What is FLUO diving?
2016-12-05 10:44:23
FLUO night dive equipment
FLUO diving is the latest craze in scuba diving. Special lights and a mask filter reveal a completely different underwater world to what you are used to.
But what is FLUO diving?
It's magical. It's exciting. It's totally new. It's something not to be missed.
If you need more of an explanation...
If you have previously
night dived in the tropics, you will have probably experienced
bio luminescence. While on a night dive, put your torch light to your chest to block out the light, wave your other arm around and little sparks of light trail off your finger tips. If you haven't yet done that, then you should. It's always an amusing way to pass the time on your safety stop. Basically you are just upsetting the plankton that is present in the water.
Fluorescence is different. You provide the energy (in the form of your special FLUO torch light) and those organisms that are capable literally glow underwater. Psychedelic!
Apart from your standard scuba diving gear, to witness underwater fluorescence you will need 2 more special pieces of equipment.
1) Blue light dive torch
2) Blue block yellow mask filter
At our
Dive Centers in Maldives, both the
dive center on Angaga Island and the
dive center on Thulhagiri Island, have this equipment to rent.
Traditionally UV light is best associated with fluorescence but fluorescence is best seen underwater with scientifically-developed blue lights rather than UV light. One reason why this is the case is that blue is a colour we lose once we descend below a certain depth. Marine organisms capable of fluorescence have evolved to deal with this lack of blue presumably to use their fluorescence as a means of survival against their competitors. Therefore the state-of-the-art technique for observing underwater fluorescence requires blue light, not UV light.
The mask filter is then required to filter out any reflected blue light from your torch, which would blind you from seeing the weaker fluorescence present.
It is even more complicated since the
FLUO diving torches are actually specifically designed to include an 'excitation filter', not just simply to emit blue light. This filter on the torch further complements the yellow filter placed over your mask to achieve optimal results on your FLUO dive.
The result of the additional equipment on your night dive means you get to see underwater fluorescence. Night dives are one thing but
FLUO night dives are something else and this is why FLUO diving is fast becoming the latest craze in scuba diving.
Feel free to
contact us for more information or try
FLUO diving at one of our
Maldives dive centers. You have to see it to believe it!
