Aquarium Diving

[holophonervirtuoso]

I noticed that there are a few aquariums in the area that offer diving opportunities. It sounds pretty fun and unique. I am just curious if these count as logged dives, or is it too touristy to be considered as such? Is there a definition of "logged dive" or are the guidelines flexible.

I'm still just trying to get down some of this lingo.

 

[robertarak]

Hi there, and welcome!

Log books are nothing more then personal record keeping. What you choose to put in them is really nobody's business but yours. There are no hard and fast rules. Now, with that said there are some general guidelines that most people follow. That general guideline is for a dive to be counted in a diver's total dives it must be deeper then 20 feet and longer then 20 minutes. So for me, I log everthing, including pool dives, because it gives me a record of my training, but I don't count those dives.

Now, with regard to the aquarium dives, I would log that (again, I log every dive). Would I count it? Well, is the dive over 20 feet deep and over 20 minutes long?

 

[diver1995]

it depends what they are, the georgia aquarim counts because it's at least 20 feet for 20 minutes

 

[ApexLongimanus]

my wife and i dived once in the singapore aquarium. we both did log the dive. not that it makes a difference in my or her dive count. it was a fun experience and we wanted a record of that.

 

[Maresreg]

I have done many dives in an aquarium over the last two years. I never log them though the tank's are only twenty feet or less that we dive in. I figure if it's not open water it doesn't count but thats just me. Many I dive with do log them, this would have to be your decision.

 

[fisherdvm]

I tend to agree with some folks who feels a dive is a dive is a dive. Very few of us will ever chose to go into a divemaster program or head to be an instructor, so the whole question whether to log a dive or not or the criteria to log a dive is silly.

Alot of these "rules" are extrapolated from the requirement of certifying agencies on their open water check out dives. These rules were made to set the minimum training requirement for the instructors, so the students are not short-changed. Some set the minimum time for OW check out dives to be 20 minutes, and others for 15 minutes. The depths are also variable, and some say 20 ft, other say differently. Some instructor set up their own rules, when it comes to evaluating their own divemaster candidates - where the variety of diving condition is more important. Then you have divemaster candidates who try to skirt these rules by doing bounce dive, and trying to get 3 dives out of 1 tank.

You should dive as often as possible, irregarless of the environment. Dive in a 5 ft pool, dive in a 10 ft lake.... Dive as often as possible. And you will be a better diver. If you only dive dives that others consider to be real dive, you might not get enough experience to be a good diver.

Stupid rules don't really make sense. Deeper than 15 ft, deepter than 20 ft, more than 800 psi, more than 1/3 a tank, more than 15 minutes, more than 20 minutes - all a bunch of non-sense for people who haven't got any thing better to do than to set up rules.

Dive, dive, dive. Log all your dives. Dive logs are worthless if you do not note your tank size, type of metal, pressure rating, the thickness of your suit, the thickness of your hood/boot, and the type of BC you are wearing. Also note your fin type - as some are positive, and some are negative. How much weight you carried, and the distribution of your weight. Lastly, if the dive is in salt water or fresh water.

Preprinted dive sheet by SSI is totally worthless. They do not encourage proper record of dive information, as they are lacking on room for notation. The dive tank should be noted as LP, HP, or none (3000psi). These bouyancy characteristic can help you later when you use different tanks on the same dive, and still can refer to a table of tank specification to help you determine your weight requirement. Roughly, you'd carry about 4 lbs less lead when you dive with a steel HP tank vs an aluminum one. They do not prompt you to notice your tank type, nor your protective clothing - except for "dive skin, vs wet suit vs drysuit vs hood".

A few mm changes in neoprene in a hood, glove or boot could mean an extra 1 to 3 lbs of lead you'll need to wear. BC brands have different bouyancy characteristics, and should be noted.

All of this data is invaluable when you use a different configuration later. Log all your dives.... the information is for you, and not for anyone else. To me, the dives where you do 5 dives a day off a liveaboard where the crew change your tanks and gear between dives is less valuable than the night dive in a murky frozen mudhole where you learn invaluable lessons at 15 ft practicing your skills in a drysuit. One tank should last you over 60 minutes at 15 ft, but perhaps only 20 minutes at 100 ft.

 

[Allen Herron]

I dive at the Adventure Aquarium in NJ. I personnally feel that every dive at to your skills and confidence. The hundreds of aquarium dives I've done, being in the water every 2 weeks all year definately show when we go away. All the aquarium divers I know have impecable bouyance skills and good air consumption rates. That being said, I keep track of my aquarium dives separately.

 

[don Francisco]

My log book mainly serves two purposes. I record useful dive data, such as temp, exposure suit, weighting, depth/time etc., which can help me when planning a future dive. The second purpose is as sort of a diary, or scrapbook of my dives.

After a while, I stopped logging my dives, though I still number all the true dives, (testing equipment in a pool doesn't count) unless there was a reason meeting either criteria, such as a new wetsuit, or the baby nurse shark that thought I was mom.

When I go to Cozumel, I might do 25 dives, and compress them all into a single logbook entry for the trip.

Following my example you might log your first Aquarium dive, and after that any that were particularly interesting. But that's if you were me, and since you're not, you should feel free to make up your own policy. dF

 

[JKPAO]

The log book is your's period! You can draw pictures of banana's on a boat if you want!
See you topside! John

 

[Scuba-Jess]

I agree... a dives a dive. For PADI to count it, it does have to be at least 20 ft for at least 20 minutes like they said. But, for you to count it all you have to do is do it! Plus, it would probably be a really awesome experience you'd want to remember. And if you wanted to you could draw all over your dive log like they said too. They are your record of your dives. I personally have drawings of awesome fish, note on things I saw, and everything else in my log. So, I don't always show it to people, because they would think they got a nutty dive buddy.