Floating Islands

[congofeet]

So before I go into writing this post I respect my fellow MFK er's and I want to give full disclosure on this matter. I DO work in sales for this company that I am about to mention, but please do not think that is biasing me. I want to know opinions on the product I am trying to sell from the people that would use them. Okay with that said here is the link to the website.

First some background: I had never heard of floating islands until I was interviewed for this position. What they wanted was a Biologist who didn't mind being in sales...and that was me. When I learned of floating islands and what they did I was blown away. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. It solved a problem with ponds (nutrient load) in a way I never thought. Sure you can put plants in there, but these islands when full grown are very aesthetically appealing.

They also have farther reaching implications with wetland rehabilitation, habitat restoration, and even can be put in waste water treatment plants to remove excess nutrients before water discharge.

Like I said, I am not trying to sell these things to you (though if you want one you know who to come to), I just want to know your honest opinion on them. Also, since I had never heard of them before I just wanted to let everyone here know that these exist. If you are interested in more information you can PM me with your email and I can answer your questions.

Thanks everyone for your time!

 

[Conner]

They seem like fairly interesting products. I like that you can grow normally land-bound plants on them, rather than being limited to naturally floating plants. I don't know if I personally would use one (my pond is not really large enough to accommodate something like that), but I could see others using it. If i had a large pond, it could come in handy to make it seem more like a marsh/wetland than just a big bowl in the ground pond.

 

[Conner]

Any chance of free trials for MFK members?

 

[sbuse]

thats seem to be a cool deal...i just know if i have one i will get in trouble...i saw that and thought about duck hunting from it as my state says that i need to be with in a growth of natural vegitation...so this would be a loop hole to diver hunt in the middle of the lake...see told ya i would get into trubble if i got one as i have only seen this product for a min and i already planned out something border line fine able...lol

 

[Muske]

Seems like a sweet product for big natural ponds.

 

[congofeet]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the comments. My sales territory is only over here in the West, and I can only "sell" islands that are larger than 20 sq feet, so I can give away smaller islands as a promotional item. That being said though, I can't just throw these smaller islands out the door unless I feel that it would help with getting the word out.

On a separate note, we are trying to figure out uses for our scrap material. These uses cannot be related to "floating islands", but almost anything else is fine. If anyone can think up ideas for uses I can see about sending out some material to you to test your idea as long as you promise to report back to me with how things are going.

Some of our ideas so far are:

Reusable filter floss (this stuff is really durable and can just be hosed out)
Bio Ball Replacement (instead of using bio balls, which require particulate matter to be removed as to not clog them, using small pieces of our material which has tons of surface area as well as mechanical filtering properties)
Scrubber to remove algae off of glass tanks

If you know anybody that might want to get in on this action please don't hesitate to tell them.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[congofeet]

Oh, I forgot to mention that the concept of living duck blinds has come up. What are you looking for in a duck blind?

 

[Muske]

Filter media sounds like winner.
Door mats.
Could they be used in sediment/silt containment on construction sites?
Do they absorb and hold oil?
Stuffed into a sack for camping pillows or boat dock bumpers.
Stand them on end and make a three sided compost bin

 

[Conner]

I think if a few members with smaller ponds got a chance to try out the smaller versions of the floating islands, they'd be willing to at least report back on how well they worked, and whether or not they would purchase a larger version if they had a larger pond, as well as possibly spreading the word locally that there is such a product out there. I know some of my local pond shops might show some interest in products like that, depending on what the cost is.