Surface interval planner

Your surface interval is the time between surfacing from one dive and starting the next. Log when you surfaced and this planner keeps the clock running for you, with reminders of common minimums — while your tables or dive computer decide what the interval actually buys you.

⚠️ Educational tool — not dive-planning software

This page is for learning and rough estimates only. Always follow your training, your dive tables, and your dive computer — they account for factors a web page cannot. Never plan a real dive from a website.

Saved on this device, so you can come back between dives.

Surface interval so far

  • 15 minutes

    Barely a pause — your body has only just started off-gassing nitrogen.

  • 1 hour

    Many agencies suggest at least an hour between deep repetitive dives. Your tables or computer set the real number.

  • 3 hours

    A generous interval that meaningfully lowers residual nitrogen before a repetitive dive.

This planner shows elapsed time only — it does not compute pressure groups or residual nitrogen. Those depend on your depth, time, and the tables or computer you dive with.

How it works

This is deliberately a timer, not a decompression calculator. It shows one number:

surface interval = current time − time you surfaced

It does not compute pressure groups or residual nitrogen. Those depend on your exact depths, bottom times, and which table or algorithm you dive — PADI RDP, SSI tables, and every computer model handle them differently, and mixing systems mid-calculation is how mistakes happen. Use the table you were certified on, or let your dive computer do it continuously.

What the milestones remind you of: off-gassing starts the moment you surface but is slow at first; many agencies suggest at least an hour between deep repetitive dives; and a longer interval always means less residual nitrogen going into the next dive. When in doubt, extend the interval — lunch on the boat never hurt anyone's dive plan.

Log the dive, not just the numbers

Tortuba is a free dive log and fish guide for iPhone and iPad — log a dive in a minute and remember every creature you met.