5000 Gallon Plastic Water Storage Tank - Black (119" x 112"): Complete Buyer's Guide
5,000-gallon black water storage tank built for safe potable water storage. Manufactured by Norwesco from virgin linear polyethylene (HDPE) rated to handle liquids up to 9.2 pounds per gallon. FDA approved for contact with potable water, ensuring safe storage for drinking water and food-grade liquids.
Specifications at a Glance
Every figure below is pulled straight from the live product record for this exact tank — the same data on the product page, so what you read here and what you buy never disagree.
Standards & Materials
- ASTM D1998 — Standard Specification for Polyethylene Upright Storage Tanks. Governs wall-thickness and hydrostatic design for vertical rotomolded poly tanks of this class.
- FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 — Olefin polymers. The food-contact regulation the FDA-grade resin in this tank is compounded to meet.
- Specific gravity rating 1.1 — the tank is engineered for liquids up to 1.1× the density of water (water is about 8.34 lb/gal). Confirm your fluid’s SG before storage.
Product Overview
The 5000 Gallon Plastic Water Storage Tank in black is top-tier bulk water storage — the reserve a serious farm, ranch, fire-protection system, or commercial facility installs when running out simply is not an option. Standing 112 inches tall on a nearly ten-foot base, it banks 5000 gallons in a single seamless vessel while keeping that enormous volume balanced and stable.
It is rotationally molded as one continuous piece of virgin linear polyethylene, so even at this scale there is no seam or weld anywhere in the wall to become a leak. The 1.1 specific gravity rating engineers the shell for liquids up to 9.2 pounds per gallon, covering water and most common liquids. The black wall blocks UV from the resin and light from the water, keeping algae out of a reserve this large.
The 119-inch base spreads the load across roughly 77 square feet. Empty, the tank already weighs 775 pounds; filled with rated-density water it puts about 46,645 pounds — well over twenty tons — onto the foundation, which makes professional structural design mandatory rather than optional. A factory 2-inch NPT outlet feeds the system and a large 22-inch lid opens the interior for full access.
Key Features and Specifications
- 5,000-gallon capacity — sized for safe potable water storage
- Constructed from virgin linear polyethylene (HDPE) with 1.1 specific gravity rating — handles liquids up to 9.2 lbs/gal
- 112" tall x 119" diameter — compact vertical footprint
- 775 lbs empty, approximately 46,645 lbs when full at rated specific gravity
- 2 NPT outlet fitting — factory installed and leak-tested
- 1.5 NPT inlet fitting included
- 22" lid opening for fill, venting, and interior access
- FDA approved for potable water and food-grade liquid contact
- 3 Year Warranty from Norwesco against manufacturing defects
- UV-resistant black pigmentation provides maximum outdoor durability and inhibits algae growth in stored liquids
- Rated for continuous service up to 120 F / 48 C
- Seamless one-piece rotational molding — no seams, no welds, no leak points
- Manufactured by Norwesco — a leading name in rotomolded polyethylene tanks
- Install on a level, compacted surface. Ensure adequate clearance above for lid access and around the perimeter for plumbing connections and visual inspection
- Ships via dedicated freight carrier due to oversized dimensions — contact us for delivery timeline and site access requirements
Installation and Setup Guide
Everything about installing this 5000-gallon tank scales up from its numbers: a 46,645-pound full load — more than twenty tons — bearing through a 119-inch base. At 112 inches tall and 119 wide it is slightly wider than it is high, which keeps even this mass stable, but a flat bottom this enormous turns the smallest pad defect into a major stress riser. The foundation is not part of the install here; it is the project.
Site Preparation
This tank requires an engineered, reinforced concrete slab, full stop — thickness and reinforcement specified by a structural engineer for your specific soil, extending well past the 119-inch base. Hold it flat to a quarter inch across the full ten-foot width, an exacting tolerance at this scale. Under 46,645 pounds, any deviation drives tons of concentrated load into a small area and risks both wall fatigue and progressive settlement.
Placement and Connections
Bring the discharge off the factory 2-inch outlet at the base of a column over nine feet tall, where head pressure is highest of any tank in this batch, and isolate it with a flexible coupling so the vessel's thermal movement and creep never load the bulkhead. Keep the run short and low. The 22-inch lid makes it practical to fit large floats or a substantial submersible pump. Tighten the threads hand-tight plus a quarter turn.
Venting
Drawing 5000 gallons out demands 5000 gallons of air rushing back in, the largest air exchange in this lineup, and a sun-heated black shell makes the pressure swing severe. The 22-inch lid is the relief path: keep its screened vent wide open and unobstructed. On a tank this size a blocked vent will collapse a sidewall or cave the top under a hard draw-down — fast and catastrophic — so the vent is the first thing to verify, always.
Maintenance and Long-Term Care
A 5000-gallon black potable reserve is a piece of infrastructure, and maintaining it is mostly about protecting water quality and the engineered foundation under twenty-plus tons. The 22-inch lid means you can actually get inside to do the work properly, and the dark wall keeps the volume free of algae.
Quarterly Inspection Checklist
- Wall scan: Walk the entire 119-inch shell and look for any low bulge; on a 46,645-pound tank that is the first and most important warning of a settling foundation.
- Outlet check: Inspect the 2-inch bulkhead — the highest-head fitting in the batch — for any weeping and hand-tighten if it has crept.
- Foundation audit: Examine the full perimeter and the slab itself for cracking, settling, or washout; at this load, foundation movement is the dominant failure mode.
- Vent and 22-inch lid: Confirm the screened vent is wide open and the large lid gasket seats fully — the vent guards against the most violent failures and the lid is the contaminant barrier.
Cleaning
Drain all 5000 gallons through the 2-inch outlet annually, rinse, and sanitize with a 50-ppm chlorine solution held about an hour before refilling for drinking use. The 22-inch lid lets you reach in and clear sediment across the broad floor properly — important on a reserve this large, where a thin layer of settled material still adds up to a lot. Wipe the gasket while the lid is open.
UV and Weather Protection
Black gives this 5000-gallon tank the most durable UV protection available, but the resin's stabilizer still depletes under sustained sun over the years. Inspect the south-facing arc annually for chalking; the tank will outlast any lighter-colored equivalent, and in extreme desert conditions a shade structure is worth its cost on an asset this size.
Alternatives and Comparisons
Five thousand gallons in black is the largest single-vessel water reserve in this group, and it commits you fully to an engineered foundation for twenty-plus tons. If that is more than the site needs, the 3000- and 2500-gallon black tanks step the load and the freight down meaningfully. For anything larger, the answer is usually multiple tanks manifolded together rather than one bigger vessel.
Other 5000-Gallon Options
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will the 5000 Gallon Plastic Water Storage Tank - Black (119" x 112") last?
On a properly engineered foundation, within its 1.1 SG and 120°F limits, and with the annual cleaning the 22-inch lid makes practical, this black 5000-gallon tank comfortably reaches fifteen to twenty years and often beyond. The seamless wall has no weld to fail even at this scale and black is the toughest UV color; what ends a tank this size early is foundation settlement or stagnant water, never the polyethylene.
What chemicals can I store in this tank?
It is built and FDA-approved for potable water and food-grade liquids and, within its 9.2-pound-per-gallon rating, holds many lighter solutions too. Keep fuels, solvents, and flammables out, and check any chemical against a poly compatibility chart first — most acids and bases are fine but certain strong oxidizers attack the resin.
What kind of foundation does a 5000-gallon tank need?
A load of roughly 46,645 pounds makes this strictly an engineering job: a reinforced concrete slab designed by a structural professional for your soil, sized well past the 119-inch base and held flat to a quarter inch. Improvised support is unsafe at twenty-plus tons — the foundation must be specified for the full loaded weight.
Does this tank come with a warranty?
Yes — Norwesco's 3-year warranty covers manufacturing defects under normal use, meaning factory faults, not overloading past 1.1 SG, foundation failure, chemical attack, or impact. Given the value of a tank this size, keep your receipt and detailed install photos.
Can I install this tank underground?
No. Even at 5000 gallons this is an above-ground tank, and its flat wall cannot resist soil pressure; burying it would collapse the vessel and void the warranty. For below-grade storage at this scale, use purpose-built ribbed, reinforced underground tanks engineered for burial.
Buying Considerations
Three essentials before ordering: confirm roughly 77 square feet of pad area plus generous overhead lid clearance, retain a structural engineer to design the slab for the full 46,645-pound load, and arrange LTL freight with a crane or heavy forklift and clear site access — a 775-pound empty tank this large cannot be set by hand.
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