Tanked Up: Are Polyethylene Collection Tanks The Right Choice For Your Rainwater Irrigation System?

Even the most basic irrigation systems, consisting of a water tank and a few sprinklers, consume prodigious amounts of water, and sourcing all of that water from your main water supply can land you with some pretty hefty utility bills. Consequently, many irrigation systems users supplement or replace their standard water supplies with collected supplies of rainwater, harvested from roofs and gutters and stored in tanks.

If you intend to integrate rainwater collection into your irrigation system, choosing the right rainwater collection tank is key to the long term durability and reliability of your system. Rainwater tanks are made from a variety of different materials, each with its own individual strengths and weaknesses, but one of the most popular and versatile materials used is polyethylene. Here are some of the key advantages of choosing polyethylene rainwater collection tanks for your irrigation system:

Inexpensive

Polyethylene rainwater tanks are some of the cheapest available, and are often a fraction of the cost of tanks made from aluminium or poured concrete. They are also very inexpensive to transport (due to their light weight) and install (since they do not require concrete foundations).

Durable

Despite this cheap-and-cheerful pricing, polyethylene tanks are remarkably durable, and this rugged thermoplastic is capable of weathering significant impacts without denting or cracking. It is completely immune to the rust that can plague steel tanks, and will not rot or decay. Polyethylene is also slightly flexible, allowing it to bow and bend rather than break in the face of high winds.

Lightweight

Polyethylene is remarkably light considering its durability, and a multi-gallon rainwater tank can often be carried by a single person while empty. As previously mentioned, this makes transporting your new tank a breeze, but it also saves you money on hiring the cranes and lifting equipment necessary to install large, heavy tanks made from metal or concrete.

Little ground preparation required

Unlike heavier tank materials, polyethylene tanks do not required concrete foundations to be laid to provide stability. Smaller models can even be placed on bare earth without any significant stability problems, although many polyethylene tank owners provide a simple aggregate foundation to assist drainage.

Many colours available

The colour of your rainwater tank might not seem like a particularly pressing concern, but choosing the right colour can make your tank blend in with its surroundings, reducing its visual impact. POolyethylene tanks are available in a wide variety of colours to facilitate this. If your system services temperture sensitive plants such as lettuces, choosing a dark-coloured tank will also allow it to absorb some of the sun's heat, taking the chill away from your stored rainwater before it is administered to your plants.