Need help choosing above ground cistern

18 years ago

Hello homesteaders,

Thought you folks might have ideas on this. We want to install an above-ground cistern to collect water from a workshop roof and irrigate a 1/8 acre garden with it. We already use five 55 gallon drums from a water treatment plant and they're not enough.. Our provincial farm investment fund is willing to pay 2/3 of the cost.

First, what I've eliminated: a stainless steel tank would be ideal but cost prohibitive. An oil tank would rust out after a few years. A used milk tank from a dairy, as somebody suggested, would be nice, but we live far from any farm (about 1.5 hours) and finding and getting one seems complicated.

So far the ideas I'm considering:

Three well crocks one atop the other, set on a cement base, seams cemented, hole drilled in the bottom for a hose, cement lid on top. Would hold 300 gallons.

The pump chamber of a septic tank - I didn't know you could buy these separately. Big horizontal rectangular box, like a septic tank but smaller. The one we looked at holds 300 gallons.

Any pros and cons on the above, or other ideas would be very greatly appreciated! We have until Mar. 1 2006 to submit receipts for expenditures but we need to find one before the snow flies in December.

Here is a link that might be useful: pump chamber

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Comments (6)

phann100
18 years ago
You might consider a polyvinyl tank 1500 gallon is only about $300 is 6ft by 6ft You are going to need more than 300 gal to do any substantial watering at least here in Dallas I am using 50 gal barrels because they only cost $8. But they do take a lot of space.check texas rainwater harvesting handbook for ideas it on google
kayva
18 years ago
The Texas Rainwater Harvesting Manual that phann100 refers to can be downloaded at the link below.
I have several files on rainwater harvesting that I can send to you if you are interested. However, I can't offer any practical advice, as I do not utilize rainwater harvesting at this time. (Maybe one day!)
Kay

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Rainwater Harvesting Manual
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paulns
Original Author
18 years ago
My adobe reader has been down, just figured out how to reinstall it - I had that (excellent) Texas rainwater manual saved but couldn't open it. So I'll search through it now.

Plastic tanks certainly are cheaper, and lighter weight. I don't trust them though. Some literature says PVC's leach toxins. And we have acid rain. There are high density polyethylene tanks as well, but again, plastic...A prejudice against all plastics can make life complicated, eh? :)
hotzcatz
18 years ago
Aloha Paul,

I've taken the wire mesh used in cement slabs (6"x6" 10/10 gauge) and rolled it into a cylinder about four to six feet across then wired it together. Put a layer of chicken wire inside that and across the bottom, then a couple layers of tar paper and then one big piece of plastic sheeting inside. It was six feet across, about four feet tall and held a lot of water. It was basically made of leftover construction materials and the only thing actually bought for the tank was the plastic sheeting. I forget how much it was, but it was under $10. It lasts a surprisingly long time, but we don't have freezes over here so I haven't a clue what winter would do to it.

A hui hou,
Cathy
ruthieg__tx
18 years ago
I have a system that holds about 1700 gallos of water that is collected from our roof...It is basically two round septic tanks that are set one on top of the other....At first I used it with no pump etc just normal gravity flow from the tank but decided I need to speed up the process so we added a motor and I can water till my hearts content..

I have some pictures that you can look at..they are not in proper sequence but I think you can get the idea from the pics.

Here is a link that might be useful: My tank
paulns
Original Author
18 years ago
Aloha Cathy, that's resourceful of you and a nice cheap option. If it weren't winter here, and there weren't a deadline for getting the cistern (and we didn't have the funding) I'd consider making one.

Ruthie that's a great system you've got - very much like what I'd visualized. I find cement tanks aesthetically appealing too. The thought of manoeuvering the parts is daunting though. Delivery will be in mid-winter, installing in spring, hard to find anybody local with the equipment any time of year.

Much as I distrust plastic we may end up getting an HDPE agri-tank made for potable water storage. A 600 gallon one weighs only 150 lbs which means we could move it around ourselves - a big plus.