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Cultivated Reef

Collecting animals while snorkeling (freediving)

C-Rad

By C-Rad,
in Biotopes

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C-Rad

C-Rad

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how do you feel about hookah rigs? does anyone have any experiences outside of Brownies?

My dad used one back in the early 70's, until they were banned in California because of the possibility of the exhaust (carbon monoxide) getting into the air intake and killing you. It's really not a danger if the unit is working properly, unless there is more than one running in the same area. I think the modern ones have a way of dealing with this danger better, and are legal in California again (Brownie has a dealer in San Diego)

I like them for certain applications. They are great for staying down a long time, in relatively shallow water (< 40 feet?) with no kelp or other obstructions that the air hose can tangle in. I think abalone divers and urchin divers in Mexico use them. There is always a possibility that the gasoline powered air pump could quit unexpectedly, so if you go deep and/or stay down long enough that a quick ascent would cause the bends, you need to take a small scuba rig with you, so that you will have enough air to come up slowly. If you dive in cold water, where you need to wear a wet suit, then at depth your wetsuit will compress a lot, and your buoyancy will change (you will be heavier), so you might need a BC (Buoyancy Compensator) to deal with that, or learn to adjust the depth of your breathing according to your depth (like Navy divers do). Brownies Hookah rigs are big in south Florida and the Caribbean where wet suits are not required, maybe that's why. Once you have to wear a BC, you might as well just have a scuba tank (IMO).

 

One huge advantage of hookah is that if you go on an extended multi-day dive trip, in a place where you couldn't get scuba tanks refilled, all you need is a little gasoline and you can dive day after day. That would open up a lot of unspoiled diving options in remote locations.

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dshnarw

dshnarw

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Posted
This thread is AMAZING!!!! I envy all of you that live in good coastal regions!!! Unlike Texas and the beautiful gulf of mexico! :lol:

 

lol, you should check out the species local to you

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dshnarw

dshnarw

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I'm pretty sure that Panama City Beach is on the Gulf of Mexico.

 

even closer to his home...Galveston is one of the best spots to find seahorses in the US.

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johnmaloney

johnmaloney

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Posted
My dad used one back in the early 70's, until they were banned in California because of the possibility of the exhaust (carbon monoxide) getting into the air intake and killing you. It's really not a danger if the unit is working properly, unless there is more than one running in the same area. I think the modern ones have a way of dealing with this danger better, and are legal in California again (Brownie has a dealer in San Diego)

I like them for certain applications. They are great for staying down a long time, in relatively shallow water (< 40 feet?) with no kelp or other obstructions that the air hose can tangle in. I think abalone divers and urchin divers in Mexico use them. There is always a possibility that the gasoline powered air pump could quit unexpectedly, so if you go deep and/or stay down long enough that a quick ascent would cause the bends, you need to take a small scuba rig with you, so that you will have enough air to come up slowly. If you dive in cold water, where you need to wear a wet suit, then at depth your wetsuit will compress a lot, and your buoyancy will change (you will be heavier), so you might need a BC (Buoyancy Compensator) to deal with that, or learn to adjust the depth of your breathing according to your depth (like Navy divers do). Brownies Hookah rigs are big in south Florida and the Caribbean where wet suits are not required, maybe that's why. Once you have to wear a BC, you might as well just have a scuba tank (IMO).

 

One huge advantage of hookah is that if you go on an extended multi-day dive trip, in a place where you couldn't get scuba tanks refilled, all you need is a little gasoline and you can dive day after day. That would open up a lot of unspoiled diving options in remote locations.

 

thanks! I am familiar with brownies, but I was looking into some other systems. I have heard of some issues with brownies from other divers, and i was wanted to look into some of the advantages of other systems.

 

Will have to check out Snuba...I am looking for something that will let me and 2 others stay down less than 35 feet for awhile.

 

Brownies has "Egressor" I think it is called, basically a pony tank in case the air runs out. Some have alarms when it gets low...Definitely want one with a quick release in case a boat decides to come through and run over the line...Thanks for the info!

 

Would be nice to be able to use it for multiple days away from land. Next chance I have to get 4 days in a row to head south I am taking a trip to the Content Keys. Hopefully it happens before the third lung system though.

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escaudio

escaudio

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Posted

I had no idea about the seahorses! Thats surprising, most of my trips to the coast here in texas have been a disapointment :( Yardboy love the jetties nano!!!!!!!

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yardboy

yardboy

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Thanks!

Yea, the few times I've been to East Texas the water visibility has been poor, so I also assumed that there wasn't much wildlife to be found, but you just have to look for spots that might yield results. Old piers, riprap jetties, any kind of structure will lure in critters. I've worked on a shrimpboat out of Beaumont and so I found out there's some neat stuff there.

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on_ice

on_ice

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Posted

Sweet thread! I have a brownies third lung right now, and its actually going to be going up for sale ASAP! I also like using the system they have that just attaches to a dive tank that you leave in your boat/kayak. Great for collecting. Does anyone have pictures of some of their collections? Half the time i dont know what I am looking at down there.

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johnmaloney

johnmaloney

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Posted

yardboy has a totm featuring them...the jetties biotope. I like that dive system too, any companies putting that out except tote and float? glad you joined us over here on_ice! :)

 

best thing to do while you are down there is get a good idea what lives there, and then check them out in a field guide. National Audubon Society has some good ones.

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tyty

tyty

Posted
Posted

This thread is great, thanks for the ideas on collecting. I am PADI certified, but plan to collect snorkeling. I have a "cool bubbles" aerated bait bucket that I plan to use as my livewell (at least until I get told that it's not acceptable).

 

I live in South Florida and am currently starting a 29G Biocube that will be a local Biotope. I hope to collect the majority of my inhabitants myself, but I'm willing to purchase things as long as they are part of the ecosystem and I just can't find or legally take them (live rock etc.).

 

Here's the catch, the ocean (and my collecting location) will be visible from my tank. Makes me think of Finding Nemo and the fish trying to escape back into the ocean. I will be sure to start a thread once my tank gets a little further along.

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  • 1 month later...
tyty

tyty

Posted
Posted
Jack's been around a long time. Here's a link

Don't know if you have time to read, but his books about the early days of collecting are quite interesting.

As for a field guide to anemones, good luck. I have looked high and low and no luck. I've got the Peterson's Filed Guide to Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores, and it's about as comprehensive as I've found.

Funny too because I have an excellent book on Echinoderms of Florida and the Caribbean, "Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, and Allies" by Hendler, Miller, Pawson and Kier.

Oh, that there was something similar for gorgonians, hexacorals, and anemones.

 

Just picked up Echinoderms of Florida and the Caribbean, Sea Stars, Sea Urchins, and Allies based on your recommendation above and I have to say it is an amazing resource. Thanks!

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yardboy

yardboy

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Posted

Ow..OW..OW. Quit twisting my arm!

Maria is contemplating getting a lionfish for her Caribbean biotope. Have you ever seen any where you collect John, or are they more of an offshore fish?

 

On another note, I need everyone's help in promoting these guys. Actinia bermudensis, I think, as they are quite attractive and small. I figure if the mini-carpets can flash into popularity we ought to be able to do the same for these.

redanemonewithgorgonian.jpg

 

With my luck they should become the next big thing, selling for $500 on eBay. I say they should because with my luck this cold-ass winter probably decimated their populations here. Four years ago I had never seen them and then over the last few years they became more and more common. Now, who knows, until I get my butt out there and look. Right now though the water is still just too darn cold. Water temps still below 60 here. Brrrrrr.

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johnmaloney

johnmaloney

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Posted

Awesome!!!!!! I am all for it, small rare Carib. nems are cool, pm Sbcaes. The water is still bad up there too huh? I have been looking for small critters and nems too, I came across some in a tidepool but I haven't been able to id them. Will have to get you a pic....I think Lionfish may be offshore or in the Bahamas or something. I remember a kid caught one in Juno and it made the news. Around here it is all the stuff that got into the Port St. Lucie River when the FW industry's pods flooded after the hurricane...tilapia, plecos, cichlids, knifefish etc....and from those people emptying their tanks. THe exotics are almost completely FW/Brackish except for sun corals. Those I heard were exotics, and I have seen them. Oddly enough though they are protected. That was in the Keys on a discarded boat engine, one of the coolest mini reefs, in the middle of really nothing.

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Mudfish

Mudfish

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Posted
Okay! The temps moving up now! over 60

When it hits 70 I'm good to go.

 

 

70?!? Good god, that's too cold! Not till July for me, brother!

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tyty

tyty

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Posted
70?!? Good god, that's too cold! Not till July for me, brother!

 

I went a couple weekends ago when the water was 70-71 and it was livable, if a bit cold, without a wet suit. When I got out of the water it was freezing though.

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yardboy

yardboy

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Posted

At 70 I wear a wetsuit, but I also line up a hot shower if I can find one handy and make a beeline for it as soon as I get out of the water, wetsuit and all!

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