Above Ground Water Storage Tank (2,000 GAL)

[Pettrix]

Looking to install an above ground water storage tank for rural wildfire fire suppression. Looking at 2,000 GAL +/- tank. The local FD said they will fill it up for free and they can connect their nozzle at the base and pump it out if needed.

They have black/green plastic tanks available for around $1,300. Any advice?

I will also have to lay a footing down (18' frost depth) and a concrete pad. 4 or 6 inch? Any advice?

 

[grsthegreat]

im surprised they will agree to hook up to it. here, the fire dept wont hook into residential holding tanks cause they cannot guarantee the tank isnt full of crap that could wreck their equipment.

 

[ponytug]

My two cents is use 3/4"+ rock for the footing, compact it, and then go for 6" concrete. Mine was installed with 3/8"-, which the ground squirrels have no trouble excavating. I assume that you meant 18 inches for the footing.

I guess my other advice is that you can never have too much water for fires. With luck, you will never need it.

Our local FD specifies a connector, pipe diameter, and a minimum gpm rate, but these things are highly local.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Avenger]

I'm looking to do something similar, but for rain catchment instead of fire fighting. Though, that would be a great use of the water!

I'm looking at a 2000gal black poly tank. I plan on putting down 3/8minus, about 6in before a 4in concrete pad. The water will be directed to a sump near the base of the tank, where a pump will pump it up and into the tank, to be use to irrigate my garden.

 

[stephenh]

The plastic tank sounds good. I built my own above-ground 2250-gallon cistern; concrete pad, walls made of cinder block. With the time and labor it took me, plus the cost of the blockand hauling it all in, that plastic one sounds decent. I lined mine with a custom-made pool liner and it has been working great since the early 90s.

 

[Wagtail]

Water tanks are common in rural Australia... I have a couple and on the 'house' tank there is a compatible connection for the Rural Fire Brigade to hook-up. If there's any filter for debris, it's on the Fire Brigade's side of things.

As for a pad, Just knock up a wood frame to the dimension of the base of the tank then level the ground that it'll be situated. Then fill the frame with ordinary sand... the weight of the tank + water will compact the sand. There's no need to build a concrete pad.

 

[ponytug]

Around here, there is an advantage to a concrete pad; ground squirrels can't easily undermine it. They have done this to our tanks and will trigger the replacement of the tanks well before their expiration dates because the undermining is causing the tanks to sink and tilt and starting to stress the pipes coming out of the tanks...

YMMV...

All the best,

Peter

 

[ericm979]

In our area we're required to have tanks with 4" pipes running to a hydrant. We currently have a 10k gallon tank which supplies the house and the hydrant. I'm trying to get a permit to build a shop. To meet the current code that requires a separate tank for the hydrant, I'll need to put in another 5k gallon tank. Might do two to have more reserve.

Good to know about critters digging under the tanks that are not on concrete. We can go with gravel for tanks up to 5k so that's what everyone does. Maybe I'll use geogrid under it to keep the critters out.

2000 gallons while far better than nothing, is not a lot for a structure fire. Or a wildfire for that matter. If you can afford to, get a larger tank.

Since you're not using the water you'll want to exchange it periodically and maybe treat it with something. The opaque tank should keep algae from growing but let it sit long enough and something will. Tanks where the water is used regularly don't have this problem.

 

[plowhog]

2000 gallons while far better than nothing, is not a lot for a structure fire.

Considering the added cost to increase tank size is not that much, this is good advice. Of course you must draw the line somewhere.

 

[4570Man]

In our area we're required to have tanks with 4" pipes running to a hydrant. We currently have a 10k gallon tank which supplies the house and the hydrant. I'm trying to get a permit to build a shop. To meet the current code that requires a separate tank for the hydrant, I'll need to put in another 5k gallon tank. Might do two to have more reserve.

Good to know about critters digging under the tanks that are not on concrete. We can go with gravel for tanks up to 5k so that's what everyone does. Maybe I'll use geogrid under it to keep the critters out.

2000 gallons while far better than nothing, is not a lot for a structure fire. Or a wildfire for that matter. If you can afford to, get a larger tank.

Since you're not using the water you'll want to exchange it periodically and maybe treat it with something. The opaque tank should keep algae from growing but let it sit long enough and something will. Tanks where the water is used regularly don't have this problem.

If your house is burning beyond what 2000 gallons will put out you might as well step back and watch it burn. The cleanup would be easier.