Build a Rainwater Harvesting System at Lesser Cost!

While it’s true that a rainwater harvesting system is highly beneficial to a household, the whole thing can cost you a good sum of money. Of particular note is the price of a single rainwater tank—the bigger you go, the pricier the options available.

Enter the rainwater tanks special offers—Sydney tank specials, Queensland tank specials, Victorian tank specials, Melbourne tank specials, and South Australian specials.

Our monthly rainwater tanks specials help you get the right tank for your home without experiencing so much pain on your pocket. To get a tank in this manner, just check out the online catalogue that can be found in this page and make your choice. Take note of the different capacities and profiles of each tank for sale, as well as the specials for each region.

Once you’ve made your choice, you should be able to save enough for an additional essential component, such as a filter or a number of pipes that will connect one component to at least one or two other components. In addition, you can expect to save up to 15% off your next pump purchase with each tank sale.

So many choices!

In the online catalogue, you should find a number of rounded and slimline tanks of varying capacities. To know the size and variant that you should purchase, there are a number of things to take into consideration. These are highlighted below.

* How frequent is the rainfall in the area you live in? If rain does not fall that often in the area, you won’t be able to collect several thousand litres of rainwater over the course of a few days for use in a wide variety of tasks and household chores. In this situation, you should purchase a tank with lower capacity instead of one with a higher capacity.

* Do you want to be more dependent or less dependent on rainwater? There are good reasons to be more dependent on rainwater—it is free and is pure in and of itself. However, there also are good reasons to keep using the water provided by utility companies—it goes through several rounds of filtration and purification before it is pumped to homes.

* How large is your space for a rainwater tank? If the available space in your property isn’t that large, you can go for a slimline tank. If you have more space for a rounded tank, then by all means, go for it. Underground and underdeck tanks should be your best bet if you do not have sufficient space at home or if you’re looking to use the available space in your property for other important things.

* Tank material preference. Would you like a metal water tank or a plastic water tank? Either option is good; with their only differences being their features and some ways to best keep them fully functional.

* How many people will be using the collected rainwater? A household composed of three people is not expected to need a lot of water compared to a household composed of six people.

Water Disinfection: Making the Most Out of the Chosen Tank

Each drop of rain, in itself, is safe for drinking. But since there are impurities in the air we breathe (which can be picked up by raindrops), it’s important that these drops are disinfected before use. The first step in disinfecting rain is through the setting up of components made of suitable material during the creation of the rainwater harvesting system.

The catchment, usually the roof of one’s home, should ideally be made from unpainted metal. Paint has chemicals that are harmful when ingested. Same rule applies with the gutters. The pipes leading to the tank itself should be made from food-grade poly.

The tank should be made of food-grade material. In the case of steel tanks, they should be installed properly to avoid corrosion.

Filters and a first flush system also need to be installed in the system to prevent leaves, twigs, algae, and insects from making it into the storage tank itself. A first flush system removes the first millilitres of water, which will most likely contain impurities.

There are other methods to disinfecting rain, and these are:

* Ozonisation. This is a method that’s effective over numerous pH levels, is capable of killing microbes and algae, eliminates numerous inorganic and organic compounds, and doesn’t add toxic substances to the water. It may produce a number of by-products, notably bromate if there is bromine in the water. This is, however, unlikely with the proper design and maintenance of the system.

* Microfiltration and ultrafiltration. These mechanical filtration methods which primarily differ by pore size. Microfiltration involves the use of filters with 0.2-micron pores, and ultrafiltration involves the use of filters with 0.02-micron pores.

Notes on both methods: They remove microbes and cysts, and ultrafiltration is capable of removing viruses as well. There is pressure loss at membrane, and thus pre-treatment is necessary, but there are no byproducts produced, and any organisms are removed, rather than inactivated or killed in the water. Only a few of these systems are certified for the removal of microbes, so check the certifications before having them installed.

* Photodisinfection. The process, which involves the use of high-intensity LED light, is effective in eliminating microbes. But in order for it to be truly effective, the water should not be turbid.

* Electrolysis. This is a new method still being researched, but once it becomes mainstream, is capable of revolutionising water disinfection. It involves the use of charged plates that produce anolyte and catholyte when in water columns. The water columns are where ions are collected and separated.

* Copper ion dispersion. Right now, the swimming pool industry is using it as chlorine replacement, but it has potential in disinfecting drinking water as it is capable of killing bacteria and algae. As the name of the process implies, it involves the use of copper ions, which absorb and kill any algae and bacteria they touch.

* Solar electrolysis. In this process, any contaminated water is pre-filtered mechanically, then electrolysed by solar energy into oxygen and hydrogen. Everything else is left behind in sludge form. Then hydrogen is burned to produce heat and pure water, which will then be recovered to run a generator.