Farm tanks

Planning, managing and constructing farm water storage

Farm tanks are a key part of water security on rural properties. They store water from dams, bores, roof catchments or reticulated systems, and help ensure reliable supply for stock, domestic use and irrigation, especially during dry seasons.

What to consider

• Storage capacity. Know how much water you need — daily, weekly and seasonally — for stock, domestic use and irrigation. Plan for worst-case scenarios, like lactating stock grazing dry feed in summer.
• Water sources. Tanks may be filled from dams, bores, roof runoff or piped systems. Make sure the source is reliable and the water is fit for purpose.
• Water quality. Test water for salinity, pH and contaminants like algae, organic matter or chemicals. Poor quality water affects stock health and equipment. Use filtration or aeration if needed.
• Reticulation systems. Tanks often form part of a broader network including pumps, pipes and troughs. When designing a system:
  • Choose pump types and pipe diameters based on distance, elevation and flow rate.
  • Select troughs suited to your livestock — consider size, location and materials.
  • Factor in future expansion and changing water needs.
• Placement and layout. Tanks should be located to maximise gravity-fed flow where possible, reduce pumping costs and support efficient water distribution across the farm.
• Drought planning. Tanks play a critical role in drought preparedness. A well-designed system helps you manage grazing, protect pastures and maintain stock condition when surface water is limited.

Farm tanks are more than just backup — they’re central to a resilient water system. With the right planning, they support productivity, animal welfare and peace of mind.

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Video transcript

Farm Water Series - Troughs

In this video we'll be discussing using water troughs for livestock. Supplying water to livestock using troughs can provide some real clear advantages in terms of water quality, water efficiency and they can also provide producers with added flexibility in terms of where stock can access water on the property and that can be particularly important if you're looking at subdividing paddocks or re-fencing your property. So one of the really important things with trough is access, making sure there's enough trough space, making sure that the stock can reach the water, so trough height,

 

and also making sure that the flow rate is sufficient so that the system can actually keep up to stock demand. Rectangular troughs are generally preferred over round troughs from a space point of view and the main reason being is that for the same volume of trough, rectangular troughs actually provide more linear space so you'll be able to accommodate more head. With trough space.

 

the key thing there is making sure that there's enough trough space so that we don't have the more dominant animals having an impact around the trough and we also don't have a situation where we have overcrowding around the trough during high demand periods. As a general rule of thumb, when we're talking rectangular troughs, for every one metre of space you can allow up to 30 cows or 130 sheep. Here we've got an example of a rectangular 8 foot trough which equates to 2.4 metres in length of drinking space. Because stock can access both sides. in this example we can use that rule of thumb.

 

so 2.4 metres times your 30 cows or your 130 sheep means that this trough can accommodate up to 70 cows or around 300 sheep in hot weather when demand is high. With a rectangular trough, it's quite low, it's a trough that is actually designed for both sheep and cattle. Sometimes with the rounder style troughs, they can be quite high and even young calves can struggle to actually get in and access the water from those troughs so height is a really important factor to consider. Your water consumption is going to be driven by a whole range of factors, temperature, the class of stock,

 

whether they're dry stock or whether they're lactating stock and the type of feed they're on as well. So if they're grazing lush green pasture like we're seeing here today, a lot of their water requirements are actually going to be met through the pasture. However during dry parts of the year when that pasture deteriorates and is quite dry in nature, then they'll be looking to go to the trough to meet the majority of their water needs. We've had situations in the past where the biggest downfall has been flow rate.

 

There's been adequate space and the trough's well-sited but the flow rate's been the real issue. The trough's basically dry and they're having to wait for that trough to refill. You have seen in the past a lot of animal health issues, particularly during hot, warm weather where flow rate's not keeping up and all those issues then start to come in. Troughs come in all shapes and sizes and all different materials. So we've got concrete troughs, polyethylene troughs, fiberglass troughs, galvanised steel troughs. Concrete troughs and poly troughs tend to be more common.

 

Concrete troughs, they are obviously a very robust type of trough. They're heavy, they're difficult for stock to move and to damage. They also help to keep the water nice and cool, which is also really important from a palatability point of view. And they also tend to be fire resistant. With poly troughs, they are quite popular. They're obviously a lot lighter and easier to move around compared to a concrete trough. And because they're non-porous, they're also easy to clean. I guess the downside with the poly trough though is they are susceptible to fire.

 

One of the key things with troughs is to make sure that the polyline feeding the trough is buried underground. Otherwise, if it's exposed in the sun, that water can get very hot. Protection is a really important consideration with troughs. So there are a number of things that we look for there. Ideally, you want to see those fittings in the pipe well protected from stock so they avoid being damaged. We can see a couple of examples here today on these troughs where the round trough has got a nice recessed part. That means that the plumbing is well tucked away and is protected from stock.

 

And on the rectangular trough, we can see here that they've incorporated this little piece that juts out that actually sits over or sits above the plumbing to protect it from stock damage. If the plumbing and the fittings aren't well protected, if it becomes damaged, you've got a leak, and if you're not checking that trough regularly, those stock could be out of order.

 

One of the things with water troughs is hygiene is really important. It's important to keep those troughs clean and free of contaminants to really improve water quality, keep that water quality high and thereby keeping consumption high. And the other thing with young stock too is sometimes they need a bit of training on how to actually use a trough if they've never seen one before. So in summary, providing water to livestock using troughs can provide some real clear advantages in terms of water quality, water efficiency,

 

and also giving you increased flexibility in terms of where water is positioned around your farm. However, when using troughs for stock, careful planning and regular maintenance is really important to ensure the best outcome for your stock.

 

Related links

• On-farm water storages – planning, design and management - Guidance on siting, designing, constructing and monitoring on-farm water storages, including tanks and dams.