10 Best Aquarium Manufacturer

Best Aquarium Manufacturer in 2023

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Scuba Behind the Glass: Aquarium Diving

Three great dives behind the glass at three of the best aquariums in the United States.

If the conversation occurs in my home state of Rhode Island, it would include sentences like "Wow, the visibility was, like, five inches." Or on a good night it would include, "Did you see that gigantic lobster? I tried to catch it, but it got away." It is an unspoken rule among divers that dishing about the dive must last at least twice as long as the actual event.

There are three dives in particular that I've now talked about for an unknown length of time. The first occurred in June 2020. Todd (my husband and also my favorite dive buddy) and I were bumming around in Orlando for a long weekend. We had heard an unsubstantiated rumor that The Living Seas aquarium at Epcot Center was open to scuba divers. We bee-lined to the park to confirm the rumor. Before we knew it we managed to sneak into the last two spots available for the last dive of the day.

In the pre-dive briefing we were told that there were two 8-foot sharks in the 5.7 million gallon aquarium, and one of those sharks was re-introduced to the environment just two weeks before. The guide went on to say that the recently reunited shark was removed from the tank because he displayed aggressive tendencies. The words "aggressive" and "shark" reverberated in my brain as the briefing continued. We were told that the sharks tend to swim in a clearly defined pattern, and that we would be wise to stay out of their way. Todd held up his hands and said, "No problem!" while the other divers nervously laughed and nodded in agreement.

Seemingly moments later we hit the water. We were led through the tank by a pair of dive masters, and shown around the features of the tank. Then we were set loose to explore on our own. Todd and I stayed together and swam through the exhibit an arm's length away from each other, as we always do when we dive together. We ducked below the rock features, and played with the angelfish hiding in its shadows. We watched the eagle rays hover on the bottom and the sharks circulate through the tank. Then I looked up and noticed that the aquarium visitors were watching me through the glass.

I spotted a small boy that turned his attention away from the tank; I swam to the glass just below where the boy stood. I slowly scaled the glass until I was face to face with him and waited until he turned toward the tank again. He jumped back, obviously startled about being nose to nose with a human in the aquarium. The boy's mother doubled over with laughter and hugged the boy to help him recover from the fright. We waved and I pressed my hand against the glass. The boy placed his hand against my hand as if to say, "I forgive you even though you scared the daylights out of me."

We continued exploring the tank, and avoided the sharks as they swam in their rotation around the tank. Eventually the clicking sound of the dive master knocking rocks together echoed through the tank. We returned to the center of the tank and ascended. I turned circles just to take in a few more glimpses of the tank before my head poked through the surface.

***

A year and a half later, in December 2020, Todd and I stepped off the plane in Atlanta, Georgia. In six days it would be his birthday, and I presented him with tickets to dive the Ocean Voyager tank at the Georgia Aquarium. The prime attraction in the 6.3 million gallon tank is four whale sharks; the largest one measures 26 feet long.

The aquarium is designed so that visitors will feel like they are inside the tank. The tank can be viewed through acrylic bubbles that protrude into the tank, and from a giant tube that intersects the center of the tank as well. From this vantage point, guests can view giant sting rays flapping their wings and exposing their undersides without having to don scuba gear. Hammerhead sharks, guitarfish, and enormous groupers all share the tank with the four whale sharks.

The main difference between the Living Seas dive at Epcot and the "Journey with Gentle Giants" dive in the Georgia Aquarium is that we were permitted nearly unrestricted access to the tank at Epcot, so long as we didn't touch the animals. In the Georgia Aquarium tank we were not allowed to stray from the group. We stayed in a close formation, a string of four buddy pairs swimming one after the other and were strictly forbidden from touching the animals.

We reached the center of the tank and knelt on the bottom and looked toward the surface. Thousands of colorful reef fish circled above, a dense population only seen on a computer screen saver. We held still as dozens of fish circled in to investigate the beings on the bottom blowing long streams of bubbles that led to the surface. From the distance the whale sharks emerged. Their spotted markings came into focus as they approached, as they swam their patterns right by us.

The dive master guided us through the tank as my eyes scanned the habitat to absorb as much of it as I could. I turned to face Todd, on my left, just as a hammerhead shark passed just in front of his face, its tail fin just shy of grazing the glass of his mask. He turned to face me and I opened my eyes wide at him and clapped my hands, which is the underwater signal we use to express delight.

We continued on our guided tour of the tank when a whale shark approached Todd's left side. It passed close enough so that he could have reached out his left arm and touched it as it passed. I could see the debate cross over his face as the shark passed-he knew he would likely never get the chance to touch a whale shark again, but also knew we would be immediately expelled from the tank if he disregarded the rule of the aquarium and touched the wildlife. He kept his hands at his sides and watched in awe as the shark passed and swam away.

All too soon we were given the signal to surface, and we ascended the same way as we had at Epcot-turning circles to take in the last few glimpses of the whale sharks and the thousands of other species in the tank.

***

A chilly breeze blew through Boston on Valentines Day 2020 as I simultaneously hauled two sets of dive gear through the streets toward the New England Aquarium while Todd parked our truck. I was greeted by Anna at the member services desk and led upstairs to the "backstage area" of the aquarium where I stashed our gear and met the director of the aquarium.

Todd and I were the only guest divers in the Giant Ocean Tank, which is a four story structure in the center of the building. The tank is 23 feet deep and holds 200,000 gallons of water. In the center of the tank there is a man-made reef with hundreds of nooks in which the fish can dart in and out. Visitors to the aquarium view the inhabitants of the tank by walking up a ramp that spirals around the perimeter of the cylindrical tank. The tank is open at the top, and visitors are able to stand at the edges and peer down into the tank while an aquarium staffer gives scheduled talks on the different animals that call the tank home. There are several sand tiger sharks in the tank, as well as sea turtles. One of the turtles, Myrtle, is at least 70 years old and has lived in the tank since 1970. She weighs more than 500 pounds and is the premier attraction at the New England Aquarium. The tank also houses stingrays, barracudas, moray eels, and hundreds of reef fish.

Todd and I stood on the platform at the top of the tank with our guide while dozens of guests looked on. We did a giant stride into the water and quickly descended to the bottom. The water was approximately 70 degrees, which was warm enough for me to dive without my gloves. We were permitted to interact with the animals, so long as we respected them. We were only allowed to touch them as they swam in their patterns, and were not allowed to chase them or trap them to force an interaction. Anna showed the inside of the reef and pointed an invitation to go inside. I entered the bottom of the reef and saw that the interior was hollow. I swam up the column and escaped at the top, near a moray eel that stuck its head out to check me out. I swam back to the bottom where Myrtle was dozing as Todd stroked her neck. I caressed her fins, and then massaged her neck; she gently bowed her head then slowly swam to the surface.

The sand tiger sharks swam in circles around the reef. I held out my hand and felt their sandpapery skin down the length of their bodies as they swam by. Then I felt a slight pinch on my arm. Mildly alarmed, I cautiously looked down to see a small damsel fish nibbling on my arm. I could barely feel it through my 7mm wetsuit. I laughed and shook it off my arm; for the rest of the dive a few brave damsels nibbled at my arms and legs.

We swam around the reef at varying depths, and poked in and out of the artificial coral. A bright green moray gracefully twirled in front of us then eased itself under another outcropping of coral. Myrtle and her sea turtle friends swam to us and smiled as we pet their fins and rubbed their shells. I pretended to shake Myrtle's hand, while children watching through the glass pointed and laughed with delight.

Anna signaled by pointing at her wrist then sticking her thumb up which is diver-ese "Time to surface." Todd flashed his "I am so bummed this dive is over" expression as I nodded to express that I agreed.

Each of these experiences in these aquariums was uniquely beautiful, and I highly recommend each one of them. Though it was the smallest habitat we had the pleasure of diving in, the New England Aquarium provided the most interactive encounter. The Georgia Aquarium provided the most unique dive because it offered the chance to explore a whale shark habitat. The Living Seas at Epcot offers Disney guests the chance to view the exhibit from the inside, and is off the beaten path of the Orlando amusement parks.