Ways to conceal water tanks on your property

Not many water tanks or rainwater tanks can be considered beautiful, especially when placed near a building or in a garden. 

There are various ways to conceal or disguise water tanks – an important consideration for many home and business owners  (often the thought of installing an ‘ugly’ water tank on the premises is the major stumbling block!).  Here are some ideas for ensuring that water tanks blend in with the property:

Colour of the water tanks

If you are in the market for water tanks or rainwater tanks, remember that there are now many colours available, especially when it comes to the polyethylene or ‘plastic’ water tanks.  Also be aware that many retailers only stock the ‘standard’ colour and often do not inform customers that there are various colour options available from the manufacturer.  In South Africa, the very well-known and trusted JoJo Tanks brand is usually encountered in the standard ‘JoJo Green’ colour.  There are in fact a number of colour options available for JoJo water tanks and JoJo chemical/medium or heavy duty tanks, see JoJo Tanks’ colour spectrum below:

Choose the colour that best suits the building’s colour or landscape if the water tank is to be installed in a garden.  JoJo’s Wintergrass colour is popular in urban settings as the neutral colour blends in well with the majority of common building/house colours.  JoJo’s Bushveld Green is a great choice for game lodges and rural areas as it blends in well with natural vegetation.

This private lodge has a JoJo Bushveld Green tank concealed on a stand behind the trees

Types of water tanks

The standard vertical water tanks are relatively tall; there is often the choice of purchasing the same capacity water tank in a ‘low profile’ version.  JoJo Tanks offers Low Profile water tanks in the following sizes: 5000 litre and 10000 litre.  Low profile water tanks are easier to conceal with vegetation or screens and are less noticeable.  Horizontal tanks are another option.  Although horizontal tanks are usually used for transporting water and other liquids, they can also be used for fixed water storage.  Horizontal tanks are even lower in profile and make up for capacity by being wide and long.

Where concealment is less of a priority but where a ‘trendy’ water tank or rainwater tank is required, one of the 750 litre Slimline tanks could also be an option.  For ultimate concealed water tank, and underground tank could be installed, such as JoJo’s 6000 litre underground tank.

How the water tanks are installed

The function/purpose of the water tank must be taken into consideration but there are ways to install a water tank to make them less noticeable.  First and foremost, all water tanks should be installed on a solid base or platform.  Tank stand height can be chosen to ensure the tank is positioned above the line of sight and behind building rooftops or trees.  Alternatively, water tanks can be partially submerged in the ground to reduce their profile.  In this case, it is important to ensure that earth is not exerting pressure on the sides of the tank unless the tank is purposely designed to withstand external pressure (such as JoJo’s 6000 litre underground tank which can be totally covered and even installed under driveways).  Standard water tanks can also be placed below ground level in brick & mortar underground chambers (i.e. no pressure is exerted on the sides or top of the tanks and an inspection hatch can be installed at ground level).

Conceal or disguise water tanks for screening and/or plants

Screening made fromwire, bamboo, cane, wood and other natural products (left in natural colour or painted), can be used alone or in combination with plants to conceal water tanks and can even be made into a landscaping feature.  An added bonus of screening water tanks is that it will provide protection from oblique solar rays which will keep the store water cooler as well as protect the tanks’ walls from UV rays (always purchase UV-protected poly water tanks such as those made by JoJo Tanks).  Perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing way to screen water tanks is to install trellising and allow creeping/climbing plants to completely obscure the trellis frame as well as the tanks.  Plants alone are a good option too; ensure that the shrubs are evergreen and grow thick foliage for year-round concealment.

JoJo Tanks South Africa offer a wide range of products such as plastic water tanks and chemical tanks to suit every household, business or agricultural need, including silo tanks and silo tank stands as well as other high quality JoJo Tanks products.  See JoJo Tanks’ VERTICAL TANKS, HORIZONTAL TANKS (transporter tanks), STEEL TANK STANDS and OTHER JOJO PRODUCTS and see JoJo Tanks’ NEW 6000 LITRE UNDERGROUND TANKS. Also see our FAQ and WATER TANK PRICES.