Twin 72’s vs HP133

[ZephyrNYC]

My urchin team and I are always looking for ways to stay down longer and clear more urchins. Nothing worse than filling a bag or two then running out of air when there’s work to still be done. We’re finding that smaller tanks just don’t cut it. We work hard and blow through a LOT of air sometimes, so we’re always on a quest for more air.
So, my idea was to put together a set of double 72’s instead of looking into something like an HP133. One reason is because I already have the 72’s and the manifold.
I’ve used those massive single tanks before but my experience was that after a certain point in size and diameter they become kind of unwieldy and have a tendency to turtle you. Is there such a thing as a single tank that is too big?
With twin LP 72’s, even at 2250 psi that would still be like having a 130, and upwards from there at 2475 I’d have a 144.
Steel 72’s end up about neutral. I don’t know what a 133 ends up at.
Solid bar center outlet manifolds are not that bulky and I’d be using a thin yoke Conshelf XI on it which are small and light.
It seems like 72’s would balance a little better in the water being two smaller lower profile tanks on each side.
My only concern is how heavy they would be doing beach entry/exits? How much heavier would they be than a single HP133 on land?
I suppose it also matters what brand of 133 and how thick the steel is.
I need to be careful with my hip.

Do you ever do urchin clearing in SoCal? I've heard that there isn't a purple urchin problem here but I'm not sure.

 

[Still Kicking]

Do you ever do urchin clearing in SoCal? I've heard that there isn't a purple urchin problem here but I'm not sure.

I will let Eric respond for himself but there have been a few attempts to control urchin populations in Southern California, most notably one long-standing project in the '80s and '90s at White Point, Palos Verdes, led by a guy named Paul Meister. I believe it was a culling project (hammers) and it was controversial because some said it was effectively causing urchins to spawn.

From a personal perspective, I no longer see the extensive urchin barrens in So Cal that I saw when I started diving in the 1990s.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Do you ever do urchin clearing in SoCal? I've heard that there isn't a purple urchin problem here but I'm not sure.

Socal is under different rules than Northern California. Up here in three counties we are allowed to take 40 gallons per day per person no possession limit. In Socal they are only allowed to take 35 individual urchins. They would need special permits and or exemptions to be able to cull or clear like we do up here.
The problem is the people in charge are always about 10 years too late to initiate any sort of action.
It takes an act of god and even then it's at a glacial pace to get any meaningful legislation.
About the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced in my entire life.

 

[Still Kicking]

Socal is under different rules than Northern California. Up here in three counties we are allowed to take 40 gallons per day per person no possession limit. In Socal they are only allowed to take 35 individual urchins. They would need special permits and or exemptions to be able to cull or clear like we do up here.
The problem is the people in charge are always about 10 years too late to initiate any sort of action.
It takes an act of god and even then it's at a glacial pace to get any meaningful legislation.
About the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced in my entire life.

I should not really comment because I wasn't directly involved and was only vaguely aware of the project but I believe the divers smashed as many urchins as they could. I don't know if Fish and Wildlife (then Fish and Game) were aware or if they turned a blind eye.

It was commonly held that urchins were a menace and destroying as many as possible by any means necessary was beneficial to the environment. Different times.

Certainly things were out of balance. One thing that has changed since then is the banning of nearshore gill nets -- which has led to an increase in the population of natural urchin predators, such as sheephead.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

I should not really comment because I wasn't directly involved and was only vaguely aware of the project but I believe the divers smashed as many urchins as they could. I don't know if Fish and Wildlife (then Fish and Game) were aware or if they turned a blind eye.

It was commonly held that urchins were a menace and destroying as many as possible by any means necessary was beneficial to the environment. Different times.

Certainly things were out of balance. One thing that has changed since then is the banning of nearshore gill nets -- which has led to an increase in the population of natural urchin predators, such as sheephead.

We really need the giant sunflower stars back in order for there to be any purple urchin control.
We don't have sheephead up here. We used to have otters but the Russians wiped them out to extinction back in the 1800's. All attempts at repopulating then otters has failed because the southern otters are not the same species that were up here which were the northern otters which were bigger and had thicker pelts. Every new crop of starry eyed young marine scientists with their fancy PhD's thinks they have the answer to it all and every time it fails. All they do is send more southern otters to their death up in no mans land.
They also put all sorts of weird rules and have weird ideas about purple urchins because they are not invasive just overpopulated right now. But there are trillions of them. I see just one cove how bad it is then think about the entire coastline and it's overwhelming. I wish some of those "experts" were divers so they could actually see what's going on but I don't think any of them even know how to swim. Most or all are just desk drivers.
It's miracle that we even have a 40 gallon limit. All of that is thanks to the Waterman's Alliance and their constant badgering at the meetings until DFW finally got sick of them and gave them what they want.
So, we do what we can and when I have time I will go to the commission and stand up there repeatedly like Josh did and state my case along with miles of submitted paperwork. I want the limit removed on Purple urchins state wide and a declaration of disaster for the kelp forests.

 

[Still Kicking]

We really need the giant sunflower stars back in order for there to be any purple urchin control.
We don't have sheephead up here. We used to have otters but the Russians wiped them out to extinction back in the 1800's. All attempts at repopulating then otters has failed because the southern otters are not the same species that were up here which were the northern otters which were bigger and had thicker pelts. Every new crop of starry eyed young marine scientists with their fancy PhD's thinks they have the answer to it all and every time it fails. All they do is send more southern otters to their death up in no mans land.
They also put all sorts of weird rules and have weird ideas about purple urchins because they are not invasive just overpopulated right now. But there are trillions of them. I see just one cove how bad it is then think about the entire coastline and it's overwhelming. I wish some of those "experts" were divers so they could actually see what's going on but I don't think any of them even know how to swim. Most or all are just desk drivers.
It's miracle that we even have a 40 gallon limit. All of that is thanks to the Waterman's Alliance and their constant badgering at the meetings until DFW finally got sick of them and gave them what they want.
So, we do what we can and when I have time I will go to the commission and stand up there repeatedly like Josh did and state my case along with miles of submitted paperwork. I want the limit removed on Purple urchins state wide and a declaration of disaster for the kelp forests.

Did they ever try bringing down sea otters from Alaska? Those beasts are huge. Of course they might vacuum up every living thing on the bottom and we'd be worse off. It certainly would not be good for ab recovery.