The Chem-Tainer 650-gallon open-top storage tank is a black polyethylene cylinder that stands 84 inches tall on a 48-by-48-inch footprint, giving you high-capacity batch storage in a compact floor space. The open-top design makes it straightforward to fill, mix, inspect, and clean from above, which is why it turns up in searches for an open top tank, open tank, and general storage tank duty. It carries an FDA-approved polyethylene rating and a 1.5 specific-gravity wall, so it holds a genuinely heavy column of liquid rather than water alone.
Will it work for your job?
Here is the load in one line: 650 gallons of water weighs roughly 5,421 pounds, and at the 1.5 specific-gravity wall rating the tank is built to hold up to 8,132 pounds of contents. That headroom is the point of a 1.5 SG wall — it covers plain water storage and denser batch liquids in the same vessel, where a standard 1.0-rated water tank would not. Confirm your liquid's specific gravity against that 1.5 ceiling before you fill, and if you are unsure how a 650-gallon vessel fits your throughput, run the numbers through our Tank Sizing Calculator or read the Tank Sizing Guide.
Fittings and siting
This unit ships as an open-top vessel with no factory-installed bulkhead, outlet, or overflow fittings — plan and add your draw-off, overflow, and any bulkhead connections yourself around the flat base and cylindrical wall. The open-top cylinder needs full, continuous support under its 48-by-48-inch base, so set it on a level pad sized to carry the loaded weight; our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks walks through the ACI framework for doing that correctly. See the technical drawing on this page for exact dimensions before you finalize your plumbing and pad.
The mistake to avoid
The common error with a black open-top tank is treating the open top as a substitute for proper fitting and outlet planning, then overfilling past the rated line. Account for your liquid's weight against the 8,132-pound ceiling first. If your project involves fire-water reserve or reclaimed water, our write-ups on fire-water reservoir design and industrial water reuse tank topology cover the sizing and layout details.
This tank ships LTL freight from West Babylon, NY — with 5,421-plus pounds loaded, shipping distance to your site drives the cost, so get a live ZIP quote before you commit. Use the Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 to talk through sizing, fittings, and lead time with a specialist.
