Looking for an eco-friendly way to keep your fruit and veg healthy and your flowers gorgeous year-round?
With the freshwater crisis intensifying as our population grows, collecting rainwater that would otherwise go unused is a great way to reduce your reliance on mains water. As well as helping to keep the reservoirs full, you’re also helping to reduce stormwater runoff, which prevents local flooding; and that runoff is often full of pollution from traffic and industry that pollutes oceans and lakes, so you’re helping keep them clean. There’s some great research that’s been done over in Taiwan on how urban rainwater tanks can help cities to manage urban water supplies while contributing to flood and pollution mitigation, published here.
But not all water tanks are the same! There’s a few factors to consider before choosing the water tank that’s best for your garden.
Round or Slimline Water Tank?
Round water tanks are commonly associated with the massive rural water tanks found in regional and remote Australia; but you don’t have to live in the countryside to have a water tank! Round water tanks can be an attractive addition to your backyard. Slimline water tanks are rectangular-shaped, making them impressively space-saving, and they mount right onto the side of your house so they’re easy to cover up with a garden screen. Or why not let the kids have a go at painting them? And since slimline water tanks are space-saving, it makes them a perfect fit for narrow lots homes, or areas of your backyard with limited access.
Poly, Steel, Fibreglass or Concrete Materials?
There’s a few different materials commonly available for water tanks. Let’s start with price: poly (plastic) is the cheapest, fibreglass is the runner-up, and then it’s steel followed by concrete. If recyclability is important to you, poly is generally out of the running, because by the time it’s no longer fit to store water, it has very limited recycling value. Fibreglass water tanks generally can’t be recycled, so from that perspective, you’re down to steel or concrete.
Next up, durability. Poly and fibreglass tanks tends to degrade faster because of UV, so their lifespan is usually about 15 to 20 years. Concrete is the most durable, often lasting for many decades, but because of their higher price, concrete tanks are generally used for commercial purposes. That leaves steel, with a lifespan of 30+ years.
Combined with affordability and recyclability, and space-saving convenience that’s just right for urban settings, steel water have tanks become a popular choice for environmentally conscious gardeners who want a productive and beautiful garden year-round.
How Will You Use Your Water Tank?
Thinking of bringing all that great rainwater indoors and maximising your environmental impact while saving on your water bills? While rainwater that’s free of contaminants is generally safe to drink, it’s important to note that the roofs of city-dwellers are often not free from contaminant – remember that traffic & industry pollution we mentioned earlier? So you’ll need a filtration device, and if you want the water to flow from your tank into your taps, you’ll also need a licensed plumber. This is very much not a DIY able job – for one thing it’s illegal, and for another, it’s dangerous.
Don’t need to be able to drink your water, but still want to use it for your washing machine, toilet and so on? You’ll need a licensed plumber for this, too, but once you’ve got the right plumbing hooked in, it’s a powerful savings proposition for your water bill, and a great conservation measure to boot.
So, getting a slimline steel water tank is a great way to enjoy decades of water conservation for minimal investment! It’s just what every eco-friendly urban gardener needs.
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