Filters help some but because the red light is reduces more and more as you decend you have to add more and more red filters to keep the color level constant.....and remove them as you accent. In addition, since they don't "add back" the red but actually remove the other colors, the amount of available light is reduced in an already low light condition. This requires slower shutter speeds and increases the likelyhood of blurry shots due to camera movement. Filters have a place but for the average vacation diver, they are a poor solution. Strobes are the only real way to restore the color and even then you have to realize that the max range of even the biggest, most expensive strobes is maybe 10 feet, a lot less with the low end and lower powered strobes.
The "orbs" you are seeing are known as back scatter and are your flashes light being reflected off particals in the water. Internal flashes are ok for very close shots - 2-3 feet max with no water backgound but otherwise they cause more problems than they solve. The only way to prevent them is proper strobe placement which requires the strobes to be placed a good distance from the camera and at the proper angle. This is one of the reasons low end strobes (Ike AF-35 is a prime example) are not very good since they limit the amount of distance from the camera you can place the strobes.
Finally, if your camera is capable of being placed in full manual mode, ie. you have control over both F-stop and shutter speed, use it. You need to learn to use the camera in manual mode to get the most out of it. No auto mode, even the so called "underwater" modes do a good job at selecting the proper settings.
