The Chem-Tainer 180 Gallon Cylindrical Open Top Tank (SKU TC3060AB) is a natural white polypropylene open top tank built for straightforward bulk water holding, batching, and open-access process work. It stands 60 inches tall on a 30 x 30 inch round footprint, giving you a compact vertical column that fits tight equipment layouts while holding a full 180 gallons. The open top means easy visual monitoring, manual filling, mixer or float access, and simple cleanout - the reasons buyers search for a cylindrical open top tank rather than a closed vertical.
Will it work for your setup?
This is a polypropylene vessel, natural white so you can read fluid levels through the wall. Polypropylene handles higher service temperatures and a broader range of mild chemistry than standard polyethylene, so a natural-white PP open top suits warm process water and light batching where a PE tank would be marginal. Confirm your headroom before ordering: at 60 inches tall, plus the height of any mixer, ladder access, or fill line above it, you need real vertical clearance. Water at full capacity is heavy - 180 gallons weighs about 1,501 pounds - so the tank must sit on a flat, fully supported, load-rated surface across the entire 30 x 30 inch footprint. This is a vented, atmospheric open top tank, not a pressure or sealed-transport vessel; it is rated for water-weight service (specific gravity near 1.0). For denser fluids, confirm the wall spec by phone before ordering. If you are unsure whether 180 gallons matches your flow or drawdown, run the numbers with our Tank Sizing Calculator and the Tank Sizing Guide first.
Mounting and the mistake to avoid
The most common error with a tall, small-footprint open top tank is under-building the base. With roughly 1,501 pounds of full water weight bearing on a 30-inch diameter circle, point loads and unsupported edges stress the wall and lead to distortion. Set it on a continuous, level pad rated for the load - our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground tanks walks through the ACI framework for getting that foundation right. Because this tank ships open top with no pre-installed fittings, plan any drain or bulkhead penetration as field work: size the bulkhead fitting and a gasket matched to your stored fluid. Call 866-418-1777 and we will help spec it. If you need full drainage instead of a flat bottom, our cone-bottom drainage comparison covers the tradeoffs.
Freight and how to order
This tank ships by LTL freight from Chem-Tainer's West Babylon, New York plant, quoted live to your ZIP code - there is no flat freight price on a tank this size. Get an exact number in seconds with our Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 and we will quote it and confirm fit. Whether you are staging rainwater, process water, a reuse loop, or rural fire-reserve storage, our fire-water reservoir design guide and water reuse tank topology guide help you place this open top tank in the larger storage train.
