Having a fresh looking garden is a goal that many Australians aim for, but many people are often put off by high costs. Water usage is certainly a contributing problem, and often people feel a bit guilty using fresh water on their garden. However, there is always the option of using rainwater tank systems to gather up, store and distribute enough water to keep your garden looking great year-round. All it takes is a bit of modification to your current gutter pipes and a bit of tinkering with your irrigation system, and you are right to go.

Water Tank Systems

The first thing you need to get, if you don't have one already, is a proper water tank system. Any good water tank contractor will be able to advise you on exactly how large a tank you need by a quick calculation of your roof's surface area. A very important part of all water tank systems is positioning on the ground. You don't want it too far from your house; otherwise, the installation of pipes can take forever and be very expensive. You also need to consider whether you want wet or dry piping systems and which one suits your needs best. 

Connection To The Roof

If you don't already have a good gutter system that is connected with downpipes then you need to get that sorted as soon as possible. The gutters should all be connected to a piping system that comes together just before the water tank which means you need to carefully organise how to get them to converge neatly. You should also arrange for grates to be placed over the drains in your gutter so that leaves, twigs and other items don't clog up the pipes later on. Keeping your pipes and gutters clean is the biggest maintenance task you will need to carry out after everything has been installed, so try and work out a system you can keep up with.

Irrigation system

Once your water tank systems have been installed with your drains, you now have all the water supply you should need (depending on the size of your roof). Most plumbers who install water tanks can also connect them to your backyard taps and any sprinkler systems you may have. Keeping the main entry source of your irrigation system (i.e. the tap or the connection to your sprinklers) close to your water tank should be a priority, and if you already have one that is not positioned well, then you should do some renovations to fix this. That will conserve energy that the water must use to get to your system and allow you to have better water pressure, leading to a more efficient use overall. 

To learn more about water tank systems, contact a plumber in your area.