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Hookah Hoses
Hookah breathing air hose is made of a special vinyl plastic construction, which is resistant to the effects of oil, gasoline and sunlight that exists in the environment. Conventional rubber scuba hose should never be used for hookah diving because it will gradually deteriorate and become toxic. Hookah hose commonly has an inside diameter of 8 mm or 10 mm. It is constructed of an inner liner of food-grade vinyl wrapped with a nylon webbing reinforcement and covered with a heavy-duty PVC abrasion resistant wall. Hookah hose is designed to prevent kinking and collapsing which could cause the flow of breathing air to be shut off.
A quality surface supply diving systems hose will be coloured a bright yellow or orange, for a high degree of visibility. It will also float, so that any excess hose not actually being used will float on the surface, completely away from the diver, reducing the possibility of entanglements on the bottom. For example, if you are diving in three metres of water but are using a 10-metre length of air hose, the excess seven metres will float on the surface, completely away from you. A quality Hookah air will not impart any flavouring to the air and should meet AS2299 and AS1716 standards.
We recommend the use of high-quality, Australian made Barfell® Divers Air Breather Hookah hoses with an inside diameter of 8 mm for recreational diving and 10 mm for commercial diving. The Barfell hookah hoses meet Australian Standards AS2299 and AS/NZ1716.
We also recommend the use of commercial-grade lockable Unoflow® quick couplings for safe hookah diving. We think the Unoflow product is superior to the equivalent TEMA product. The Unoflow is fully marine-grade Stainless Steel AISI 316, while the TEMA is chrome-plated brass. The Unoflow quick connect is not compatible with the TEMA product. Don't risk your life by using inferior hookah hoses and quick couplings.
Hose Configuration: A hookah breathing air hose is normally set up with a Male quick coupling at the compressor end, and a self-sealing Female quick coupling at the diver end. Thus when a hose is disconnected the female end self-seals and prevents air loss.
For specialist commercial diving Hookah gear, we recommend you contact Eric Percival at Airdive Equipment on 03 6273 3125, or airdive@airdive.com.au.
Technical Tip
Warning: Using general-purpose air hoses (e.g. as used with workshop compressors and found at hardware stores) that are not certified for breathing air can potentially damage your lungs and is in breach of Workplace Health and Safety regulations. The lining inside many air hoses often deteriorates with age, oil and heat, potentially releasing toxic particles straight into the users breathing air supply. Incorrect hose connector fittings are also often easily damaged and accidentally disconnected, thereby cutting off the operators breathing air supply.
Please read Introduction to Hookah Diving for more information about things you need to consider with a hookah diving setup.
Yakka Reef Frankston
Reef Dive | 
Boat access
Yakka Reef
© Victorian Fisheries Authority
Depth: 11 m (36 ft)
Yakka Reef Frankston is an artificial reef located inside Port Phillip approximately 2 kilometres out from Frankston shore created with the aim of improving recreational fishing opportunities and testing the reefs environmental suitability and performance as a fish habitat. The reef is named after the growing popularity of kayak fishing and the reefs accessibility to small craft.
| Description | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|
| Far North Pallet Ball | 38° 08.467' S | 145° 05.480' E |
| Far East Pallet Ball | 38° 08.483' S | 145° 05.500' E |
| Far South Pallet Ball | 38° 08.499' S | 145° 05.479' E |
| Far West Pallet Ball | 38° 08.482' S | 145° 05.459' E |
See WillyWeather (Seaford) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.
Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) Boat Based Reefs in Port Phillip
The Port Phillip Boating Reefs in Port Phillip were installed with the aim of improving recreational fishing opportunities and testing the reefs'environmental suitability and performance as fish habitat. The three reefs are in a water depth of 11 metres, approximately 2 kilometres out from Aspendale, Seaford and Frankston. A public naming competition was held during Easter 2009.
The boat based artificial reefs are:
- Aspendale Rec Reef — The reef at Aspendale is named Rec Reef to highlight the use of these reefs to improve recreational fishing.
- Tedesco Reef Seaford — The reef at Seaford is named Tedesco Reef to pay tribute to Neil Tedesco who passed away on 16 April 2009 at age 31. Neil was a devoted fisher and diver and a true ambassador for these sports.
- Yakka Reef Frankston — The reef at Frankston is named Yakka Reef after the growing number of people using kayaks in Port Phillip as an environmentally-friendly way to go fishing.
Port Phillip Boat Based Reefs | Source: Victorian Fisheries Authority
What Do The Reefs Look Like?
Each reef consists of 96 reef balls of different sizes (16 pallet balls, 56 bay balls and 24 mini-bay balls) placed in a specific geometric pattern over an area of 50 square metres.
The reef balls are dome-shaped concrete structures with a rough stony surface and a number of holes in them to attract marine life. The concrete mix is environmentally-friendly so there is no leaching of toxins and these structures have a life span of at least 300 years in the marine environment. They are not permanently fixed to the seabed allowing them to be repositioned or removed if deemed necessary.
Port Phillip Boat Based Reef Layout | Source: Victorian Fisheries Authority
See also, VFA: Boat Based Reefs,
Port Phillip Bay Recreational Fishing Reefs — May 2009.
Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country
Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.
Yakka Reef Frankston Location Map
Latitude: 38° 8.483′ S (38.141383° S / 38° 8′ 28.98″ S)
Longitude: 145° 5.479′ E (145.091317° E / 145° 5′ 28.74″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
Added: 2012-07-22 09:00:00 GMT, Last updated: 2022-03-22 15:15:13 GMT
Source: Victorian Government GPS (verified)
Nearest Neighbour: Isis, 899 m, bearing 34°, NE
Artificial reef installed to improve recreational fishing.
Frankston, Mornington Peninsula, Port Phillip.
Depth: 11 m.
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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.
The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.
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