Carlos Villamar started his backyard aquaponics system 2 years ago and has a lot to share about his journey! An electrical engineer and patent attorney by trade, he had never been a gardener in his life before aquaponics. Listen as we discuss geyser pumps, designing for redundancy, external bell siphons, black soldier fly larvae composters, and how he got his system up and running from idea to plants in less than 6 months. We talk about his choice to make his system modular, his mistakes with overstocking the system with fish before it had cycled, problems with algae and how he solved them, and even sensor apps to collect data like pH, ammonia, and water temperature to your phone. He also discusses the lessons learned about building a greenhouse AFTER building his system, and how he converted a carport into a Chinese solar-styled greenhouse using Thermashield and triple-paned polycarbonate. Find out what tool he used to determine where to put his greenhouse to maximize Southern exposure for the best sunlight year-round. Finally, listen about how he grew pink oyster mushrooms in his aquaponic system! This is part 1 of his journey into backyard aquaponics. You can find his albums at OU812 Aquaponics here: https://www.facebook.com/Ou812Aquaponics

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