all depends on how much room you have, the type of system you want, how many plants you have, and what look you are going for. You can set up a single DWC bucket with an air stone or multiple DWC buckets with air stones. Or, you can set up a 2 bucket RDWC system, or a 3 bucket RDWC drip fed system, or a 5 bucket RDWC system with or without drip feed. It's up to you.Choosing your pump setup is important. You can have a submersible pump submerged in a bucket with the outlet connected directly to one of the tubes to achieve a bottom recirculating system. Or, you can have a submersible pump submerged in a bucket with the outlet connected to a manifold feeding ¼" tubing for drip feed lines through the lid. Or, you can have a non-submersible pump sitting outside of the buckets with the inlet and outlet directly connected to tubes or buckets to achieve a bottom recirculating system. Or, you can have a non submersible pump sitting outside of the buckets with the inlet connected to a tube or bucket and the outlet connected to a manifold feeding ¼" tubing for drip feed lines. Almost everything for the system can be 3D printed; buckets, pots, grommets, pipes, drip rings. The only things you will need to buy are a small water pump, submersible or not. And, if you want a drip fed system,  ¼" tubing to feed the drip rings is required, and an air pump/air stone to oxygenate the reservoir bucket are recommended.This is a list of things needed to get a solid start in hydroponics. Just some stuff I found real quick. A thorough search can yield cheaper products and volumes of nutrients more suitable to a desktop garden, and various hydroponic mediums exist, choose your favorite.Need?Equipment$My Thoughtsyeswater pump$16you can find cheaper pumps, this is adjustablemaybeair pump$15most water pumps come with venturi adapter to oxygenate water, air pumps are a maybe for this noclay pellets$14way way waaaaaaaay more than you need, use clean gravel if you have toyespH / TDS meter combo$12cheapest I could find on amazon, great combo, reviews seem goodyesNutrient solution / pH balance combo$54this amount of nutrient solution and pH balance will last a looooong time in this size garden Buckets are labeled as follows - Bucket [# of ports] - [degrees of separation]                                                   e.g. Bucket 2-60; Bucket 2[ports] - 60[degrees apart]Lids are labeled as follows - Lid P [power cord] - # [A for air hose ports] - # [O for water out lines]                                                                                        e.g. Lid P-2A-2O; Lid P[power cord] - 2A[2 air line ports] - 2O[2 water out ports]Buckets only require supports for the center-most portion of the ports. The bridging there is lengthy and it needs to be printed clean for a good seal. Lids don't require supports. Decide which lids you need; how many out lines, air line or no air line.Pots come in 2mm and 3mm basket thicknesses, choose whichever you think you need. Both are plenty durable, and neither require supports.Grommets are to be printed in flexible filament, a softer filament will seal better, however standard grommets are what the ports were modeled around and should work no problem. If printing grommets, make sure you can remove the supports cleanly to ensure a good seal. If you can't achieve a good seal, or are just worried about your desk being flooded, use some silicone sealant on the inner seams; bucket>grommet>pipe.If you buy grommets, they need to be wet-location snap-in sealing grommets, fit a hole diameter of 25.2mm, have an ID of 16mm, and fit a material thickness of 2mm. Grommets with these dimensions will be the closest fitting grommets and come in ~.15mm looser than the 3D printed grommets ( I tightened the tolerances a bit to get a better seal with my harder flex filament, unless you achieve 100% dimensional accuracy in your prints, you should be fine).Pipes can be printed at the modeled length, which should be a good distance for plant growth, but you can just stop the print early once it reaches your desired length.Plant stake fits into the center of the drip ring, they are suited to full sized and 75% versions. Takes a little wriggling as you fold.Drip ring is for ¼" tubing. Its a tight fit, but it might still leak due to layer lines. If it does, I suggest using some twist-tie or zip-ties to get a good seal. Drip ring seams could leak under higher pressures and may need to be glued or sealed in some way.75% scaled files have correct tolerances. I only included the thicker pot in these files. A small pump should fit in the buckets without issues.If you need a custom bucket or lid, send me a message with the # of ports, degrees of separation and/or locations, and I'll see what I can do.