Cenotes - any problem with fresh water? Infection?

[mantadive]

...are you serious? "white salad bar vinegar & 100 proof tequila" ?? What e lough !

But thinking about closely it makes sense....

Any special manufactors on tequila one should preferr?

 

[DandyDon]

...are you serious? "white salad bar vinegar & 100 proof tequila" ?? What e lough !

But thinking about closely it makes sense....

Any special manufactors on tequila one should preferr?

Well the white salad bar vinegar is the same as what I use in my ear mix, kitchen, cleaning, laundry rinse, etc. For ethanol, you want clear, not gold - and if you lost or forgot the mix made from rubbing alcohol, you could make it from clear bar booze. One popular recipe is simply 1/2 white vinegar and 1/2 rubbing alcohol with 50% content.

 

[Hank49]

I haven't dived in a cenote but we pumped water from one on the north end of Ambergris, which is pretty much the southern Yucatan. We used it to add trace minerals to the coral reef water since penaeid shrimps need that during their larval stages.
I don't know about disease organisms but the water was more or less anaerobic. We set a small pump in it to off gas the hydrogen sulfide before pumping to our reservoirs. I don't know if all cenotes are like that but I wouldn't have wanted to dive in this one.

 

[DandyDon]

I haven't dived in a cenote but we pumped water from one on the north end of Ambergris, which is pretty much the southern Yucatan. We used it to add trace minerals to the coral reef water since penaeid shrimps need that during their larval stages.
I don't know about disease organisms but the water was more or less anaerobic. We set a small pump in it to off gas the hydrogen sulfide before pumping to our reservoirs. I don't know if all cenotes are like that but I wouldn't have wanted to dive in this one.

Sounds like a stagnant pit, Hank. The Tulum area cenotes are part of a flowing aquifer, but yeah - got to watch for bad waters in some areas. The hydrogen sulfide is common anytime organic debris can fall into one. It can be a fun experience or a problem, depending.

 

[TSandM]

There are definitely cenotes with hydrogen sulfide layers -- Angelita is known for it, and we swam over a lake of it in Yax Chen. And the bottoms of shallow cenotes with a lot of vegetation can be anaerobic and stink when you disturb them (Jailhouse). But for the most part (and with the exception of Angelita, in all the tourist cenotes) the water is clear, odorless, and doesn't eat the chrome off your dive gear

 

[mantadive]

How far are

cenotes with hydrogen sulfide layers away from Playa del Carmen?​

 

[DandyDon]

How far are

cenotes with hydrogen sulfide layers away from Playa del Carmen?​

You can find some in any water pit that receives enough falling leaves and such, but some are known for more obvious layers. The Pit at Dos Ojos is maybe a 30 minute drive I guess. Don't know about the others.

 

[TSandM]

Angelita, which is the "tourist" cenote with the visible H2S layer, is 17 km south of Tulum, so between 45 minutes and an hour down the highway from PDC. Yax Chen, the cave I dove with the H2S "lake" in it, is in Tulum, but the lake is about an hour and a half into the cave.

 

[mantadive]

Thanks, then its easy to reach from PDC

...but those H2S layer dont make any harm on diving gear as mentioned above *thinkthink* ?

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks, then its easy to reach from PDC

...but those H2S layer dont make any harm on diving gear as mentioned above *thinkthink* ?

Probably not. I guess that can vary with the gear, the pit, and fluctuations.