Just getting a new setup, have a flooding question.

[divengolf]

People rinse their masks with defog in them, especially on cattle boats. The soap is a wetting agent which compromises the seals and damages lens coatings.

Good point. On smaller dive boats without large dedicated camera buckets, you're better off using the fresh water hose to rinse off the rig, then setting it in the shade under a damp towel or other cover. Never leave it in the direct sunlight.

And be wary of the "dedicated" rinse buckets. Frequently new divers will toss their masks in anyway. I just avoid them totally. Liveaboards are usually better. The divers are generally more experienced and understand that camera buckets are off limits for masks. Plus the deck crew will monitor what goes in the buckets to some degree on the better liveaboards. I've seen the crew drain, rinse and refill a camera rinse tank that someopne has put a mask in. It was an Aggressor boat.