The Snyder Industries 550 Gallon Black Vertical Water Storage Tank is a polyethylene vertical water tank built for above-ground bulk water storage on a compact square footprint. At 550 gallons in a 64-inch square base standing 46 inches tall, it holds a working volume in a low, stable profile that suits sites where headroom is limited but ground space allows a wider base. Black pigment blocks UV transmission and suppresses the algae growth that plagues lighter, light-transmitting tanks on outdoor sites - a practical advantage for vertical storage tank duty in open yards, well systems, irrigation buffers, and rural fire-water reserves.
Will it work for your install?
This vertical tank carries a 1.0 specific gravity rating, meaning it is engineered for the weight of water and water-density liquids - the correct rating for a water storage tank. Filled to capacity, expect roughly 4,587 pounds of water weight on the pad; size your foundation and connections to that loaded figure, not the empty shell. The footprint is 64.0 x 64.0 inches square. Fittings on this tank include a 1-1/2-inch polypropylene bulkhead fitting with EPDM gaskets, a 2-inch standard polypropylene bulkhead with EPDM, and an 18-inch polyethylene manway assembly with a 4-inch vent and an integrated tie-down provision, plus a 16-inch x 15.75-inch fitting location. That tie-down point matters on a low, wide tank: at 46 inches tall and 64 inches across it sits light when empty, so the manway's tie provision gives you a real anchoring point against wind in open yards before the tank is filled. The 4-inch vent on the manway matters too: a closed tank pulling water out fast needs adequate venting to avoid drawing a vacuum on the wall. Confirm your inlet, outlet, and overflow plumbing against the fitting layout shown in the technical drawing on this page before you order valves and hose.
Sizing and foundation
Because the loaded tank approaches 4,600 pounds of contents alone, the pad under it does real structural work. Run your numbers through the Tank Sizing Calculator and review the Tank Sizing Guide to confirm 550 gallons matches your draw and refill cycle. For the slab, our guide on concrete pad sizing for above-ground polyethylene tanks walks the ACI 360R-10 framework, and after install the hydrostatic test methodology covers the water-fill acceptance and pad-settlement monitoring that catches problems before the tank is in service. If this feeds a rural or remote fire-water reserve, the fire-water reservoir design guide covers NFPA 22 sizing and cold-climate freeze protection. For grey-water, rainwater, or HVAC condensate aggregation, see our industrial water reuse tank topology guide.
The mistake to avoid
The common error on a square-footprint vertical tank this heavy is treating it like a lightweight poly drum. Nearly 4,600 pounds of water on a 64-inch square base concentrates load; an unprepared or uneven pad lets the tank settle, stress the fittings, and leak at the bulkheads. Get the foundation flat, level, and rated before water goes in. Equally common: over-tightening the EPDM-gasketed bulkhead fittings or swapping the supplied seals for the wrong material. The polypropylene bulkheads here ship with EPDM gaskets matched for water and water-density service - do not substitute non-EPDM seals without confirming compatibility, since EPDM is the as-shipped sealing material on this tank. Plumb to the fittings as supplied.
This tank ships LTL freight from a single plant in Merced, CA, with cost quoted live to your ZIP code - get your number from the Freight Cost Estimator or call 866-418-1777. Because Merced is the only ship point, West-Coast and Mountain-region ZIPs land the lowest distance-rated LTL freight, while ZIPs farther east should expect higher cost on a tank this size - pull the live number before you commit. A business address with a dock or forklift moves the cost down further than a residential delivery, and our team can confirm the fitting layout and freight before you order.
