Aquarium Diving

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So, this begs the question - which would you rather be? A mall diver or a cyber diver?

How about a temporary cyber-diver who is saving almost $200/dive to put towards the next ocean dive:D

I shot them an email asking if they were looking for volunteer tank cleaners/underwater laborer. As of yet I haven't heard anything back. I have my doubts, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
 
Never hurts to ask indeed.

Now if only sharkman would reply to the e-mail i sent him! what a discovery channel jerk!
 
How about a temporary cyber-diver who is saving almost $200/dive to put towards the next ocean dive:
Saving $200 as compared to what??

Oddly, I'd pay more to dive in Nemo33 than I would to dive in a man-made aquarium.

But tomorrow I'm going diving in Nature's aquarium. Gonna be cold though. Glad it warmed up from minus twenty (F).
 
Here is a photo o the janitor cleaning the grates at the Chunami Aquarium in Okinawa, Japan. Who said that it is bad being a Janitor? I would pay to do his job. We watched him for almost an hour and he was finding a lot of money on the bottom of the aquarium. With 3 Whale sharks, Manta Rays, and other sharks and groupers it truely is amazing!
 

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Saving $200 as compared to what??

Oddly, I'd pay more to dive in Nemo33 than I would to dive in a man-made aquarium.

But tomorrow I'm going diving in Nature's aquarium. Gonna be cold though. Glad it warmed up from minus twenty (F).
We were down to minus something, 2 or 3. Maybe doesn't sound like much but we don't usually get below 20 more than once or twice a year, and then never below 15.

BTW I can tell the cold has affected your brain some. Nemo 33? It is just a pool! How boring are all white walls? I would rather dive with critters anyday.

But to each his own...

craracer:
I shot them an email asking if they were looking for volunteer tank cleaners/underwater laborer. As of yet I haven't heard anything back. I have my doubts, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

If it works the same way as my aqaurium, if you hear at all it will be to tell you to come in and fill out an application. When they conduct interviews they will call you. Just sending an email is likely to be ignored since the people who deal with the volunteer programs never see them...
 
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I was at Disneyworld in Florida last week. Just before I left for the airport, I found out that I could dive in Epcot's Aquarium for around $60. I will probably do that next year when I visit the resort again.

It's a lot more than that. Did it back in the Summer. Can't recall exactly but think it was $150-$190 or somewhere in that range. There are some 10% discounts floating out there from certain organizations, but nothing that brings it down to $60.
 
At the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, you can volunteer to clean their aquariums, but you have to do other volunteer grunt work for at least a year before they let you set foot in the aquarium and you probably have to do that every weekend, which is not worth my time since I would rather be diving. If you miss a weekend, you have to start all over=(.

Now, it's been awhile since I worked there, but you make it sound much worse than I remember.

I became a volunteer diver right away, no grunt work as you put it. I got to pick the day and shift I worked, and I even changed it a few times based on work changes. Everyone I worked with was really cool, and I was diving in the tropical tank my first shift. Feeding Queensland groupers whole sardines. I loved that job.

I took time off frequently when life or work got in the way, and everyone was very understanding. After a year, I got the chance to do full face mask training, and then I got the chance to give presentations to customers while feeding the fish and floating in the tank.

In general, I learned more about marine life and diving while enjoying marine life that you'd be lucky to see on a dive in the real world. All around, a great job.

Unfortunately, unlike other aquariums, you do have to apply and volunteer to dive there. You can't pay for a one off dive (unless that's changed). The AOP is a good aquarium, though. Get a full tour and check out the topside and inner-workings of the place.

I have noticed more and more that aquariums offer these dives for money. I live in Thailand now, and the Bangkok aquarium has two options. You can "dive with the sharks" for around 175 USD or suit up in a surface supplied helmet and walk with them for around 100 USD. I think I'd actually like to try the second option. Diving is something we all get to do, but under water walking with lead boots and helmets is usually left for commercial workers.

Anyway,
 
At Atlantis Resort, on Paradise Island, The Bahamas, just across from Nassau, there is a shark tank where you can go in wearing a hard hat with an air hose to the surface. You climb down a ladder and walk on the bottom, while a couple of scuba divers accompany you and a number of sharks swim around you. I don't remember the cost. I think it was $100. I didn't do it. It seemed too artificial and too expensive. You get almost as close to the fishes (sharks and otherwise) just looking into the aquariums from the outside. The aquariums there were very impressive. There are several, very large, with lots of cool animals. If you are in Nassau I'd recommend a day trip to Atlantis for the aquariums. There's also water slides, if you are into that, including one where you ride through a tube that goes through the aquarium.
 
I think one of the best things about Aquarium Diving would be looking back at the people.
 

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