Mini scuba tank comparison: OX500, OX500Plus or OX1000, which one should you get?

The OX500, OX500Plus and OX1000 start from the same base: a cylinder made of 6061 aluminium, a 200 bar working pressure, and refilling that you take care of yourself. None of that, then, is what separates OXSEA's three mini scuba tanks. Just three criteria do: how each one can be refilled, how long it keeps you underwater and how you carry it. Together they tell you which model is yours.

The short answer, depending on your situation

• OX500 and manual pump: your jobs are brief and occasional, on a boat that has no electricity.
• OX500Plus: the work is short, but it needs both your hands.
• OX1000 and mini compressor: you stay under the hull for longer.

Not sure which of the two sizes to pick? The mini compressor fills 0.5 litres just as readily as 1 litre. So you can buy an OX500 now and an OX1000 later, and keep the same refill equipment.

First criterion: what will you refill it with?

A mini tank you cannot fill at the moment you want it is no use to you. That puts refilling ahead of everything else. There are three ways of going about it.

No power on hand: the manual pump

The OXSEA manual pump (€159.99) works without electricity. Filling 0.5 litres takes about 20 minutes. Its limitation: it fills the OX500 and OX500Plus, but is incompatible with the OX1000.

On battery or mains: the mini compressor

The 12V / 220V mini compressor costs €549.99. You plug it into whichever you have: the mains, at 220V, or a 12V battery. A 0.5 litre tank is full in about 12 minutes, a 1 litre tank in about 20 minutes. It fills all three models.

From a scuba tank: transfer

Already have a standard scuba tank? A transfer station, with a DIN or yoke fitting, lets you use it to fill the mini tank. With the OX1000, the transfer takes about a minute.

The result: on a boat with neither electricity nor a scuba tank, the manual pump is all that remains. Only the OX500 and OX500Plus are then self-sufficient. The OX1000, by contrast, requires a compressor or a scuba tank.

Second criterion: the time you need underwater

The OX500 and OX500Plus carry the same amount of air, 0.5 litres, which works out at up to 8 minutes. The OX1000 carries double: about 15 minutes.

These figures apply near the surface, with calm breathing. Go deeper, push harder, and the air runs out sooner. So read 8 and 15 minutes as ceilings. To choose, go by the longest of the tasks you have planned, and not the shortest.

An anchor to free, a quick check of the propeller: jobs like these last a few minutes, and 0.5 litres covers them. Cleaning a stretch of hull, or a piece of work under the boat, goes on for longer. That is the OX1000's territory.

Third criterion: how you carry it

Nothing in the range is simpler or lighter than the OX500. You hold it in your mouth, much as you would a snorkel. Out of the water it weighs 1.55 kg; once submerged, under a kilo. It stows in a boat locker, and its built-in gauge lets you keep an eye on the pressure.

The OX500Plus adds an external regulator and a harness. Strapped to your back, it leaves both hands free. It can still be held in the mouth, like an OX500. Its pressure gauge is external: a glance is all it takes to read it.

The OX1000 is worn on the back as well, with its harness and external regulator. It weighs 3.15 kg. For working, it is the most stable configuration.

The comparison table for the three models

Prices recorded on 1 October 2026.

The real budget: the tank plus the means to fill it

A tank is not complete without a way to refill it. So compare the price of the whole set, not that of the tank alone. Each pack combines the two items in one order.

Each model is presented in more detail in the mini scuba tank range of the OXSEA shop. Unsure about something before you order? Send us your question.