About this tour

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox. The Essence.

It’s your ambition to enjoy longer no-decompression limits with enriched air. It’s your drive to minimize the potential risk of decompression sickness. The SSI Enriched Air Nitrox program enables you to plan your future dives to either increase bottom time or increase safety.

After the course you will have learnt how to choose the proper blend of Nitrox for your dive profile, determine maximum depth limits for your Nitrox mixture, analyze your breathing mixture, and plan and safely execute each dive.

You will familiarize with the physiology of oxygen and nitrogen, the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of nitrox, the aspects of oxygen toxicity, hazards and precautions of handling oxygen.

We teach you cylinder labeling, analyzing nitrox mixtures, and gas blending procedures.

The use of enriched air nitrox is booming. And rightfully so. When applied in an appropriate manner, nitrox increases your bottom time when compared to normal air. Enriched air reduces the introduction of nitrogen to your system, hence allowing you longer multiple dives.

You have to realise there is a rock bottom limit to nitox mixture. I you go below, it might result in oxygen toxicity, even with the slightest error margins. To help you improve knowledge of this arena of diving, SSI offers a comprehensive recreational nitrox certification specialty course. 

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox. The Pre-requisites.

• Minimum age: 10 years old

• Have the following SSI certifications or an equivalent from a recognized training agency:

  • Referral Diver
  • Diving Knowledge Specialty programs may be combined with an Open Water Diver program.

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox. The Training Sessions.

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox contains:

• Introduction to Nitrox
• Nitrox, Your Body and the Underwater World
• Your Total Diving System and Nitrox
• Planning Your Nitrox Dives

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox. Learning Method.

The SSI Enriched Air Nitrox program will teach you how to safely plan and dive with enriched air mixtures of up to 40% oxygen. Diving with enriched air can increase your no-decompression limits, increase your safety, and reduce the required length of your surface intervals when compared to air. You will earn the SSI Enriched Air Nitrox 32% or 40% certification after completing this program. Using nitrox requires special training, preparation and pre-dive planning.

The first element of the SSI course is the manual. The easy to read text covers each component step by step and reinforces each lesson with review questions at the end of each chapter.

The first chapter gives an overview of nitrox, its misperceptions, its benefits and its limitations. Chapter two is a tutorial about the physics and physiology of diving on nitrox, including depth limitations, oxygen toxicity and the concept of partial pressure of oxygen as the determining factor of nitrox depth and time limitations.

Chapter is a summary of equipment considerations for diving with enriched air. This includes cylinder markings and the need to analyze every tank of nitrox before you dive with it. Unlike regular airfills, nitrox mixtures vary, requiring divers to personally check the oxygen content of each and every tank.

Chapter four covers the real skill of nitrox diving: use of these special nitrox tables in preparation for the dive.

SSI Enriched Air Nitrox. Certification.

• Certified SSI divers can dive with an equally- or more-qualified buddy in environments equivalent to their training and within the recommended depth limits of their certifications.
• Students younger than 15 years old will be certified as an SSI Junior Diver in the applicable program, and can dive under the direct supervision of a dive professional, or with a certified adult, in environments equivalent to their training and within the recommended depth limits.