I had a new experience yesterday that had me feeling almost like a new diver. I did my first dive in the Seattle Aquarium using an AGA mask (full face mask) using a surface supplied air hose along with a smaller tank on my back. Along with the surface supplied air hose there is also a communications line along with an earpiece and microphone in the mask.
Since I have recently learned these facts I'll share them as well: the Dome tank in the Aquarium is 20 feet deep and holds 400,000 gallons of water. The fill rate is 400-900 gallons/minute and the water turns over from 3-6 times per day. This is an open system with the water flowing in directly from Puget Sound and of course directly out to Puget Sound as well.
Dealing with the air hoses turned out to not be a very big deal but using the communications gear and the full face mask was harder than I thought it would be. I couldn't hear unless I quit swimming and sometimes I even had to quit breathing (not a good thing). I also found my vision to be a little more restricted because of the larger mask. There are some adjustments as to ear piece placement that will make things better over time along with technique (not swimming while talking/listening).
In addition to feeding the fish, talking and waving to the public, we have to clean windows and be aware of where the air hoses are so as not to damage kelp or various fitting in the aquarium. All in all it's a fun experience but one that has more of a learning curve than I would have anticipated given that we're basically just diving in a 20 foot swimming pool.
I forgot to mention that until you get the mask properly sealed it also leaks air and this makes enough noise that just this alone makes it impossible to hear anyone talking to you over the comm line (and the talking was continuous yesterday it seemed to me).
I'm sure it will be even more fun once the initial learning curve straightens out and I can concentrate fully on the tasks at hand.
Since I have recently learned these facts I'll share them as well: the Dome tank in the Aquarium is 20 feet deep and holds 400,000 gallons of water. The fill rate is 400-900 gallons/minute and the water turns over from 3-6 times per day. This is an open system with the water flowing in directly from Puget Sound and of course directly out to Puget Sound as well.
Dealing with the air hoses turned out to not be a very big deal but using the communications gear and the full face mask was harder than I thought it would be. I couldn't hear unless I quit swimming and sometimes I even had to quit breathing (not a good thing). I also found my vision to be a little more restricted because of the larger mask. There are some adjustments as to ear piece placement that will make things better over time along with technique (not swimming while talking/listening).
In addition to feeding the fish, talking and waving to the public, we have to clean windows and be aware of where the air hoses are so as not to damage kelp or various fitting in the aquarium. All in all it's a fun experience but one that has more of a learning curve than I would have anticipated given that we're basically just diving in a 20 foot swimming pool.
I forgot to mention that until you get the mask properly sealed it also leaks air and this makes enough noise that just this alone makes it impossible to hear anyone talking to you over the comm line (and the talking was continuous yesterday it seemed to me).
I'm sure it will be even more fun once the initial learning curve straightens out and I can concentrate fully on the tasks at hand.
If your power is still off anyplace but home is probably enjoyable.
