The Norwesco 2500 Gallon Black Heavy Duty Vertical Storage Tank (SKU 40052B) is a 91-inch-tall polyethylene vertical tank on a 95 x 95 inch footprint, built for bulk water and non-potable liquid storage where capacity and durability matter more than a small floor plate. The black resin and the 1.9 specific gravity rating are the two facts that define how you should use it, and both are covered below.
Will it work for your application?
This is a 2500-gallon vertical storage tank standing 91 inches tall with a 95 x 95 inch square footprint. Full of water it weighs about 20,850 lb, and at its maximum rated contents weight it carries roughly 39,615 lb of liquid load. That maximum is what the 1.9 specific gravity rating is built around: the tank is engineered to hold contents up to 1.9 times the density of water, which is why the rated load is far higher than the plain water weight. As a practical go/no-go check, SG 1.9 means the tank handles liquids up to about 1.9 times water density, so before you repurpose this water tank for a denser liquid, compare your contents' specific gravity against that 1.9 ceiling. For straight water storage you are well inside the envelope. The black exterior blocks light, which suppresses algae growth in stored water - one of the practical reasons people specify a black vertical tank over a translucent one for longer-term water holding. Run your gallons and height-versus-diameter trade-offs through the Tank Sizing Calculator, and if you are weighing footprint against tank height, the Tank Sizing Guide walks through the decision.
Foundation and siting
At 20,850 lb full of water on a 95 x 95 inch base, this tank needs a flat, fully supported foundation - a vertical poly tank must be continuously bottom-supported, not bridged or set on isolated points. Size the pad larger than the 95 x 95 inch tank footprint rather than flush to the tank edge, and use the full water weight (20,850 lb) as your minimum design load. If you are pouring a slab, our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks covers the ACI 360R-10 framework for sizing the pad under a load like this. For rural water reserves, fire-water reservoir duty, or cold-climate installs, see our work on fire-water reservoir tank design for NFPA 22 sizing discipline and freeze protection. If the tank is part of a grey-water, rainwater, or HVAC-condensate reuse train, our industrial water reuse tank topology guide shows where a tank this size fits in a quality-banded storage train.
The mistake to avoid
The most common error on a tank this size is treating it as drinking-water rated because it is "just water." This is a heavy-duty industrial water and non-potable storage tank - nothing in its spec set establishes it as potable, food-grade, or NSF-listed, so do not put it into a drinking-water system on assumption. The second is underbuilding the foundation: people size the pad for water weight and forget that the 1.9 SG rating means the tank can legitimately carry far heavier contents (up to about 39,615 lb), so if your liquid is denser than water, plan the foundation for that load, not the 20,850 lb water figure. One more: fitting and outlet configuration are not captured in our spec data for this SKU, so confirm thread size, outlet location, and whether gaskets are included against the technical drawing on this page - or by calling 866-418-1777 - before you set anchors or plumb connections.
This tank ships LTL freight on a pallet, quoted live to your ZIP. Norwesco molds vertical tanks at 12 plants across 10 states - Burnet, TX, Fairfield, TX, Griffin, GA, Hanford, CA, Lancaster, OH, Merced, CA, Owego, NY, Shawnee, OK, Sheldon, IA, St. Bonifacius, MN, Tooele, UT, and Washougal, WA - so for most U.S. ZIPs there is a mold site within one or two freight zones, and on a 20,850 lb shipment that ship-point proximity is the biggest cost lever there is. We ship from the plant nearest you to keep freight down. Get your freight quote with the Freight Cost Estimator, or call 866-418-1777 and we will quote freight to your ZIP and confirm the right tank for your install.
