A Handy Walk through for Rainwater Tank Shoppers

Shopping for a water tank may be overwhelming and you may find that you have too many options, but here are a few ideas to help you make the right choice. The ideal tank for your home is one which will help you to capture as much water as possible from the roof. There should be a reliable way to direct the rainwater into the tank without too much spillage. To get the correct tank for your needs, always consider the amount of water that can be used in a typical day of hosing, car washing, lawn watering and running a pool, to name just a few. Estimating this amount will give you a rough idea of the type and size of tank needed.

Garden watering needs

Using a garden hose is a quick way to drain out the rainwater tank. An average a garden hose can use around 1000 litres of water in an hour. A 5000 litre water tank will in that sense, drain out in 5 hours of usage. If you require more water for other needs like washing the cars, hosing the driveways, or refilling a pool, will need a tank that can hold more than 5000 litres. However, if you use use water on smaller outdoor needs you can make do with a 5000 litre tank comfortably without straining the mains supply.

Have you considered the available roof area and the intended location?

The roof area will determine the amount of water that can be collected. Maximizing the roof area usually means that there is more surface to trap the rainwater and feed it through the gutter system. Steep roof surfaces are common reasons why a tank will take longer to fill up. With respect to location, it is important to know that tanks get really heavy when they are full. A thousand litres of stored water is equal to a tonne in weight.

The tank must be situated on stable ground near you pitched roof. You should reinforce the ground where the tank will be situated as the tank’s base can affect the overall well-being of the tank and ultimately, the house footings. For a very strong base, reinforced concrete or a treated timber frame can be used. The timber frames are normally filled with crushed dust, ballast or blue meta. At North Coast Water Tanks we will typically examine your location and recommend the correct type and amount of material need for your base.

Cleanliness of the rain water

Even with a stable tank and a proper gutter system, you will need to ensure that the collected rainwater has very little dirt particles. Common impurities include dead insects, leaves and bird droppings. Leaf strainers need to be installed at the inlets to collect unwanted debris. These have to be good quality and a maintenance regime needs to be in place to ensure that they are replaced at any sign of wear. The roof itself should not have tar-based coating or lead coatings.

With all these points taken, you have a better chance of harvesting a proper amount of clean rainwater to meet your water needs both inside and outside the home.