My wife blew me away today with a comment that we have a big back yard that we're not doing anything with, maybe we should get a 250 or 500 gallon water tank. Being in the desert, I'm on board, BUT, I have no idea how to do that, what tank, what pump, how often to refresh, etc. Anyone here have some ideas?

Buy a couple of 275 gallon composite IBC.  Plumb them into the downspout and buy a Berkey filter.
You can build a nice enclosure around them. They can stack and be plumbed so they both fill.

Shop around.  Get a SG 1 (or more), dont worry about a pump or any of that.  Plenty of prepper sites will tell you how to clean a tank and how to keep the water drinkable.  The base needs to support the weight (8.33 lbs/gal).
My tank is 700 gallons so 5800 lbs. full.  Empty i can put it in the bed of my truck without help.  Hide it so the unprepared dont know you have it.  Desperate people will do awful things.

Tank prices have tripled + the last few years, holy fuck.

YouTube has tons of good water storage videos

We use catch water exclusively at our camp house.  650 gallon above ground green poly tank for summer use (the green keeps the algae down) and a 650 gallon concrete cistern below ground for winter.

The above ground tank has an overflow that leads to a 250 gallon IBC tote.  That water is for outdoor use like watering the plants or washing the tractor.  

If you want to drink the water you will want to install a roof washer/first-flush diverter system so the crap that is on the roof when the rain first starts doesn't end up in your tank.  I would do that even if I wasn't going to drink it if I were setting up a system.

Chlorinate the water in the tank once in a while.  If you get a really big tank set your pickup tube on a float inside the tank so you are not sucking muck off the bottom.  

For the water we use in the cabin we have a RV style 120V Surflo diaphragm pump and 5 gallon pressure tank.  The water then goes through a carbon filter and then a UV sterilizer after that.

I should add I am in Arizona - living on rain water would be difficult at best. Thank you for some ideas.

I am lucky in my AO that I have more water than I know what to do with...  Not so lucky 3~4 months out of the year that the temps run 40 or lower...

@GrumpyinStL I am ignorant - what is an IBC tank? If you mean the downspout from the rain gutter, I am in the desert - rain is more of a wish list item.

No offense but you are posting this on the internet where a simple search would answer your question immediately about an IBC container.

https://googlethatforyou.com?q=IBC%20container

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It also looks like you are asking a question which is different than what one usually wants to know about water storage.  The answers you have gotten so far are how to catch water and keep it when it rains.

If all you are looking for is to store water for an emergency that is a different thing entirely.  An IBC container would work but it will grow algae in the hot summer sun unless you paint or cover it.  You can usually find them used but you need to make sure they are food grade and previously used for a food related item rather than something like pesticide.  

You would probably be better off with a green poly tank.  They are not terribly expensive if you have a trailer can go pick them up, it is the shipping that kills you.

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This and figure a way to purify them as well. I bought a sump pump with a hose and use it for emptying tanks and some pressure coming out.

Thank you all for your replies, I will take these suggestions into consideration. I will check a local supplier for more refinement of the system for a desert environment, as that does seem to be unusual from the replies I have read, and work from there. Again, thank you and have a wonderful day.

Thank you for following up for me.  You are correct about needing to protect from sunlight to prevent algae.  Also, chlorinating regularly works as well.
The reason I like the composite IBC (Intermediate Bulk Containers in the industry) is that they can bought individually, brought home in a pick-up. Then can be stack and plumbed.  They are also widely avaialble.    
DEFINITELY buy new. They are listed as food grade since so much food is shipped in them. Any nearby industrial packaging distributor will likely have new units available and they are reasonably priced.  I must admit that tank you show is better looking and would not need an enclosure.  
The Amish use the IBC around here and they build enclosures around them to prevent algae.  With two stacked and plumbed you can store over 500 gallons of storage and have pretty good head for volume discharge into a pump.
They can be top filled or bottom filled using standard industrial pipes and fittings available off the shelf. If filling from the bottom valve it would require a powered pump.  Top fill is just through a wide mouth screw cap, or fitments are available.  Also, these are system scalable. Stacked two high the top caps are accessible; they can then be doubled with another stack alongside.  The steel cages will hold a full unit without deformation forever. They interlock when stacked and can be plumbed in a variety of ways.  Because they are square, in industry, we find that they cube much more efficiently in the footprint.  They hold more than 4 55 gallon drums in a much smaller footprint.  
One other thing about these IBC that I like: They can be taken down a standard set of basement steps and used indoors.  The 275 gallon units are 46" high; so they won't stack in a shallow basement, but can be in a deep basement.
They can also be stcaked in an outbuilding.

OP I am with you about desert living.

It is wise to use filtered water here because of the amount of salt in our water.  


Grew up in west TX.  Was on a perpetual quest for a water "cup" that would not leak and would not break.  Arfcom showed me way to Nalgene bottles when I first joined.  I've posted in Survival Forum that I have collected many.  I'm not addicted...  I can quit anytime I want...  I limit my adventures into some venues like goodwill lest I see another and buy it.

Nalgene bottles are a liter each and fit fine in some wine racks.
Five stars for small lots.


I also got 2L soft drinks by the 8 pack with the stackable crate.  Clean the bottles and store drinking water.  Portable enough and stackable.   I did this when I would drink the cola and the cola was on sale.  That made my price per Liter stored ok.

2L soda bottles overall ok... 4.5 stars


Then I moved up to the 1 gallon gatoraid bottles.  Sturdier than the milk jug water bottles that you see on the grocery store shelf.  Portable until the handle breaks.  Not as stackable.  

1 gallon gatoraid bottles not so stackable and the handles don't live long... 3 stars



I also have Military Water Container.  MWC  These are available new from LCI online sorry don't have hotlink.  They work like a 5 gallon Nalgene.  Much much more sturdy than the 5 gallon water cooler bottles that are so common.  Portable...the handle is built in and stackable.  MWC has an efficient form so I can carry 8 in a Corvette coupe or 10 in the trunk of a Kia spectra sedan and I've been told 80 in a Chevy Tahoe.  The Corvette did not noticeably squat.  That blessed Spectra did squat.  Never tried the Tahoe because not enough MWC.


I got a drink dispenser from a restaurant supply that holds 2 to 3 gallons.  

My system now is:
Get filtered water form vender into MWC and transport home.
Set MWC in place in rotation.
Use FIFO
MWC fills drink dispenser.
Water is "on tap" to drink or cook from easy to use drink dispenser.

I have enough MWC now that I go to the vender with a few at my leisure and still am able to have a stash of drinking water at home.

I understand that I have not given you a parts list for a whole house cistern system but I hope this helps.

Thank you for your contribution, much appreciated.

I'm going against the grain ...

I recommend 55 gallon food grade containers with bung plugs on top.  If you spread them around your property the chances off all getting damaged by gunfire or whatever is low.  Also, they can be moved with a drum hand truck  or drum bogie while full.  This means you can move one into your house to use without having to go outside every time you want water.

You want something that's tied in with your regular water system? Just install a concrete cistern in line between your well and the house, with some way to manually access the contents if needed. That's what my parents did at their house