Tankmasta has a great little rainwater calculator to help you calculate how much water could be collected from your roof into a rainwater tank annually. I was out in an industrialized area near Melbourne recently and I was amazed at the about of roof area some factories had with no sight of a rainwater tank. Some of these factory roofs would literally cover hectares. Tankmasta’s raineater calculator suggests that a 1 hectare (1o,000 sq meters) roof in Melbourne would collect 5,877,000 litres of water annually. That’s not to be sneezed at! You can find the rain water calculator at the bottom of Tankmaster’s home page.
Rain water tanks come in all shapes and sizes and materials. So what material should your water tanks be made from? This all depends on your budget and whether the tank is above or below ground. Currently Polyethylene tanks are the most cost effective, but you may wish to consider other materials. Polyethylene rainwater tanks are light, durable, easy to transport and come in a wide range of colours. They can be used above or below ground, however they generally dont last as long as a concrete tank. Fibreglass water tanks tend to be more resistant to rust and chemical corrosion and generally best suited to above ground instillations. Concrete rain water tanks are long lasting, durable and can be built above or below ground. Above ground, concrete has the advantage of keeping water cooler and reducing algal growth. Metal rain water tanks , like polyethylene, are light, durable and easy to transport. Bluescope Steel offer a great rang of metal tanks. You can buy a huge range of rainwater tanks through ebay .
