PLASTIC WATER STORAGE TANKS

• Introduction
• Types of Plastic Water Tanks
• Advantages of Plastic Water Storage Tanks
• Challenges of Concrete Water Tanks
• Future Trends in Water Storage
• Conclusion

In the field of water storage, the battle between plastic and concrete tanks has been ongoing long time. This article works into the reasons of popularity of plastic water storage tanks compared to their concrete tanks.

Polyethylene Tanks:

• These PE tanks are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE/PE).

Fiberglass Tanks:

• The FRP tanks are made from layers of fiberglass and resin.

Flexible Tanks:

• Soft plastic water storage tanks use various soft plastics, such as TPU sheet or PVC sheet.

There have various types of water storage tanks on the market, when we consider a plastic tank, the common properties are:

• Light-weight;
• Easy to install;
• Cost-effiective, comparing with rigid tanks(especially steel tanks).
• Low cost on Maitaineance(speciallly with steel tanks and concrete tanks).

Lightweight and Maneuverability

The plastic water tanks are lightweight, comparing with rigid tanks. For example, an 10,000L loading capacity tank, the plastic tank(flexible tanks) is 48kgs, but a steel tank, the weight is about 150kgs.

Because the plastic tanks are light on weight, which means it’s easier to handle during installation and mainteinance. Less workers are needed to move tanks and less machines requested.

Cost-Effectiveness

When we consider a water storage tank, the cost is mainly consisted by 3 parts: the cost of the tank, the shipping cost(domestic & international), the operation cost, in here, we will compare the most popular tanks(plastic tanks and concrete tanks) in the market based on the 3 parts of cost.

The cost of the tank: plastic fiberglass tanks/ PE tanks/ flexible tanks V.S. concrete tanks, the price from high to low: concrete tank, flexible tank, PE tank, fiberglass tanks. Because the concrete tank, the cost is consisted by the raw materials, like concrete, bricks, water things. So the cheapest on the product cost is concrete tank.

Next, the shipping cost, from low to high: flexible tank, concrete tank, PE tank, fiberglass tank. The flexible tank can be packed in small carton when empty, so it can save the most on shipment; the concrete tank, actually now, we can’t call it a tank, they’re a bulk of raw materials, and the loading size won’t too big. Expect them, the PE and fiberglass tanks, they can’t fold, the large size needs larger loading space, so the shipping cost will be much higher than flexible/folding ones.

The last one, installation: Plastic tanks do not need experienced installation, just need to connect them with the tube. But the concrete tank needs the professional operation at site. So the installation, the concrete pool nees the most spends in here.

Resistance to Corrosion

Plastic water tanks and concrete tanks, they all can be UV-resistant. And plastic tanks, becust of the different production technology, they also provide the bacterial and mold resistance.

Versatility in Design

Plastic water storage tank, especially flexible bladder tank, it can provide the customized services, including the size, shape, fittings. But concrete tank, as it’s limited by the worker’s experience, it’s mostly in rectangluar or round shape with standard sizes.

As we mentioned above, the concrete tanks, the problem is  heavy weight, if the water tank needs to move sometimes, the concrete tank can’t work. And the installation is really complicated, it’s a professional job to build a water pond. Besides those reasons above, there is an visible considerable on the concrete pond:

Vulnerability to Cracking：

After usage, the concrete surface or the brick, the cracking is easy to happen. And it’s not easy to repair, as sometimes, we can’t find the exactly crack there. So now a day, the best way to repair the concrete pool is adding a pond liner(flexible tank) to cover.

Now the users request on water tank in easier to handle, easier to maintain, and better performance. As the technology devolops, more new materials are initiated into the water tank filed, more plastic tank, steel tanks are going to be shown in the market. More and more people will consider plastic/steel tanks to replace concrete tanks.

In conclusion, the popularity of plastic water storage tanks over concrete ones is a result of their numerous advantages, ranging from practicality to cost considerations.