Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Feb 16, 2015 11:32 am Hi guys, I was just wondering what was involved with getting a water tank? We have a 4 bedroom house (120 sqm), plus a very large verandah roof (100 sqm), so a large enough area to collect water “run off”, so i guess that would justify getting one. Would all the current guttering need to be changed to direct all the “run off” to the water tank? Would a plumber be needed? Not sure where to start here.. Any advice appreciated. Cheers, Robbie Re: Water tank advice 2Feb 16, 2015 11:55 am You need to have this thread moved to Eco Living 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Water tank advice 4Feb 16, 2015 12:02 pm Just send Bluesuede a PM. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Water tank advice 5Feb 16, 2015 3:52 pm are you wanting a tank to water garden, wash car, flush toilets or box d, all of the above we have taken one downpipe off garage roof into 5000 litre tank for watering garden and washing cars just cut downpipe run intof irst flush unit then to top of tank overflow from tank back to remaining part of downpipe to stormwater Re: Water tank advice 6Feb 16, 2015 7:55 pm i had a plumber come to my house and he suggested a 9000l tank at the lower terrace on my property (i have 3 terraces). The ides is to provide the 3 terraces for water for garden and pool (near`future). If the water is clear (i have heaps`of treas in the area) we will look into supplying the house with water. Re: Water tank advice 7Feb 16, 2015 8:54 pm If you are looking at supplying the whole house with water, you'll need more than 9 000 litre water tank. If you get multiple tanks, you can put one or more up at the highest level you can as then you could gravity feed from the higher tanks. Oh, and reported the original post, as that's the quickest way to get the post moved to another sub forum. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Water tank advice 8Feb 16, 2015 11:06 pm robbie_p I was just wondering what was involved with getting a water tank? To have a good system, you need some prior knowledge because most rainwater harvesting systems installed are substandard. You cannot rely on plumbers or 'professional' installers. You need to have: A good system that collects a lot of clean water without risk of the tank overtopping during heavy rain. A system that delivers even better quality water to the pump. A system that is low maintenance. A pump that is suited to the intended application. A good system that is set up with good advice and the common mistakes avoided will often cost less. To acquaint yourself with some industry terms and some necessary information, I suggest that you initially read the 3 threads below. viewtopic.php?f=35&t=72054 viewtopic.php?f=35&t=72996 viewtopic.php?f=35&t=72564 robbie_p We have a 4 bedroom house (120 sqm), plus a very large verandah roof (100 sqm), so a large enough area to collect water “run off”, so i guess that would justify getting one. You are in Adelaide and over 50% of the houses have a tank. Adelaide water is 'hard' and washing your hair in rainwater will be justification enough. Washing cars in rainwater also leaves a streak free finish. Many people need a large tank for their intended use but they don't want one next to the house. I have a way to have a large tank away from the house without the added expense of plumbing the overflow pipe back to the stormwater as the overflow pipe can be eliminated without risk of the tank overflowing. The tank and downpipe locations need to be examined but harvesting as many downpipes as possible should be the objective. This will entail having either a wet or a dry system (explained in the linked threads) or a combination of the two. You should avoid having a standard wet system or downpipes diverted along walls because it is ugly. robbie_p Would all the current guttering need to be changed to direct all the “run off” to the water tank? Gutters are fitted in a W pattern and the gutter's high points determine the gutter slope and the roof area harvested to each downpipe (which are fitted to the gutter's low point). You do not alter the guttering. If you have a wet system, the downpipes have to be round uPVC because they will be buried and retain water. To divert a remote dry system pipe to a tank, it would have to be diverted along a wall. We have developed a system that diverts water, not downpipes and this would be another option for you but concentrate on reading the linked threads first. There are also other rainwater harvesting threads in Eco Living if you look. robbie_p Would a plumber be needed? There are things that you can do yourself but that depends on the system you choose and your intended use of the harvested resource. If you were plumbing into the house, you would need a plumber. If you plumb to a toilet, you will need a mains water switching device that switches to mains water when the tank is empty. The Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA) states that the switching device can be either an automatic or a manual device but South Australian bureaucrats have mandated that South Australians must use an automatic device and not the cheaper and bullet proof manual devices. I have heard however that many plumbers disregard this act of bureaucratic stupidity and will plumb a manual device if asked. You can site the tank yourself to save money. A colorbond tank needs a concrete slab but you can site a poly tank on a compacted sand base to save money. I ofter dig a poly tank in a little and have it sitting about 80 mm below ground on a compacted sand base. The sand won't wash away that way. Other fine bases are also used. Having the tank correctly optioned and the pump correctly plumbed is important but many are not. This is where a little knowledge is vital, you need to know where, how high and the best sizes for the different tank fittings. It is easy when you know a few things and you will find most in the threads that I have linked. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Water tank advice 9Feb 17, 2015 7:43 am Thanks for all the useful information. The plumber who came to my house was VERY knowledgeable on RWT and place majohr emphasis on the use of the water and well as its clarity. He has a few RWT tanks at home which supply water to his whole house as well as have RWT in all his investment properties. He seemed to address all the items you mentioned. Re: Water tank advice 11Feb 17, 2015 11:12 am robbie_p The plumber who came to my house was VERY knowledgeable on RWT and place majohr emphasis on the use of the water and well as its clarity. He seemed to address all the items you mentioned. It is extremely difficult online to recommend the best installation and tank(s) position for a site without a detailed diagram, particularly when there are different levels. I look forward to seeing photos of the install when finished. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. 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