Pioneer Water Tanks go above and beyond the Australian Standard for water storage with our panel tanks and water tank liners.
Steel panel tanks, which are also known as modular water tanks, or simply steel water tanks, are a popular, more modernised water tank design, allowing a long lasting and high strength water tank that is both affordable and easy to construct.
The panel part of panel tank refers to the sheets of steel – typically Zincalume or Colorbond® steel, but sometimes stainless steel – that bolt together to form the tank wall. These are designed so as they can fit on a pallet for easy transport, and are designed in such a way to ensure ease of construction.
These water storage tanks have a variety of applications, from people looking to install a rainwater tank for household water or fire protection, to irrigators and graziers who need quality water storage for their livelihoods, to mining projects that need easy to install high quality water storage for their site to suit a range of purposes.
Round panel tanks are the most common panel tanks and are one of the most popular water tank options on the market today. Long lasting, available in a wide range of sizes and easy to install, it’s no wonder they are so popular.
Round tanks can be liner tanks, squatter tanks, fire tanks and even chemical tanks, and can be scaled up to contain large volumes of water, some specially designed water tanks have a capacity upward of 2 megalitres (that’s over two million litres).
Square tanks are a model of steel tank that can help make the most of water storage in a smaller area. The installation of a square storage tank is often done in basements or on rooftops, or even in small nooks and crannies that aren’t ideal for the larger steel tanks.
These bolted steel tanks are most often used for fire protection, and can be hooked up to sprinkler systems with a pump, or simply used as a fire water tank for hydrant water.
Damper tanks are typically square tanks, sometimes completely prefabricated, but often also panel tanks, that sit atop high rise buildings in order to reduce structure motion.
The definition of dampening in physics is “energy-absorbing mechanism or resistance circuit,” which is an important part of general construction in civil engineering.
A feat of engineering excellence, the Pioneer V-LOCK® wall profile is designed to stand the test of time and provides superior internal support for the tank liner.
The AQUALINER Fresh® antimicrobial tank liner is designed keep your water fresher, cleaner and healthier for longer.
One of the great features of panel tanks is how affordable they are when compared to a concrete tank, or a welded steel storage tank. This can even be true when compared to a poly water tank, once you start needing more water storage than a single poly tank can hold.
Your panel tank will be priced based on the construction – galvanised steel, Zincalume®/Colorbond®, or stainless steel panel tank – the size, and any accessories you may choose to add to it.
These steel tanks also typically come installed with a sacrificial anode, which protects the steel in the tank walls from corrosion.
Once made of galvanised steel, liner water tanks are typically constructed of Zincalume® or Colorbond® steel; metal alloys stronger and more corrosion resistant than the traditional galvanised tank.
These steel tanks can also come installed with a roof catchment or gutter system, in order to increase your rainwater harvesting capacity.
MODEL | Diameter | Height | Litres | Gallons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GT10 | 2.67m | 2.18m | 12,200 | 2,600 |
GT20 | 3.34m | 2.18m | 19,100 | 4,200 |
GT30 | 4.01m | 2.18m | 27,542 | 6,053 |
GT40 | 4.68m | 2.18m | 37,574 | 8,258 |
GT50 | 5.35m | 2.18m | 48,963 | 10,761 |
GT60 | 6.02m | 2.18m | 62,111 | 13,651 |
GT80 | 6.69m | 2.18m | 76,504 | 16,814 |
GT90 | 7.35m | 2.18m | 92,570 | 20,345 |
GT110 | 8.02m | 2.18m | 110,116 | 24,212 |
GT130 | 8.69m | 2.18m | 129,292 | 28,416 |
GT150 | 9.36m | 2.18m | 149,948 | 32,956 |
GT170 | 10.03m | 2.18m | 172,134 | 37,832 |
GT200 | 10.70m | 2.18m | 195,851 | 43,044 |
GT220 | 11.36m | 2.18m | 221,604 | 48,704 |
GT250 | 12.03m | 2.18m | 247,874 | 54,478 |
GT280 | 12.70m | 2.18m | 276,180 | 60,751 |
GTi291 | 10.70m | 3.23m | 290,632 | 63,876 |
GTi328 | 11.36m | 3.23m | 328,096 | 72,109 |
GTi328 | 12.03m | 3.23m | 367,831 | 80,784 |
GTi410 | 12.70m | 3.23m | 409,860 | 90,157 |
GTi454 | 13.37m | 3.23m | 454,112 | 99,891 |
GTi501 | 14.04m | 3.23m | 500,065 | 500,065 |
We estimate that the average rural home requires approximately 30,000 litres of water storage per person.
To work out how much rainwater you can harvest from the roof of your home (catchment area) use the simple calculator attached.
One of the great advantages of a steel water tank, is that most water tank installers can manufacture them in a variety of colours to bet suit your design requirements.
Some of these will be genuine Colorbond® colours, where the colour is bonded directly to the steel, while others may be powder coating, a more cost effective but less long lasting way of painting the tank.
Panel tanks are able to be fitted with a variety of water tank accessories, including ladders and hatches, filter baskets, downpipes, nozzles, overflows and flap valves, a water tank liner and more.
Many accessories come standard with your water tank, but can be swapped out with ones more suited to the specific project, or can have additional fittings added to the tank to be suited to its application.
At Pioneer, we’ve been designing and manufacturing rural water tanks for over 30 years, and we’re so confident in their durability that all of our tanks come with our exclusive Pioneer 20/20 warranty.
That means a 20-year conditional structural warranty, in addition to a 20-year conditional warranty gainst water leakage (only applicable for tank models GT10—GT280.)
With Pioneer’s Dealer Direct® Network of over 50 distributors all across the country, you can rest assured that you will be dealing with the knowledge and experience of a local family business.
There is no definitive answer as to which water storage tank or water supply system is best, as your rainwater harvesting system needs to be fit to your needs and available space.
Where space and money is limited, you would be looking at a poly rain water tank, or a bladder water storage tank. If you need a rain water tank that is going to survive impact damage and fire, you may lean toward concrete. If you’re looking to supply drinking water or potable water storage to your home, you would most likely be leaning toward a steel rainwater tank.
If you are looking to pump water from a dam or creek into your tank and are not looking for potable water storage, you’ll be less likely to be concerned about the tank liner or cleanliness of your water storage.
The typical poly rain water tank can be expected to provide an effective water storage solution for up to 20 years, in some cases even longer. Due to the nature of the plastic, the quality of a poly round tank will depend on the conditions it is kept in, and how it is looked after.
Even steel tanks only come with a warranty of 20 years, but in many circumstances provide adequate rain water supply for upward of 30 years.
There is no universal best colour for a rainwater tank, with the steel round water tank being available in a range of Colorbond® colours, as well as the traditional silver Zincalume® finish.
For a fibreglass water storage tank, if it is going to be used for drinking water supply, the exterior should be coated in a dark paint, to protect the water from algae growth.
When it comes to residential or rural storage of rainwater, a stainless steel round tank would almost definitely be overkill price wise, whereas a plastic water tank will only be viable up to a certain litre amount. In place of a stainless steel water storage tank, you may do better to consider a steel liner tank for your potable water storage.
A steel bolted water tank is available from Pioneer Water Tanks in sizes from a 12,200 litre rainwater tank up to a 500,065 litre rainwater tank. Call us today to learn more.
Choosing a water tank can be an exhausting process, with so many options on the market today. You have to consider where you are going to pump the water from or pump the water to, or if you are going to collect rainwater from a roof catchment system, and then what material you are going too have it manufactured from.
If you want to simplify the process, simply call Pioneer Water Tanks today on 01800 344 130 and speak to one of our experts.
People in rural Australia have been drinking water from rainwater tanks for decades, and it remains one of the most common sources of potable water. If you live in an urban or particularly polluted area however, it would be best to see local government guidelines in regards to the safety of drinking water.
If you are looking to pump water into a panel tank, with no intention of using it for potable water storage, the only thing to consider would be keeping it free from algae and mosquitoes.
