Aquarium Diving

[Redshift]

I have dived in an aquarium in Ireland. It's a small tank but has plenty of big fish. It's a north Atlantic set up, so it has cod, pollack, wrasse and had a large nurse shark. Luckily I did it for free as there was an event on that day and the aquarium wanted to have some divers in the water to say hello to visitors and asked the local dive club which I was part of.
I've been interested in diving in other larger aquariums, but the prices are really high.

 

[kwinter]

The link says Volunteer applications are currently not being accepted..

I didn't know that. They are in the midst of a big recruitment, so maybe they have closed off new applications until they get through the rest of the process. I'll ask and report back.


Please pardon any typos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[xyrandomyx]

I dived at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. It was about $60 for a 30 minute dive -- about the same price as two boat dives here, so fairly expensive. Looking out at the kids peering into the tank was more entertaining than the sharks in the tank. I don't think I'd do it again any time soon, but it was kind of cool just to be able to say I'd done it.

EDIT: To volunteer there, you need a commercial diving cert -- so not really a bargain, if the only thing you want the cert for is free diving in the aquarium.

 

[scuba5150]

I dove EPCOT last year and it was excellent. As previously mentioned the "behind the scenes" was interesting. Everything was very well organized as you would expect with something at Disney. The 40 minute dive went by fast and there was ample opportunity to interact with the sharks - as in kneeling on the bottom along the route they take circling the aquarium and they will come within a few feet of you. Rays and turtles were equally friendly.

There's a videographer in he tank with you and you can purchase a DVD of your dive - I was sure I wouldn't buy it until they showed the DVD of our group after the dive and it was worth buying a copy afterall. (In for a dime, in for a dollar)

Only complaint is that my wife had to pay admission to EPCOT to get into the aqaurium to watch me and our son dive - they do let you go into the park after the dive for "free" but by time the program was over, several of the things in the park were shutting down for the evening so she didn't get much for her $95 entry fee.

Everyhing I've heard says the Gerorgia aquarium is the best aquarium dive experience around and I may do that one day.

 

[dytis-sm]

Given what is involved in diving in a confined environment with thousands of fish that costs millions to build and maintain, I think paying a few hundred dollars for the dive is a bargain. As a matter of fact I think being allowed to do it at any cost is a privilege. This is not open ocean but a a very expensive fish tank observed by hundreds of visitors. A lot of things can happen from as simple as banging a scuba tank against the acrylic window and putting a good scratch on it, or injuring an animal while kicking around, let alone a diving emergency under the watchful eye of little children or your relatives. The liability involved alone, should be enough to make this unrealistic for the general diving public. So I am very glad that some of them allow divers to experience it.

If you can afford it, I think it is a great experience to do at least once.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Given what is involved in diving in a confined environment with thousands of fish that costs millions to build and maintain, I think paying a few hundred dollars for the dive is a bargain. As a matter of fact I think being allowed to do it at any cost is a privilege. This is not open ocean but a a very expensive fish tank observed by hundreds of visitors. A lot of things can happen from as simple as banging a scuba tank against the acrylic window and putting a good scratch on it, or injuring an animal while kicking around, let alone a diving emergency under the watchful eye of little children or your relatives. The liability involved alone, should be enough to make this unrealistic for the general diving public. So I am very glad that some of them allow divers to experience it.

If you can afford it, I think it is a great experience to do at least once.

Persuasive logic. Hmm.

I suppose I should give the Georgia Aquarium a try while I still live in Atlanta, given that it is within a few minutes walk of where I live. I still think I much more enjoy diving in the open ocean because the major thrill I get out of diving is not knowing what I will encounter. Swimming around with interesting animals is maybe only half of what I like about this pastime. I've been fortunate to have swum with whalesharks twice while out diving. I dunno. I suppose I should give the Aquarium a go at some point. It's not high on my list, though, compared with regular dive trips.

 

[Steve_C]

I would not go a long way to do one. But if I lived in Atlanta or any other place that had one, and it was a while before I got to go to the ocean. It sure beats the alternative which is staying dry. I was in Orlando on business so diving Epcot was a bonus. Just down the road from my hotel.

 

[Just_Me]

Aquarium dives should not be considered destination dives, but more of a really cool local opportunity. The less than 2 hour drive to Atlanta was well worth it to dive in the GA Aquarium. The experience isn't needed to do multiple times but as a check that off the list it's pretty cool.

 

[KeithG]

One thing to consider is that some (many?) aquariums will not let you use your own gear (contamination concerns).

That ruled it out for my dive buddy since without her prescription mask she could not see anything.

 

[g1138]

One thing to consider is that some (many?) aquariums will not let you use your own gear (contamination concerns).

That ruled it out for my dive buddy since without her prescription mask she could not see anything.

That's nothing a dunk in the bleach tank can't cure. I would be surprised if an aquarium was that anal. Contamination is a huge issue with Wetsuits and BC's. And liability comes into play with the hard gear.
If you have to use a prescription mask, I'm sure a call ahead would sort that out to allow you.