Are aquarium maintenance dives logable

[erocks49ers]

I'm going to be volunteering at an aquarium and what to know if those dive count as logged dives. I know a dive has to be at least 20 minutes and you have to consume at least 1500 psi (i was told). Is the aquarium considered a confined water dive thus his not logable?

Thanx

 

[diver 85]

heck---I would(if I were logging dives),........why not??.......

 

[Roatan Joe]

It's your logbook, so log or not log whatever you want.. If you want to only log dives that satisfy the PADI training definition of an Open Water Dive, then the PADI definition specifically includes very large aquariums and specifically constructed environments designed for recreational diving. So as long as you stay submerged for at least 20 minutes or breath 50 cubic feet of gas and spend the majority of your time deeper than 15 ft. then you are satisfying the PADI training definition.

But again, it's your logbook, so you can put whatever you want in there.

 

[nolatom]

me too. It's a purpose-driven dive, done not just to "log a dive" but for a productive end.

I logged an eyeglass-recovery dive (after seeking advice here whether to) in blackout vis at a marina, 16 minutes, 8 feet (that's right, 8). It was successful and due to the disorienting zero vis in the fluffy silt, inability to see gauges, flashlight useless, and all the junk in a marina to feel around, much more difficult than most of my other logged dives.

Plus, as I was advised, "it's part of your diving history", and writing down the weight gas, and wardrobe you used can be useful if you do that type of dive again.

 

[RJP]

Personally, I would "log them" in my logbook.., but I would not "add them" to my total dive count.

1. By definition they are not open water dives in the eyes of any agency*
2. Doing so could become misleading when describing your dive experience to a dive op, instructor, etc down the road

"Yeah, I've got 200 logged dives..." (But 150 of them were in an aquarium.)


*The answer to your " Is the aquarium considered a confined water dive thus his not logable?" question.

 

[Steve_C]

I know a dive has to be at least 20 minutes and you have to consume at least 1500 psi

1500 psi? At 20 ft in benign conditions 1500psi is almost an hour.

In the guidelines to some courses there are minimum requirements of depth and time placed on the instructor to try and insure a minimum amount of experience is gained. [There may also be maxs placed on the dives for safety reason]

But this is not a requirement on you and your general diving. Just be honest about what you are logging.

Personally, I do not log a pool dive unless I were helping with an class and then I would log but not count. The one exception I made was I did log Epcot since that pool is bigger than some springs. For working in an aquarium I would probably log but not count.

 

[tursiops]

I know a dive has to be at least 20 minutes and you have to consume at least 1500 psi (i was told).

That is approximately the PADI requirement for an OW (not just the OW class, but all open-water dives) training dive:
"During open water dives, have divers spend the majority of time at 5 metres/15 feet or greater, and breathe at least 1400 litres or 50 cubic feet of compressed gas or remain submerged for at least 20 minutes."
So, 15 feet and 20 minutes (or 50 cuft).....to be a "legal" OW training dive.
It has nothing to do with whether you log a reef/working/aquarium/whatever dive or not.

I dive biweekly in an aquarium as a volunteer. I log the day as a single dive....it gets it in my log book, helps me with the IRS, and I don't care if I did 1 or 4 dives that day. And the depths are never more than 13 feet...but we sign an agreement that we will not fly for 24h afterwards.

You can also log swimming-pool dives, but I never do. Not sure why.

 

[Lorenzoid]

"Loggable" means nothing by itself--that is, without a context. It can mean different things in different contexts. People log dives for some or all of the following reasons, and you can log whatever you want:

1. For purposes of satisfying some prerequisite threshold number of dives that a certifying agency requires for a further training/certification course. If this is why you log dives, then you would need to determine that agency's criteria for logging such dives. It may or may not be "20 mins./1500 psi" (I've never heard that one.) Different agencies may have different criteria. I'm pretty sure an aquarium dive would not be satisfactory for this purpose. A pool dive certainly would not.

2. To help you later recall where you dived, or how you conducted the dive--how much weight you used, etc.--so that the information can help you plan future dives in the same or similar place/conditions.

3. To help you recall what things you saw or did on the dive.

Depending on which of these (and there are probably more) is your reason for logging a particular dive, you may have different criteria for determining whether that dive is "loggable." There are no universal rules as to what is "loggable." What I do is record almost every dive in my logbook, but on the occasions when I am asked to come up with a number I count only those dives that seem to fit what the person requesting the number is looking for. For example, a dive boat operator might ask how many dives I've done to at least 60 feet in the past year.

 

[Steve_C]

Ah, I just figured out the 1500 psi. The real goal is 20 minutes. But if an air hog blows through most of their air in 10 minutes by PADI standards you can still count it as a dive and criteria met even if no diver on this planet would want to buddy with them.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I am not aware of the 1500 psi "rule." While I would not generally log and "indoor dive," I think it's ok to log the aquarium dives, clearly designated as such, and provided you are on scuba, not some surface supplied air arrangement.
DivemasterDennis