Poll: How many reefers SCUBA dive and have actually SEEN reefs in real life?

[jacquesb]

Hi all - I would like to start a poll to find out how many reefers belonging to this forum, have actually seen a real reef while SCUBA diving (at different depths? ranging from i.e. 10 metres to 28 metres (and perhaps lower)?

 

[ed]

been diving for over 12 years now, max depth 38m in North Mozambique. some awesome reef there.

 

[jacquesb]

Ed, you also probably saw what I saw - even though the reefs are awesome, there are a LOT of "crap" in the water (i.e. micro-bubbles, DOC's, and other organic compounds)... And the coloring is not as colorful as what I have seen in some of the tanks of my fellow aquarists? (BTW: the most "colorful reefs" I have seen so far, is "Doodles" - 15 to 18 meters (southern Moz) and "3 Sisters" - 24 - 28 metres - also southern Moz).... All the other reefs are not as colorful - have not been to nothern Moz yet - you say it's worth it? where exactly - Pemba? Guinyata?)

 

[Mike]

First dive was in the med off Corfu (many moons ago) dived UK waters for a couple of years, including lakes and flooded slate pits (dark and murky not reccommended) but the best bit was the Red sea at Hurgada where i actually saw more than 30feet in any direction bit scary at first as British divers don't normally see that far underwater, in fact you're lucky if you can see past the glass in your mask.
Beautiful reefs where we dived and just millions of fish, it was incredible.

Deepest dive was 50m off Gozo - a complete waste of time, nothing to see, no reason to go back

Some of the best diving i did was Scapa flow off northern Scotland, the entire WW1 German grand fleet were scuttled there in 1919, reccommend it to any serious wreck diver.

 

[cybervic]

I agree with doodles near Ponta da Oura. It's one of the best dives one can do. We were greeted by a cirle of about 30+ large Lionfishes. Awesome dive

Wikus

 

[jacquesb]

The point I would like to achieve with this, is to see how people's ideas of what a reef actually looks like (in the sea) compares with what we have in our tanks at home.

 

[jacquesb]

Hi Wikus - yes, Doodles is great.
Wee-Man: Unfortunately I have not dived the Red Sea yet, would love to, though. But, from the pictures I have seen the corals are really beautiful (and the dives seem to be great). BUT, how do you think the actual environments your saw, compares to what we have in our tanks?

 

[Mike]

Hi Wikus - yes, Doodles is great.
Wee-Man: Unfortunately I have not dived the Red Sea yet, would love to, though. But, from the pictures I have seen the corals are really beautiful (and the dives seem to be great). BUT, how do you think the actual environments your saw, compares to what we have in our tanks?

Just imagine the biggest/best tank in the world and you are in it but as you go deeper there is less colour in the reef, best dives were shallow - in fact you could probably snorkel most of it

Anthias by the thousand, a pair of blue spotted rays actually parted and swam around me, i managed to stroke a 7foot moray eel, nearly swam into a large lion fish, it was just fish soup, whereever i looked it was just FISH, i will see if i can scan some photo's to put up. (just to note this was at around 8-12m)


The only down side for me was, when i walked along the beach to the end of the bay, i could quite clearly see how the inshore reef had been broken up and used to create the beautiful bays at the front of each hotel, large acro heads etc mixed with concrete etc

 

[DragonReef]

i could quite clearly see how the inshore reef had been broken up and used to create the beautiful bays at the front of each hotel, large acro heads etc mixed with concrete etc

Yip, my cousin was a divemaster for 2 years in the Red Sea and the devastation of the Reefs irritated the crap out of him. Even the dive boat operators who make their living from it would drag their achors across sections of reef devatasting everything in it's path. So short sighted.

Comparing Actual Reefs to tanks, the closest I've seen would be snorkeling on 2 mile Reef off Benguera in Moz. Very cool

 

[mullet]

hi jacques
been diving 4 15 yrs i am a NAUI instructor the only reason the reefs look grey at around 18m and deeper is because from around 10m the slight rays start getting absorbed with red being the first colour to disapear......next time you go for dive do yourself a favour take a dive torch with and you will be amazed with all the colours down there.......

 

[jacquesb]

Anthony - thanks for your comments. Yeah - it's absolutely heart-breaking to see "dead" or dying reefs. I saw hundred of square metres of "coral rubble" (dead coral skeletons) while diving and snorkeling in Seychelles last year. And, as I mentioned, Moz and Sodwana is still my best diving spots. Sodwana has the most unbelievable amount of corals (the reefs that we dived there), but not too much in color....

I would just like to know where the theory comes from the all (most) corals need 100% clear water, and that things like micro-bubbles are bad for the corals, and that the lighting needs to be of the absolute highest wattage, etc... etc... (all the theories that one's faced with in the marine hobby) - if one compares this with what we actually see when SCUBA diving..... that is....

Just trying to make sense of all of this.....

 

[jacquesb]

Hi mullet - thanks..... Yeah - I know. I get the same effect when I actually use my flash when taking pictures, when diving, then I also see the full colors of everything on the pics. But, once you are down there, the actual light spectrum gets filtered out, as you already know. So, the corals at any depth deeper than 15 metres, does not get the full strength and full spectrum of light..... Yes, I know that there are corals that live in less than 5 metres of water, and they most likely get the full spectrum of light, and the full-strength of light.

It is just that we are trying to recreate an environment, which people don't really know enough of to really know of say what is right and what is wrong for our marine tanks.

 

[Mekaeel]

i free dived about a month back at the coral islands in Pettaya Thailand.was awsome.maximum dept 7meters.i usually free dive in our local waters aswell,catching specimens.need to go for my scuba license

 

[komodo]

Hi jacques

Been diving for 11yrs most of them in cape town as a instructor. my favorate species are nudibranchs

 

[Roadblock]

Hi Jacques, i've been diving for 22 years ,i am a naui instructor .I have worked at a catch station in mozams and i lived on an island in madagascar for a year where the reef was pristine whether you were diving at 2m or 50m the shallower you dived the better the sps corals were. I did a solo dive to 74m ,and even down there there was some awsome reef.I have also had the pleasure of diving all round indo and tialand.

 

[Mekaeel]

what did you think of thailands reefs roadblock?did you dive at the coral islands?

 

[Reef Inmate]

Hi There

Been diving since 1992. I am a NAUI instructor. I have dived Aliwal Shoal, Sodwana and Mozambique from Ponta Do Ouro up to Pemba in the North. I was involved in specimen collecting station in Inhambane. Worked on the Island of StMaarten in the Caribbean for a while. The non tourist spots in Moz are just awsome - I try go there as often as possible.

 

[Roadblock]

Hi Mekaeel Yes i have dived the coral islands ,they are just awsome,but there are a lot of other spots that were untouched by commercial diving operations and they were justas good if not better.

 

[Roadblock]

Hi Leigh did you work for wayne lilie in inhambane?

 

[komodo]

seems to me all the instructors at MASA ARE NAUI inst. i love it.#32306