The Snyder Industries 12500 Gallon Black Vertical Storage Tank is built for high-volume bulk water storage where one large footprint beats a field of small tanks. It holds 12,500 gallons, stands 198 inches (16.5 feet) tall, and sits on a 142 x 142 inch base, so plan your concrete pad, fill access, and overhead clearance around those numbers before the tank arrives. The black polyethylene wall blocks light to discourage algae growth, which makes this a practical choice for long-term raw water, irrigation supply, and fire-water reserve duty.
Will this vertical storage tank work for your site?
This is a vertical tank rated to a 1.5 specific gravity, meaning the wall is engineered to carry contents up to 1.5 times the weight of water. For water service that 1.5 SG rating is a durability and longevity margin, not a mismatch — it is a heavier, more robust wall than a 1.0-rated equivalent of the same size, which is why a serious bulk-water buyer should welcome it. At 12,500 gallons, full water weight is roughly 104,250 pounds, and at the full 1.5 SG rating the tank can carry up to about 156,375 pounds of contents. Those numbers drive everything underneath the tank. Spread the rated 156,375 pounds across the 142 x 142 inch base (20,164 square inches) and you are asking the foundation to bear roughly 7.8 psi at full rating, about 5.2 psi water-full. That is why a tank this size needs a properly engineered, level concrete pad rather than gravel or compacted soil. Our concrete pad sizing guide walks through the ACI 360R-10 framework and where the ACI 318 structural boundary begins for a load this large. If you are still confirming that 12,500 gallons is the right capacity, run the numbers with our Tank Sizing Calculator and the Tank Sizing Guide.
Sizing for fire-water and reuse storage
A vertical tank this size is frequently specified as a private fire-water reservoir on rural and remote sites, where a single high-capacity vertical tank holds the required reserve. Our fire-water reservoir design guide covers NFPA 22 sizing discipline and freeze-protection engineering for cold-climate service. If you are aggregating grey-water, rainwater, or HVAC condensate into a single bulk store, the industrial water reuse topology guide shows how quality-banded storage trains are sequenced.
The mistakes to avoid
The most common and costly error on a tank this size is treating the foundation as an afterthought. More than 156,000 pounds of rated load concentrated on a 142 x 142 inch footprint will find every weak spot in an under-built pad, and an out-of-level base stresses the tank wall. Confirm your pad design before delivery. The second is forgetting that fill-line and vent access sit near the top of a 16.5-foot tank — plan a ladder or platform for routine access, and make sure the delivery truck and offload equipment have the vertical and swing clearance to set a tank this tall. Finally, confirm the fitting configuration — manway, inlet, and outlet or drain bulkhead sizing — at the time of order; call 866-418-1777 and we will lock the exact fitting layout to your plumbing plan. Refer to the technical drawing on this page for dimensions and any fitting detail, and verify everything against your site plan before you set the tank.
This 12,500-gallon Snyder vertical storage tank ships LTL freight from the Snyder plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, quoted live to your ZIP code. At this size and weight, freight is a real line item and delivery requires the right equipment on site, so get an accurate number early with our Freight Cost Estimator or call 866-418-1777 to plan the offload. We will help you confirm the tank, the pad and bearing requirements, the fittings, and the delivery before you commit.
