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Something in the world of floating have you stumped?

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Show Highlights

How much does a float tank cost?

Short answer — roughly $18 – 43K.

The slightly longer answer — listen to today’s episode.

Show Resources

Listen to Just the Audio

Transcription of this episode… (in case you prefer reading)

Graham: Alright, welcome, everybody. Our question today from one of our listeners is: “How much is a sensory deprivation tank?”

Ashkahn: Okay. How much does a float tank coast, huh? It’s a big range, right? I think the full scope of the range, I would say, is probably $10 000 at the lowest to $80 000 at the highest, for a commercial tank. There’s a tank, there’s the Zen Tent, which is $1,900 something. But that’s not really made for commercial use.

Graham: Right. So I guess just to clarify; I assume, since this is a show for commercial float center owners, that this is more on the commercial side. On the commercial side, about $10,000 to $80,000, from the very lowest to the very highest.

And so then the more median range in there, the average range of tanks that people are investing in, what do you think those are?

Ashkahn: There’s only a handful around the $10,000 range, and there’s I think an even smaller handful in that higher $70-$80,000 range. So, really, the bulk of them are somewhere between 20 and 40. Maybe slightly under 20k and 40k, and slightly over 40k, like 17-43k or something is gonna be the large majority of commercial float tanks out there.

Graham: Yeah, I think $17,000 to $43,000 was actually weirdly the numbers that I had in my head. And that’s also for getting commercial set up for the filtration side of things, too.

There are some of these tanks that you can get that have the lower priced models and the higher priced ones, or ones that are meant for home use and ones that are more for commercial settings. So that price range also includes that backside, too; the filtration system and everything that you’d need to be able to put in.

Ashkahn: Yeah, there’s one or two manufacturers out there that will even just sell a tub and you can kind of build the rest of it, so we’re not exactly counting those into this list.

Graham: I’d even say that the shipping and installation is kind of worked into that, too, or if you work that in, maybe it goes just a tiny bit higher.

Ashkahn: Those are good things to consider. I mean, if you’re buying a float tank, those are the things that you might not be quite expecting right off the bat and can vary a lot from tank to tank. Like, if you’re buying a tank that’s being manufactured down the street from you versus being manufactured on a different continent. The shipping cost is probably gonna be different across those two models.

Some manufacturers require for you to pay for installers to come out, so two people will come out and be there and install the thing and teach you how to do it. Other ones will send you the equipment and you can install it yourself.

Graham: I should say that literally before doing this episode, we went and looked at our own tank comparison chart to get a sense for exactly where those numbers were. I totally recommend you go to Float Tank Solutions and download the tank comparison chart and actually get a good look at exactly what these tanks are, and kind of the full range there. You can actually view all the individual units in addition to just having this broad view of price.

Ashkahn: Outside of that, it’s really hard to break it down much further. You might think that cabins are more expensive than pod-style tanks, and I feel like that can be true. You definitely see more cabins in the higher end than you do in the lower end, but there are some cabins out there that are in that $17-18k range.

And there are some tank or pod models out there that are in the $30K-something range, so that’s not necessarily a completely true statement, either.

Graham: And I think that’s all there is to say about that.

Ashkahn: Yeah. Alright. Ship it.

Graham: Lick it and stick it.

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When Graham and Ashkahn get to definitively answer a question, it’s like Christmas. Birds sing and the guys bust out their “Answering a question definitively” dance, which has the added side effect of better crop yields during the coming harvest. It’s an exciting time. 

There’s a very straightforward mathematical equation for measuring the weight of salt water based on specific gravity, which is excellent. And useful!

Also, whoever wrote this question needs to contact Graham and Ashkahn ASAP!

When is it Time to Open a Second Float Center? – DSP 115

Tips on Structuring Your Service Menu – DSP 111

There’s a lot of nuance to how you structure your service menu that can have a significant impact on how your customers spend their money. The size of prices, how they’re ordered or arranged, what price you put first on the menu, etc. all make a difference. Given all these small details, it can seem daunting and make some business owners unsure of where to start or who’s advice to take.

Fortunately, Graham and Ashkahn have been at this for a long time and really dig marketing psychology, so they have lots of advice, tips and even some of the psychology behind why we do the things we do. 

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