I’ve been thinking about building a sensory deprivation tank. I have it all planned out and it’s not that expensive…so far. I still need one more ingredient: The Epsom Salt.
Apparently you need 1000 pounds…HALF A TON to add to the water. Did I read this right? Do you really need that much to float? Where do I buy that much? And how much will it cost?
Any ideas?
Maybe one of these companies can help. According to the site, they sell by the truckload. They may, however, be able to point you to a company that sells the 800 - 1000 lb. for which you’re looking.
Slight hijack, but… how does one go about building a sensory deprivation tank?
Dunno, Blalron. Here’s a site, though, where you can order plans. There’s even a tank-building forum.
Here’s another site that discusses some health standards and guidelines for the tanks.
1000 lbs in how much water? A few gallons? A few hundred gallons?
PC
Enough water to fill a tank that is 6 1/2’ long x 3 1/2’ wide x 3’ deep…roughly.
That’s about 511 gallons of water. 4261 lbs.
Have you been in one?
I have. My senses did not get deprived because the salty water made my skin itch after awhile (and, I think, made it feel like I was getting warmer and warmer).
Try one out if you never have, before building your own, lest you find yourself disappointed.
Isn’t there a danger of drowning?
Only if you roll over. That’s why there’s such a huge quantity of salts. It saturates the water so much and makes it so buoyant that it’s effectively impossible to sink.
I always wanted to try one of those tanks, but was afraid I’d revert to a pre-human state, break out and go to the zoo and kill a bunch of animals. Oh, wait, that was William Hurt. Nevermind.
We used to have a place up the street that had a couple of Lilly tanks (which I believe were the originals) and I tried it out. Very relaxing.
But 3’ deep sounds way too deep; IIRC the Lilly tanks were more like 12-14" deep.
Trid, did you contact anyone yet re: getting bulk epsom salt? I’m trying to follow this thread and I need closure, dammit! 
Erp, isn’t sensory deprivation the most effective form of torture?!
I suppose it could be used as torture. When I went to the place here, they advised me that some people don’t react well to the experience.
I thought it was great; when I left I felt as relxed as I think I’ve ever been.