Your First Time Night Diving ? How To Stay Calm And Collected.

Diving at night is a "Same Same but Different" experience from diving during the day.
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The main difference is that instead of being able to see all around you in every direction, you’re surrounded by darkness and can only see what’s illuminated by the beam from your diving light but you actually see colours much better with this torch during the night than without torches during the day and the reef can appear vibrant with colors at night with bright coral polyps coming out of their skeletons to feed.

Night diving can be a daunting prospect, but there are a few things you can do to ease yourself into this unique experience, so you can feel prepared and relaxed when you take to the water.

​​It’s Not All that Scary!
Diving at night can seem scary at first. The more you think about it, the more deep sea monsters you probably imagine. But diving at night can offer an added touch of magic and because you will feel alone in your "bubble of light", it will quickly become your favourite meditation time!

Basking stars bloom at night

What can you see on night dives and not on day dives

Some sea creatures are nocturnal and can only be seen at night. ​

Eels come out on night dives

​For example, it is pretty common in our waters to see giant moray eels hunting at night while we usually only see their heads popping out of a hole during the day. At night they are often seen free swimming and foraging for food and so are many crabs that hide in the reef during the days. 

Moray eel searching for food at night

A beautiful moray head in the dark

And so do crustaceans, they love going out at night...

Crustaceans are also crawling out of their crevices in all types and shapes during the night and you will be amazed by the shinny eyes in the dark like stars in the sky.

slipper lobster, never seen during the day!

spinny lobster some out at night

Lobsters like to hide during the day and go hunting at night when they can be seen out crawling on the reef. Same goes for the shrimps whose eyes shine bright red at night.

Tapestry Shrimp

Durban Dancing shrimps

You wouldn't believe the crabs we see at night, camouflaging as much as they can with their surroundings!

decorator spider crab

this sponge crab, attaches a sponge (or piece of coral) to its back to "hide"

Baskin stars only come out at night and in the maze of their arms, you can find these cute little shrimps.

There are all types of cool hermit crabs too... living in a discarded shell. The anemone Hermit crab (bottom right),  lives in symbiosis with anemone attached to its shells giving it some protection.​

Have you ever taken a closer look at their eyes! I love them so much!!!!

hermit crabs showing his beautiful colors

The mollusk family also have a few night ownls!

In the molusk family, you will see plenty more nudibranch, sea slugs and shells coming out as well. It is not uncommon to sea shells during the day but they only come alive at night, at which time you can see them with their body out feeding or moving around.

most shells are nocturnal

For example here, a giant Triton shell eating a seastar​

A cute nudibranch

In the Nudibranchia family, you will meet some nocturnal creatures, such as the gorgeous Spanich dancer (here again, it is quite common to see spanish dancer's eggs during the day, but while big, we never see adults around during the days).

spanish dancers are nocturnal nudibranch swimming with a lovely flamenco skirt...

spanish dancers are pretty big nudibranch only seen at night

What cephalopods come out at night?

Cephalopods are also mostly nocturnal creatures and while squids can be seen schooling during the day, they rarely come as closed as individuals attracted by our torches at night.

Pygmy squid are only seen during night dives

Squid are a lots more photogenic at night!

One of the most fascinating things about diving at night is seeing the coral bloom. Coral polyps come out at night to feed, extending their tentacles to catch plankton and other small organisms. The coral's nocturnal activity gives the reef a different vibe and reveals a new dimension of beauty. Not only does your torch give you the correct colours back but Night diving is an exciting opportunity to witness the reef come alive and experience the coral world in a more Awaken way!

On your first night dive, you may also experience the natural phenomenon of bioluminescence and feel like harry potter gave you his special wand!  ​When the water is touched or disturbed, it appears to light up, as if by magic.  
​This effect is caused by plankton and can only be seen in certain locations and at certain times: in Thailand it can be seen pretty much every night but will be stronger at times. 

These experiences are unique to night diving and add extra excitement and fun to your diving excursion.​

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Prepare For Your Night Dive

Preparation is key when it comes to any kind of diving. But for diving at night, it can be even more important.

Before you head out for a night dive, it can be a good idea to dive at the same spot during the day. This can give you a better idea of what to expect in terms of the underwater landscape, environment, and the type of conditions you might experience.

As well as diving in the same location during the day, you could also dive at the same spot at dusk or dawn. This can allow you to experience the dive site when there is limited light, but just enough that you’re still able to see most things around you.

Diving during dusk could help to ease you into the night diving experience, as it will get dark gradually during your dive.

While you can see a wide view of the underwater landscape on a dive during the day, your night diving experience will be much different as you usually only look within the beam of your torch.

You’ll be able to pick out more detail in a smaller area, offering a new perspective and letting you discover new sights. That’s in addition to the nocturnal creatures that you might not have seen during a daytime dive.

Pack Your Diving Lights

As well as your essential diving gear, you will need to consider the additional items that you’re likely to need to dive in the dark. 

​One of the most important pieces of equipment for night diving is your primary diving light. This will allow you to see in front of you, helping you to navigate the underwater world in the dark. It will also help you to view shipwrecks and sea creatures during your dive.

Wonderful sea fans on a night dive

Your light should be bright enough (with enough lumens) for you to easily see where you’re going under the water but it doesn't need to be the brightest light on the market as that will be bliding to you/ your buddy and the sleeping fish you may encounter! The width of the beam can also be another consideration and will likely depend on the conditions where you plan to dive.
 
A light with both a wide beam and spotlight can be useful, especially if you want to be able to get a close-up look in tight spaces.
 

Think about the length of time you plan to dive to help you select a light with an adequate battery life.
 
For night diving, you should also have a secondary light in case your primary light fails. This one should still be bright enough to enjoy the end of the dive and to signal your position to the boat once you reach the surface.
 
Another useful light for safety and visibility is a tank light. This lets your diving partner know where you are and vice versa. These lights are usually small LED lights and can either be flashing or a continuous light but it is actually pretty impossible to loose your dive buddy at night unless he turns off his diving torch (and even then, he/she will be able to see you very well!)

Round Up Your Diving Buddy

A diving partner can be even more essential for a good night dive, as you can help to keep each other safe and share your underwater finds!

Before you enter the water, make sure you both know each other’s communication signals, including light signals. This means you can reassure each other and alert each other in an emergency. 

It can be a good idea to dive with a partner who has experience with night diving, especially if it’s your first time and to use the same dive gear, as finding your marks on new equipment is harder in the dark.
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Choose A Shallow Dive Spot

A shallow diving site with little to no current is ideal for your first night dive.
​Seeing the bottom from the time you jump in the water can help to reassure you on the way down rather than crossing a patch of dark water until you reach the reef.

The MV Smiling Seahorse diving platform

Know The Hazards

It can be helpful to do a little research on the nocturnal marine life in the area where you plan to dive. This can give you a better idea of what to expect in terms of potential dangerous marine animals that you may encounter.

In Myanmar for example, we have a lot of crocodile needled fish right under the surface, and they get pretty spooked and disoriented if divers jump on top of them with lights shinning right in their eyes. This would be the biggest hazard you will encounter here as they might go straight at the light, not seeing you are behind it and their beak is pretty sharp! Turning off your light to jump in is the easiest way to avoid this collision as they will easily see and avoid you! You can then turn on your dive torch before descending.

Be careful if there are crocodile needled fish in the area!

Crocodile needle fish aren’t the only ones reacting like a deer in the headlights and giant barracudas hunting at night can look pretty scary when they turn towards your torch with their sharp-teethed-smile! Lighting yourself with your torch is the best way to show them that you are indeed a human behind the light and they will do just like during the day: they will run away from you!

Just like during the day placing your hand on a scorpion fish can end painfully! The best way to avoid this kind of injury is to keep good buoyancy control and avoid touching anything!

How long does a night dive last?

You don’t need to dive for as long as you do during the day, especially if it’s your first night dive but you can. Discuss this during your briefing with your dive guide and dive buddies and agree on a hand signal to say “you had enough” or “you want to stay a little longer”. You may be surprised once you get used to the darkness, you may actually want to make it longer than you planned. As night dives are pretty shallow it is quite common to come back to the boat with some air in your tank and far from reaching NDL.

Cool in the sunset...

Ready to jump!

Night diving is usually done on a the reef. But there is also a new way to dive at night, offshore. Have you heard about Blackwater diving? It is a night dive in the open ocean over hundred of meter of water, we do not look at blooming coral on these dives but they let you witness some of the most mesmerising "ocean babies" including all types of larvae, cephalopods and crustaceans living in the open seas.

The Smiling Seahorse is the only liveaboard in Thailand offering Blackwater diving on every cruise, but most liveaboard offer the more traditional night diving on the reef.

Pelagic octopus: Paper Nautilus

Deep sea fish: Tripod fish

On blackwater dives, you can see all the marine life we see on the reef at its larval stage but also some fish never seen on the reef, such as deep sea creatures or pelagic such as the paper nautilus or tripod fish that usually lives at depths of hundreds of meters.

Get in touch to book your next holidays and try Night diving with us!