When our pump started making occasional whirring noises I knew I was getting a hint that my pump was on it’s way out. When it started screaming like a banshee, I knew I had waited too long before figuring out how to swap it out. This is a brief account of my experience replacing our Floatarium filtration system.

Click on the image for a video showcasing the sound of a dying pump

The filtration system that came with our Floatarium has always been a pain. It is very difficult to change the filters (and salt water gets everywhere), the 1hp pump never seemed like quite enough power for the large amount of water it has to move, and the UV lights came with a mess of wires.
We have decided that UV light is not required in our tanks. It sounds great when you explain to customers that you have it, but I don’t believe that it is actually doing the work promised. We also decided an easier to change filter would be necessary along with a more powerful pump.

I went online and did my best comparative shopping hoping for a 2hp pump, however high prices led me to a less expensive 1.5hp pump on Amazon. I also found a reasonably priced filter online, and I paid extra so that the parts would arrive on Tuesday (the one day a week we are closed).

Floating is an art just as much as it is a science. Which means, you often aren’t going to become a pro at it right away. Even if you have floated 1, 2, 3, or 10 times, there are still mistakes that you might be making in a float tank. Here are the most common mistakes that we find rookies make while floating:

Eating or Drinking Too Much Beforehand

Tanks, pods, cabins, sensory deprivation, isolation…there’s a bit of lingo associated with floating. Although the basic definition of floatation therapy is universal, what you choose to float IN may affect how much you enjoy your experience. Are you really tall? A little claustrophobic? A tad picky (like us)? If so, it might be helpful to know what’s on the menu with our floatation tank comparison.

Tanks, pods, cabins and open tubs are all different designs. Narrow, rectangular tanks have been around the longest, and Oasis and Samadhi (1) (both made in the U.S.) are the names most associated with this style. You enter this tank by bending through a hatch at one end and sitting in the water; these tanks are not large enough to stand in. Because these tanks are smaller than cabin-style tanks and more narrow than pods, some people may feel claustrophobic. Some floaters find it helpful to prop the hatch open with a rolled-up towel or even leave it open altogether to alleviate a confined feeling. However, many floaters feel completely comfortable in these tanks. Our amazing first floats were in Oasis tanks!

The names most commonly associated with float pods are i-sopod (made in the U.K.) and TrueREST (made in the U.S.), but new tank manufacturers are popping up pretty regularly as floating continues to blossom all over the world (2). Pods tend to be more curvy and slightly wider, with a lift-up lid at one end of the tank. These allow you to step in, then sit down and close the lid. Once the lid is closed, it’s not possible to stand. These tanks are a bit roomier, and the soft, rounded shape is appealing to many. These modern designs also include features like built-in speakers and LED lighting to allow floaters to control the ambiance of their experience.

Cabin-style tanks, like ours at Just Float, aim to give people more room to float. Cabins tend to be built into a wall and entered by stepping through a door. They are large enough for most people to stand in and are wider than most tanks or pods. Some, including ours, have light and audio options for customized experiences. As floating evolves, tank designs are changing to meet the desires of the float community, and roomier, technology-rich cabins are an example of this evolution.

What is water hardness? 

Water hardness is, at its most basic, the presence of certain minerals in water. Historically, water hardness was a measure of water’s ability to form lather during laundering. Harder water, due to it’s high calcium/magnesium content, would not lather as readily (or at all). For a long time there were many different scales for this, due to different countries with different languages measuring different chemical reactions.

Today we measure Total Hardness, the total amount of both calcium and magnesium in the water, in parts per million (ppm). There are also individual tests for magnesium hardness and calcium hardness. Total hardness is not useful for float tanks, since we add about 300,000ppm of magnesium sulfate to our water.

The measurement you would potentially find useful to your tank would be calcium hardness, and even that is not really necessary to monitor.

Why do we (usually) measure water hardness?

High calcium hardness can cause scaling, a crusty precipitation of excess calcium. This is especially harmful to water heaters, as calcium has an inverse temperature solubility; in water, calcium is exothermic, which means it gives off heat when combining with water. This also means that the warmer the water, the less calcium can remained dissolved in it. For this reason water heaters are particularly vulnerable to excessive scaling, which can cause the heater to work harder to less effect. This not only raises the cost of heating your water, but will ultimately result in the heater failing.