Living on a canal in western washington - new to octopus

[Amber]

Hello,

A little bit of info. We are starting to do research regarding keeping a octopus and a few other small (edible) friends. We love the Pacific Northwest, and are into boating, fishing, crabbing, and raising our 3 year old twin daughters. We live on the water and have a 42 foot Chris Craft in our back yard. We are in the process of running electric and fresh water down to our dock, which started the brainstorming possobilities of running an intake and drain hoses up to the house and into custom aquariums. We have a large closet that we figure we could get at least a 250 gallon if not more plus two 55 gallon alcoves we want to connect with piping for the big guy to travel about. The sea life down at our dock is amazing, not to mention great crabbing, now we just want to figure out if our dream is possible to bring this life indoors so we can enjoy it during the stormy season as well. All replys greatly apprecitatied. We have both kept saltwater pets in the past but never using a system that comes straight from nature.

Looking forward to learning more,
Amber and Merritt

[tonmo]

Welcome Amber! It would be AWESOME if you were to give yourself such a setup. I'm sure our community can help.

[Nancy]

Hi and welcome to TONMO.com!

Well, people do this - I've heard of it. Some public aquariums may do this kind of flow through, too. Others go further out to sea and bring back water from miles offshore.

Some things you might think of are filtration, will the water stay cool enough or do you need a chiller, will it constantly circulate, etc. Best is that you find someone doing this and see what they've set up. Maybe your local Marine Aquarium Society could help, or try public aquariums or research institutes. Sounds like you're thinking of a big octo like a Giant Pacific.

Perhaps we even have TONMO.com member with experience in this area.

Sounds exciting - nice place to live, too.

Nancy

[Colin]

Thats got my imagination going...

you could put it on a leash and take it paddling everyday... :)

But to be honest, what you are proposing is a great idea and many sea life centres use that system but they dont run 24x7. Thats because they dont always want the water at certain tide times etc when polution or silt is at its peak...

C

[cthulhu77]

Welcome to Tonmo! All of us stuck in our respective deserts are green with envy! Sounds like a great project...
greg

[Mushroom Boy]

Sounds like an interesting idea Amber. The aquarium at the Point Defiance Zoo does something similar to what you're proposing. Also, check with the Seattle Aquarium, they've got a very LARGE pump station at the end of the pier that brings in large quantities of Elliott Bay water for their systems. They run the water through a series of very large sand filtration systems, though, before they enter their tanks. Just some food for thought.... HTH

Paul