Choosing the right water tank for you

There are several things that you can do to make it easier to decide which tank is best for you.

• First you need to consider what the most important restriction you have is. The two main restrictions Coastline Plastics finds its clients have are their budget or the availability of room for the tank. This will set your priorities. You may be flexible but this is certainly a starting point. There’s no point saying I want a big tank but only have $400 to buy one. Same as there is no point saying I want a big tank but it has to fit down the side of my house. So determine what is your biggest restraint. It can be two things combined.
• The size is one of the most common dilemmas and the size of the tank will depend on available room and your requirements. If you plan to use the water on your garden, you will need to analyse the type of garden. E.g. a vegetable and flower garden needs more water than a water wise, Australian native bush garden. Still you will most likely only need reasonably small to medium size tank (1,000 litres to 5,000 litres). A larger tank will be required if you plan on using the water inside your home for washing machine and flushing toilets. Water tanks can store as much as 24,000 litres or even 100,000 litres if you are totally dependant upon rainwater sustainability.
• The shape/design of the tank will depend on your physical requirements as well as your budget. Tanks come in many shapes and sizes, so there is one to suit almost every home. Generally speaking a basic round tank can be half the price of a slim wall liner tank of the same storage capacity. Do not forget it is relatively simple to connect several tanks together to create the unique storage requirements of your situation.
• The amount of available space that you have around your home or in your backyard will also dictate the type of water tank that you can install. You may even decide that you want to hide the tank under the house or decking or maybe even completely bury the tank out of sight and free up the backyard for other purposes.
• The size of your roof area (catchment) that you have will determine how much water you are able to direct into your tank. Do not confuse total roof area with actual catchment unless all down pipes are feeding into your tanks. Most people only use one or two down pipes to feed their tanks.
• The materials the tanks are made from are also a consideration for some people. Some like the aesthetics of one product over another. Some like the old fashioned look of corrugated steel tanks. Others like the modern sleek look of poly tanks. Different materials also have various pros and cons. Polyethylene is the only plastic recommended for contact with food and water. (It is the same plastics as what your 2 litre milk bottles are made from). Poly also does not rust. Most poly tanks are UV protected and therefore it would not become brittle and would not crack easily by bumps and flying stones from the lawn mower or energetic kids.
• There are many tank accessories that are available from pumps, first flush diverters that keep your water and therefore your tank cleaner, fittings, etc. Do ask around and make sure you are getting the best possible quality for your money. Sometimes you get what you pay for.