I actually haven't done too many out of town runs lately, so I can't speak to their current conditions and we all know they can go down hill fast. When we use to do our "rounds" and just travel to peak in all the area stores, we went to
Age of Aquariums (Signal Hill)
Eye Candy (Garden Grove)
Amazing Aquariums & Reefs (Orange)
Pacific Reef (Fountain)
Tong's (Fountain)
OC Aquatics (Huntington Beach)
The Aquarium (Culver)
Which side of LA are you going to be predominately staying? There's some I wouldn't make a special trip for, but if it was in your general area, it might be worth the peek.