Journal · Studio Builder

Design your vertical grow tower before you buy one

By Anthony Tanaka · October 12, 2026

A reader asked me recently whether it was worth buying a vertical grow tower for a 5 by 7 ft balcony setup. The honest answer was: it depends on the pump, the reservoir, where the plants get afternoon light, and whether the tower actually fits around the two other things she already had out there. I couldn't tell her from a photo. She couldn't tell from the product page either.

That gap, between this looks cool and will this actually work in my space, is the reason I built the Aquaponics Studio Builder in the first place. You lay out your space to scale, drop in the equipment you're considering, and see whether it fits before you spend any money.

Today, V-Gro's modular 5-tier tower is available as a component inside the Builder.

V-Gro 5-tier vertical tower placed in a Studio Builder layout, shown in 3D view with plants rendered
A V-Gro tower placed in a sample layout inside the Studio Builder. The 3D preview reads directly off V-Gro's CAD model, so what you see is what ships.

What that means in practice

You can:

  • Drop the tower into a 2D plan of your actual space, whether that's a greenhouse, balcony, backyard, or garage.
  • Open the 3D view and rotate around it, so you know how it reads from each side.
  • Add a reservoir, pump, lights, and the rest of a working system around it.
  • See whether your pump has enough head pressure to feed water to the top tier. The Builder calculates it.
  • Try different crop combinations per tier and get a care schedule.

And here's the real thing, planted up.

A V-Gro modular vertical tower planted with herbs, with a hand setting a net cup of mint into one of the ports
A V-Gro tower being planted with herbs. Photo courtesy of V-Gro.

Design yours first

Before you buy, open the Studio and lay out what the system would actually look like in your space. It's free to use and no sign-in is required to start.

Open the Studio Builder

A few honest notes on the integration

The 3D rendering of the V-Gro tower inside the Builder was built from the actual CAD model V-Gro supplied, so the port sockets, the IKEA SORTERA reservoir base they're designed around, and the overall proportions all read like the real product. It is not a stock asset or a loose approximation.

The Builder stays free. It will stay free. The V-Gro integration is one of several ways Akari Farms covers the hosting bill. We only get paid if you decide the tower is actually right for you.

If you do try either the Builder or the tower, I'd love to hear how it went.

Thanks,

Anthony

This post contains an affiliate link. Akari Farms may earn a commission on purchases made through the link or the code AKARI, at no additional cost to you. V-Gro is a product of Nanoco Ventures LLC and is not affiliated with Akari Farms beyond this listing partnership.