New 1,000-gallon Rain Tank
It did not rain at my house this summer, and my 300-gallon rain tank was bone dry for months. As I watched my blueberries struggle to survive with 100+ degree temperatures and hard tap water, I wished and wished I had bought a bigger tank. So when I found a 1,000-gallon Norwesco tank from www.tank-depot.com on sale for $531, I decided it was time to upgrade. I placed the order, and a short time later it was delivered to the house.
I had read that the tank was 64-inches in diameter, and 80-inches high, but it's hard to appreciate just how big that is until you're standing next to it. How in the world was I going to get this huge thing into the backyard? It obviously wasn't going through the gate, and unless I wanted to take down a section, I was going to have to find a way to heave it over the fence. Even though the tank only weighs 183 pounds, it was still too big and cumbersome for me to do it by myself. Luckily a friend of mine was nice enough to stop by on his way home from work to help me out.
We tried picking it straight up, leaning it on the fence, and rolling it up the fence, but nothing was working. Then my friend had the idea of using my two-wheeled garden cart to get some extra height. We wrestled the monster tank up onto the cart, positioned it near the fence, and then gave it all we had. With great difficulty, we got the tank up on top of the fence slats, but it became clear that we wouldn't be able to lift it any higher. With one last mighty shove, it thundered into the backyard, snapping the tops of the fence slats as it fell. The tank bounced off the ground and careened into the blackberries, snapping a large blackberry cane off at the ground and decapitating my fake owl before slamming into the side of the house. It bounced off the house, and finally came to rest by the blueberries.
Once it was in the backyard, I got to work draining my old 300-gallon tank, and preparing to install the new one. After I moved the old tank to the other side of the house, I expanded the cinder block foundation to accommodate the new one, and moved it into position. Then I ran a flexible plastic downspout to the tank opening, installed the filter basket, and put a spigot in the bottom (filter basket and spigot sold separately). I was worried that the plastic in the filter basket wasn't UV resistant, so I cut some holes in the lid for the downspout and the sump pump electrical cords and discharge pipe. All I need to do now is rig up the piping and sprinklers/emitters to the blueberries and I'm all set.
The whole set up, including the rain collection adapter and delivery charge, was around $700, or $0.70 per gallon of capacity. I priced a lot of other options, and this is the best deal I could find. Once it's full the 1,000-gallon tank should allow me to supply my blueberries with nice, soft rainwater for 3 months before I have to start using tap water. Plus, I still have the old tank, for a total rainwater capacity of 1,300 gallons. I hope the drought doesn't continue into next year, but if it does, I will be glad that I have it.
I had read that the tank was 64-inches in diameter, and 80-inches high, but it's hard to appreciate just how big that is until you're standing next to it. How in the world was I going to get this huge thing into the backyard? It obviously wasn't going through the gate, and unless I wanted to take down a section, I was going to have to find a way to heave it over the fence. Even though the tank only weighs 183 pounds, it was still too big and cumbersome for me to do it by myself. Luckily a friend of mine was nice enough to stop by on his way home from work to help me out.
We tried picking it straight up, leaning it on the fence, and rolling it up the fence, but nothing was working. Then my friend had the idea of using my two-wheeled garden cart to get some extra height. We wrestled the monster tank up onto the cart, positioned it near the fence, and then gave it all we had. With great difficulty, we got the tank up on top of the fence slats, but it became clear that we wouldn't be able to lift it any higher. With one last mighty shove, it thundered into the backyard, snapping the tops of the fence slats as it fell. The tank bounced off the ground and careened into the blackberries, snapping a large blackberry cane off at the ground and decapitating my fake owl before slamming into the side of the house. It bounced off the house, and finally came to rest by the blueberries.
Once it was in the backyard, I got to work draining my old 300-gallon tank, and preparing to install the new one. After I moved the old tank to the other side of the house, I expanded the cinder block foundation to accommodate the new one, and moved it into position. Then I ran a flexible plastic downspout to the tank opening, installed the filter basket, and put a spigot in the bottom (filter basket and spigot sold separately). I was worried that the plastic in the filter basket wasn't UV resistant, so I cut some holes in the lid for the downspout and the sump pump electrical cords and discharge pipe. All I need to do now is rig up the piping and sprinklers/emitters to the blueberries and I'm all set.
The whole set up, including the rain collection adapter and delivery charge, was around $700, or $0.70 per gallon of capacity. I priced a lot of other options, and this is the best deal I could find. Once it's full the 1,000-gallon tank should allow me to supply my blueberries with nice, soft rainwater for 3 months before I have to start using tap water. Plus, I still have the old tank, for a total rainwater capacity of 1,300 gallons. I hope the drought doesn't continue into next year, but if it does, I will be glad that I have it.
Not fitting through the gate.
New tank in position.
Optional rain collection adapter and filter basket.
Spigot in the bottom.
Downspout connected, and ready for rain!
Old tank on the other side of the house.
