Hi,
I've just bought a rainwater tank. As with most, it's opaque and you can't really tell how much water there is inside.

Instead of buying a tank gauge, an idea came to mind the other day.

The thought was to install a branch off the pipe near the tank outlet point (which is at the bottom of the tank) and connect a vertical transparent pipe or hose which runs vertically all the way past the top of the tank (and secure this pipe/hose so it stays firmly in place). Basically, the water level in this pipe/hose is the same as that in the tank. Haven't explored the existence/availability of transparent pipes or the connectors to use to join a hose to the piping at the bottom of the tank, but one possibility in mind is to use standard water hoses (i've seen transparent ones before) and using the clips used in garden irrigation systems.

Any thoughts or put-downs on this idea?? The intention is to have a cheap and visually accurate gauge. Have seen one or two gauges which may be used, but they are not cheap, and I'm not confident of their reliability; plus seeing a dial that points to a circular gauge isn't as clear as actually sighting the water level itself next to the tank).


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