Aquarium Diving

[Aquatic Eagle]

For myself I do a lot of pool work. I am not an instructor but am good friends with one so I often volunteer to go to the pool sessions with him to help supervise the students, answer questions and help out in any way I can. This allows me the opportunity to often drill scenarios such as OOA scenarios ect. This I believe has made me a better more prepared diver when I do hit the open water.

I do not however count any of these pool dives toward my dive experience or even log them at all. The experience while may not count on paper but it does show through on skill and comfort in the open water.

I believe this would also apply to you. While you may not receive any formal credit for these aquarium dives the skills you learn and fine tune there will carry with you in the open water and make you a better diver where a divemaster and dive buddy would notice your enhanced skills.

Well, I'm an instructor and I work with a lot of divers who are only OW certified. One of them asked me how it would work if they only had their training dives and then several hundred aquarium dives and they wanted to go for AOW. I told them that they need more OW dives before they can get the AOW but that I would probably expect more out of them since they had so many aquarium dives. I just wanted to find out here what everyone would say in that situation. Thanks so much to everyone for your input.

 

[jjhill]

Well, I'm an instructor and I work with a lot of divers who are only OW certified. One of them asked me how it would work if they only had their training dives and then several hundred aquarium dives and they wanted to go for AOW. I told them that they need more OW dives before they can get the AOW but that I would probably expect more out of them since they had so many aquarium dives. I just wanted to find out here what everyone would say in that situation. Thanks so much to everyone for your input.

Yeah, that's basically the same thought I had. The aquarium dives would not replace OW dives but the experience he gained in the aquarium would likely show when the diver gets to more advanced course.

It may not count for anything "official" but it should make the person more comfortable and better prepared for OW dives. Interesting question none the less.

 

[daryl1967]

i say log them! there is a Aquarium cert.
I know thy have a specialty cert. out in Newport Oregon at the aquarium. I think it was a "padi" cert. the instructor was from Portland Oregon area!
I talked with him there was requirements & you had to give time to the aquarium to do the class!
I'm a divemaster i would not look at just time in the aquarium i to would also look at open water dives and cert. level thy have & time in water (time under water is time under water) I would probably expect more out of them to!

 

[Puffer Fish]

Well, I'm an instructor and I work with a lot of divers who are only OW certified. One of them asked me how it would work if they only had their training dives and then several hundred aquarium dives and they wanted to go for AOW. I told them that they need more OW dives before they can get the AOW but that I would probably expect more out of them since they had so many aquarium dives. I just wanted to find out here what everyone would say in that situation. Thanks so much to everyone for your input.

I am with you on this one... very different diving than most OW (well, except the pond diving parallel).

I would still log them.. as they, as you have pointed out, reflect experience. Valuable experience that only a few ever get to learn...

 

[soonerwink]

I was just wondering if you use tanks? In the Oklahoma Aquarium we use a hooka system, hoses attached to a compressor on one end and a 2nd stage reg on the other.

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

i say log them! there is a Aquarium cert.
I know thy have a specialty cert. out in Newport Oregon at the aquarium. I think it was a "padi" cert. the instructor was from Portland Oregon area!
I talked with him there was requirements & you had to give time to the aquarium to do the class!
I'm a divemaster i would not look at just time in the aquarium i to would also look at open water dives and cert. level thy have & time in water (time under water is time under water) I would probably expect more out of them to!

Well I do log them but I log them into a separate "scientific diving" log so that I can keep two totals of dive types. It doesn't surprise me though that PADI has an aquarium certification. What certification isn't offered by PADI?

Sorry...not trying to start THAT discussion.

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

I was just wondering if you use tanks? In the Oklahoma Aquarium we use a hooka system, hoses attached to a compressor on one end and a 2nd stage reg on the other.

We use tanks in most of the exhibits. The only time a hooka is used is when we're cleaning the exhibits that are too cramped for tanks like the seahorses, live coral, etc. Except our hooka is connected directly to tanks, not a compressor.

 

[Divrdug]

How large does an area have to be before it can be considered open water?

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

How large does an area have to be before it can be considered open water?

It's not about the size of the area. I guess basically the area has to be subjected to natural conditions like weather, currents, thermoclines, limited vis, etc.

 

[ScubaSteve2000]

It's not about the size of the area. I guess basically the area has to be subjected to natural conditions like weather, currents, thermoclines, limited vis, etc.

What about the folks that ONLY dive in balmy gin-clear waters and ONLY under a pristine blue sky? It's open water. But they don't deal with at least three of the conditions you mention. Should they log those dives?

Actually, I think that the OP has it right. He keeps a "Scientific" log book of his aquarium dives. I'm still jealous.

Steve.