Float Tanks vs. Float Pods vs. Float Rooms: What’s the Difference?

If you're looking for float therapy in Louisville, you may see several different terms: float tank, sensory deprivation tank, float pod, float orb, and float room.

They all provide the basic experience of floating effortlessly in highly concentrated Epsom salt water, but the equipment used to create that experience is very different.

At Blissful Relaxation Float Spa in Louisville, Kentucky, we chose large, private king sized Ocean Float Rooms instead of traditional pods or orbs.
Here's why that difference matters.

What Is a Float Tank?

“Float tank” has become a general term used to describe equipment designed for float therapy.
A float tank contains shallow water with a very high concentration of Epsom salt. The salt makes the water extremely buoyant, allowing you to lie back and float effortlessly.

The water is maintained around skin temperature, and the environment is designed to reduce outside stimulation.

When the lights and sounds disappear, you're left floating without the normal pressure of gravity against your body.

But not every float tank looks—or feels—the same.

What Is a Float Pod or Float Orb?

Float pods and float orbs are enclosed pieces of equipment specifically designed for float therapy.
They are probably what many people picture when they first hear the words sensory deprivation tank.
You typically climb into the pod, lie down in the saltwater and close a lid or door over your head.

Pods/orbs can provide a floating environment, but many people don't like being being enclosed inside a small tank.

That's one of the reasons we chose something very different for Blissful Relaxation.

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What Is a Float Room?

Instead of climbing into a small pod or orb, imagine opening a door and walking into your float environment.

That's the concept behind our Ocean Float Rooms.
Our king-sized Ocean Float Rooms measure 8 feet × 7 feet, giving you enough space to stand up inside the room before lying down in the water.

Once you're floating, the larger environment gives you an incredible amount of personal space.
You get the full float experience—skin-temperature water, extreme buoyancy, darkness and silence— inside a spacious private room.
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Why Did Blissful Relaxation Choose Ocean Float Rooms?

When we began designing Blissful Relaxation, we had an important decision to make.
We could purchase traditional float pods/orbs, or we could invest in what we knew would provide our guests with nothing but the finest float experience.
We chose Ocean Float Rooms and had them imported from England.

Ocean Float Rooms helped change the traditional concept of float equipment by creating large, luxurious walk-in float environments rather than simply following the conventional pod/orb design.
Our rooms measure 8 feet long by 7 feet wide.

That means when you hear us say “king-sized float room,” we mean it.

Blissful Relaxation has four king-sized Ocean Float Rooms, which gives us the largest collection of king-sized Ocean Float Rooms that exists anywhere in the entire world.

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What If I'm Concerned About Feeling Claustrophobic?

This is one of the most common concerns people have before their first float.
People sometimes picture being locked inside a tiny sensory deprivation tank.
That's not what happens here.

Our Ocean Float Rooms are large enough to stand up inside, and you remain in control of your environment throughout your float.  There is enough room to comfortably stretch your arms out to your sides.

Your float begins with the light on and calming music playing.
After you enter the water and get comfortable, the experience gradually transitions. The music becomes more peaceful before fading away, and the light fades off.

If you decide at any point that you want the light back on, there's a light button conveniently located inside the float room with you.

You're never required to float in complete darkness.
The experience belongs to you.

We do offer relaxation music, ocean waves, classical music, and even a guided meditation if you prefer.

Is the Water Different in a Float Room?

The basic principle is the same regardless of whether you're floating in a pod, orb, tank, or room.  The massive space of our float rooms provide the expansive tranquility and peace you experience at Blissful Relaxation.

Epsom salt creates extreme buoyancy.

Our float rooms contain enough Epsom salt to make the water extraordinarily dense. In fact, the water is even more buoyant than the famous saltwater of the Dead Sea.

You don't need to know how to swim.

You don't need to tread water.

You don't need to work to keep yourself afloat.

You simply lie back and the water supports you.

Why Does the Size of the Float Room Matter?

Once the lights are off and you're deeply relaxed, you may eventually lose much of your awareness of the physical room around you.

But getting comfortable enough to reach that point matters.

Our spacious rooms can make the initial experience feel much more inviting.

You can walk into the room, stand up, look around and become comfortable with your surroundings before beginning your float.

For us, that was important.

We didn't want someone to miss out on the experience of floating simply because the idea of climbing into a small enclosed pod makes them uncomfortable.

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The Entire Float Suite Matters Too

We believe a premium float experience should extend beyond the equipment itself.

Each float room at Blissful Relaxation is located inside a private float suite with its own shower.

Privacy was an important part of our design from the beginning.

We've even invested in specialized Takiron Pathways flooring imported from Japan throughout our float suites and the hallway leading to them.

These aren't necessarily things you'll notice when searching Google for a “float tank near me,” but they become important when you're actually choosing where you want to spend your time.

Float Tanks, Pods, Orbs and Rooms All Have the Same GoalDespite their differences, all of these designs are trying to accomplish essentially the same thing:
Create an environment where you can effortlessly float while dramatically reducing outside stimulation.

There isn't anything inherently wrong with a float pod or orb.

We simply chose a much more luxurious approach.

When we created Blissful Relaxation, our goal wasn't to find the least expensive equipment that would allow us to offer floating.

We wanted to create the best float experience we possibly could.

For us, that meant Ocean Float Rooms.
Four King-Sized Ocean Float Rooms in Louisville, KentuckyBlissful Relaxation opened in Louisville in 2018, although our involvement with the float industry began years before our doors opened.

Since opening, more than 52,000 guests have floated with us.
In 2023, Louisville hosted the Float Conference, bringing more than 1,000 members of the float community to our city. Blissful Relaxation was one of three Louisville float centers that helped host the conference.

During the conference, Blissful Relaxation was also the only Louisville float center selected for an exclusive professional Art of the Float photo shoot, which took place inside one of our Ocean Float Rooms.

Today, we're proud to be a family-owned and operated Louisville business and Louisville's longest continuously operating float spa.
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Which Float Experience Is Right for You?

Ultimately, the best way to understand floating isn't by reading about it.

It's by experiencing it.

Whether you've been searching for a float tank, sensory deprivation tank, float pod, float orb, or float therapy in Louisville, what you're really searching for is the experience that happens once everything else disappears.

No phone.
No conversation.
No noise.
No pressure.
Nothing you need to accomplish.
Just float.

Experience a King-Sized Float Room in Louisville

​If you've wondered what it would be like to try a sensory deprivation tank but weren't excited about climbing into a small pod or orb, come experience floating differently.

Step into one of our spacious 8-foot × 7-foot private Ocean Float Rooms at Blissful Relaxation Float Spa in Louisville, Kentucky
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No light. No sound. No gravity. Just float.