Learn best practices for starting and running a float center:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Something in the world of floating have you stumped?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Show Highlights

Graham and Ashkahn finish up their penultimate episode by answering the most important question of all, “how to start a salt tank business?” 

They answer this question with the thoroughness and severity it deserves. 

Show Resources

An Important Announcement from the Daily Solutions Podcast

If you’d like to sign up to ask a question on our two-hour call-in show, November 29th that’s in two days!) at 3 pm PST, go to floattanksolutions.com/dsplive.

Listen to Just the Audio

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

Ashkahn: Okay.

Graham: Wow. We made it.

Ashkahn: This is it.

Graham: We all made it.

Ashkahn: Just barely, some of us.

Graham: Just barely, yeah. What a year, huh?

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: For those of you who’ve just been listening to us every day and started to think in our voices, thanks. We’re here for you.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: Our voices will stick around in your thoughts for years to come.

Ashkahn: If this is the first episode you’re listening to-

Graham: Then you can listen to the entire thing in reverse, which might be kinda fun. The intros will get progressively worse over time.

Ashkahn: I don’t know why that’s what your plan would be, but I guess my name’s Ashkahn if you’re just tuning in.

Graham: I’m Graham and this is the 365th day in a row that we’ve been doing this.

Ashkahn: Yeah. We’ve been in this little room for a year now and sliding food under the door.

Graham: I wonder how things have changed in the outside world.

Ashkahn: You guys have flying cars yet?

Graham: You probably have flying cars.

Ashkahn: At this point, they must.

Graham: Yeah. The only other thing we’re doing past this one is a big two-hour live call-in extravaganza.

Ashkahn: Yeah, got a finale coming up.

Graham: Honestly, come join us for it. If you’ve been enjoying this podcast, fulfill our wish and join us to ask us live questions and treat us like a radio call-in show.

Ashkahn: It’s secretly what we’ve wanted this whole time.

Graham: Not so secretly. I think we’ve said it on the air many times.

Ashkahn: It was just really complicated, so we’re going to do it. We’re going to do it for a big finale.

Graham: It’s true. It is taking a lot of tech work to actually figure out how to do a live call-in show that makes sense.

Ashkahn: If you tune in and no one’s able to call in, we’ve failed.

Graham: Yeah, sorry.

Ashkahn: Sorry about that.

Graham: Tune in for the disaster. It’ll be in two days, so … well, not two days from when you’re listening maybe, but-

Ashkahn: Hopefully, yeah. Possibly.

Graham: It’s coming up.

Ashkahn: There’s at least a chance.

Graham: If today’s the 27th, it’s in freaking two days.

Ashkahn: Yeah, two days from now.

Graham: 29th, three to five PM.

Ashkahn: Pacific Time. It’s going to live. There’s going to be video footage of it.

Graham: We’ll be streaming it on Facebook Live. We might be streaming it on YouTube Live, but yeah. We’ll have links on our website, you can go catch it. Pretty much anywhere you follow us, tune in and we’ll have an easy way to join the live call-in show.

Ashkahn: Yeah.

Graham: That’s it.

Ashkahn: Got one final question.

Graham: One final question. We’ve saved the best for last, I think. This just came in I think two days ago, it’s kind of a doozy. It is “how to open a salt tank business?” Question mark. Yeah, good question. You’re asking on the right show, that’s for sure. We usually call them float tanks.

Ashkahn: That’s probably the first, number one, I’d say.

Graham: Salt tanks is more something that we used to call them back in the ’80s. Salt tank therapy. Yeah, man, it’s crazy.

Ashkahn: There’s a lot to know, almost 364, 365 individual nuggets of information to know out there about how to open a salt tank business.

Graham: If only there was some podcast that had just finished up a year’s worth of daily recordings that you could tune into.

Ashkahn: That would be cool. That’d probably be a great answer to your question.

Graham: If you know anyone out there who’s doing that, maybe subscribe on iTunes or go watch YouTube videos. Mainly, just get some float tanks and slap them in your room. You’ll be fine.

Ashkahn: There’s not really a lot to know.

Graham: Yeah, when you get down to it, it’s pretty basic.

Ashkahn: You can go in any space, really. There are very few requirements. They pretty much take care of themselves.

Graham: You can run the entire thing by yourself. I’d say max nine tanks should be fine. Plenty of family time on top of it.

Ashkahn: Customers, they just come. If you build it, they will come. It’s easy.

Graham: It’s one of those Field of Dreams kind of industries out there.

Ashkahn: It’s just easy money. You should really be interested in opening a business if you’re looking for easy money and you don’t really care that much about floating or whatever these salt boxes are.

Graham: If you like money, probably above most other things in life, boy you’ve found the right industry. The salt tank industry is really lucrative.

Ashkahn: You’re going to deal with some annoying customers and put up with that, but …

Graham: Yeah, kind of annoying industry podcast hosts to listen to. Yeah, good luck. That was a good question. Yeah, so I think that pretty much closes out that one. I did want to spend some extra time on the episode, though, just saying how grateful we are for the chance to be able to do and grateful to work in an industry that supports us and gives us the time to share the information that we’ve learned with everyone. Thanks for tuning in. It honestly means a lot and we would’ve stopped a lot sooner if we didn’t have an audience out there.

Ashkahn: Yeah, it’s been super cool. It’s been nice to hear from you guys and hear the people are listening and enjoying it. Thanks for sending in questions. It’s been fun to get all these questions coming in.

Graham: Thanks for letting us mock them and not getting angry at us, or if you’re angry, keeping it secret and not telling us.

Ashkahn: Sorry if we’ve made any enemies in this process.

Graham: Hopefully we’ve made more friends. Yeah, and you’re amongst them so next birthday party, you’re all invited.

Ashkahn: Just everyone, right? Just wrap your arms around yourself right now. Everybody out there. We’re going to have a collective group hug.

Graham: I’m doing it right now in the studio.

Ashkahn: We’re doing it together. Just picture all of us hugging each other.

Graham: Giant float hug.

Ashkahn: Yeah, nice.

Graham: This is a phenomenal industry and I’m really happy to be here and yeah, again from the depths of whatever sort of heart that I have, thank you all.

Ashkahn: Yeah, it’s been cool. It’s been fun to go on this float tank journey and for this guy wondering about these salt boxes, I mean, good luck. I don’t know what you’re going to do, to be honest.

Graham: Just a little more research. Just a little more research.

Ashkahn: Probably, yeah. You might need to look into it a tiny bit more.

Graham: All of you aspiring float tank center owners out there too. Good luck. We’re still around. Float tank solutions isn’t going anywhere. Send us your questions when you get lost and need a guiding light out there in the deep seas of flotation. We’re there.

Ashkahn: Alright. I’ll be your wingman. We love you guys.

Graham: We do. Yeah, we love you. Yeah, hopefully, see you in just a couple days. November 29th.

Ashkahn: That’s right. That’s right. Three to five.

Graham: That nailed it is. It is the 29th. Pacific Time. November 29th, three to five PM. See you all there.

Ashkahn: This is Ashkahn signing off.

Graham: This is Graham, also signing off.

Ashkahn: Both of us signing off.

Graham: Talk to you, not tomorrow, I guess.

Ashkahn: No, no. Maybe never again. Oh, two days from now.

Graham: Yeah.

Ashkahn: This is us signing off.

Graham: Thanks again, everyone.

Ashkahn: Thanks. Just sign off here. Signing off.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Special tools for cleaning your float center – DSP 139

There are so many tiny particular things that go into keeping a float center clean that are really specific to this industry.  For example, mopping at the end of the night can be a chore because using a typical mop bucket will just mean spreading salt water everywhere.

Graham and Ashkahn share some of their favorite convenient products that they have found helpful running Float On that they totally recommend for everyone else as well.

Causes for drifting to the side of float tank – DSP 138

Okay, so this is something that happens a lot, and it can seem like a small thing, but it can be a little confusing when it keeps happening. What’s going on when you float in the same tank and keep drifting to one side? How does that happen? And why is it so consistent? Graham and Ashkahn know what the deal is here and drop some knowledge here on this topic. 

Cause and Solutions for a Crystallized Pump – DSP 137

This is a terrifying experience the first time it happens in a float center. A pump will seize, it’s full of salt and there just seems like there’s nothing you can do about it. Fortunately, this is one of those things that happens to pretty much everyone and it’s not too difficult to take care of. 

Graham and Ashkahn dive into what causes a pump to seize as well as how to fix it. It’s all here. Right now. Check it. 

What social media networks to use? – DSP 136

Social media is everywhere. There are entire libraries of books written on its effectiveness as a tool for marketing for small and large businesses alike. There’s so much, in fact, that it can seem impossible to find a good place to even start. 

Graham and Ashkahn break down this subject and provide some simple, straight forward solutions based on their own experiences and observations within the industry.

Thoughts on franchises vs. mom and pop float centers – DSP 135

As franchises become more common in the float industry, it’s natural for people to start wondering what the benefits and drawbacks are to opening one of them as opposed to simply starting your own center. 

Graham and Ashkahn delve into the nuanced differences between each approach, which both have very tangible benefits and drawbacks and whether or not it’s a good idea definitely depends on what kind of business a person wants to run. 

Latest Blog Posts

Think Big and Start Small When Planning a Float Center

Think Big and Start Small When Planning a Float Center

Deciding on how many tanks to have is a big question for anyone starting a float center. Answering that question can depend on factors ranging from the philosophical to the inescapably practical. It really depends on what you want out of a float center. If your vision...

Start Small or Launch Big

Start Small or Launch Big

I think everyone should do what feels right for them. But I have a strong preference for slow. People who are able to start small have such an advantage over someone who has to learn everything so fast. We happened to start with one and then two tanks in our home for...

Would You Like a Cup of Tea?

Would You Like a Cup of Tea?

This post is a carry over from our February topic.   I live in a world of duality. My mind is always busy, with the past or the future, or involved in some project in am immersed in. It is evaluating and trying to figure things out. What did that mean, how can I...

Hanging Out – Post Float Experience

Hanging Out – Post Float Experience

This post is a carry over from our February topic.   I like to think of our float center’s lobby as a sort of no-man’s-land. It sits between the nothingness of the float tank and the everythingness of the outside world. A place where people can attempt to merge these...