Frustrated with loud air bubbles

[Rainer]

Bubbles are part of diving. A double-hose setup or a a rebreather are the only ways to make a huge impact to the issue.

ScubaPro made a "bubble deflector" for some of their regs, essentially a 2" extension to their exhaust tee. Works quite well, I use one on my S600. It's not as dramatic as the 4" tubes the OP was discussing, however. They were also only sold in the UK (tho you can find the on the 'net and have them shipped) and were discontinued some time ago so they're getting REALLY hard to come by.

I think ultimately the best answer is "get used to it", or get a rebreather. Option #1 is way more practical...

Option 1 is also somewhat cheaper...

 

[ClayJar]

Basically, as long as you have a water hole so you don't make an "air siphon", you'll be fine with whatever extensions you want. If you seal the hose to the exhaust, on the other hand, you can make an air siphon which will indeed make your exhaust suck (literally).

 

[dumpsterDiver]

When I used to do macro photography, the bubble noise used to bother me (and small fish) and I almost rigged up some kind of exhaust extension.

I have another idea now and it seems so simple that if it worked, I assume that other people would be using it.. I never tried it. but here goes.. Why not just affix a screen mesh over the exhaust which would presumably make all the bubble smaller and of uniform size? This would reduce the noise, especially of large bubbles bursting?

It would increase the exhahaltion effort, so I'm sure it wouldn't be advisable for deep working dives, but I used to spend a lot of time at night in shallow water hardly moving or breathing trying to get little fish to sit still 2 inches from my lense, so regulator performance was not an issue.