Since July my tanks have been a lot cleaner. I have not used my new water testers yet, but the water change according to Dave brought my phosphorous way down, which is probably why I had a green algae explosion. He gave me some RODI water from his shop to top things off until I get a fix on my RODI system (add another canister). Everything is doing well.
Just came back from a trip to Catalina and brought back a few limpets and a couple of Moon snails. The larger one has died, but cannot rule out being eaten. Penny was nosing around it. The other one is doing well. I brought back two wavy tops, both of which are eating algae off the glass and rocks. At Catalina I held a calico seabass for a couple of days (legal sized) before letting it go. It was quite active, so I believe my bait/specimen tank is working well, providing enough oxygen and flow – water constantly recirculates from the side of the boat. I also brought some bubble algae (which on return my large sea hare promptly gobbled down) and Feather Boa Kelp (Egregia) which was has also been eaten. I also added some Codium fragile and some Sargassum (which has not established). On my return I added two purple urchins and a farmed black abalone that I got from Catalina Offshore (a seafood wholesaler) all for $6.40. By the pound. Hopefully, I can give them a better life rather than getting eaten right away. The urchins moved around the tank for a while but are now parked out in the hollow under my largest rock, working on a strand of Macrocyctis. They are doing quite well. The abalone has a quarter sized oval wound on the center of its foot from being moved. Interestingly it has part of the foot and mantle folded over it, as if it is protecting it. (see photo) I just put it into a floating pan with brown kelp and feather boa,
so others will not bother it. It was eating a little bit before that scraping algae off the glass. I will monitor.
In a week Aquatica will be coming back to complete modifications. They will be fixing the drain slits in my Octopus tank so one will not be able to squeeze through, add another filtering canister, change the touch tank skimmer to a larger one (other one is inadequate and is constantly bubbling over, negating any benefits), and looking at changing pump to a right-sized one with variable speed control and a built-in battery for power outages. Evidently, the current pump is too large and creates a leak possibility in the future. The plumbing changes size 3 times, which puts added pressure on the system. Also, adding a simple one way valve to both tanks to stop water from draining back into the sumps when the power is off and causing a flood (already has happened!).
My Cowries look good and have been moving around the tank a lot. They do not favor any one place in the rocks. Occasionally I will put them in a floating pan with some frozen fish food and different types of algae to make sure they are getting enough food. The pans are nice because I can monitor by the poop how much they have eaten.
Off to Catalina again this Saturday and possibly some new specimens! Will be diving with friends there.
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