Have I ever mentioned that I am married to a genius? Let me say it now. The dread pirate can imagine this system and then make it happen. A few runs to the hardware store, and we've collected 500 gallons of beautiful, cool rainwater.
It seems to me that like an old boat that's been out of the water for a long time, the tank might seal itself up if you keep it wet for a while. But if you're already committed to buying a bigger one, who cares. I am thinking of putting a cistern in the ground where the curtain drain around my house site discharges. The overflow will can just run out into the wetland, where the drain discharges anyway. I will need a method of lifting the water a few feet though, to get it onto the agricultural area. Too many projects for a mortal, I fear.
I am so impressed. This is the sort of idea that I read about and think, "Why, we should do that!" And then we don't. Because I do not have a bleeping clue. It was only through divine intervention that we were able to set up the plastic compost bin successfully. We are THAT clueless.
Too bad there aren't any coopers around to repair your hot tub, though.
Cervantes is right; that wood could swell and become tight. Some wooden boats, when they first go in the water, will leak some, and then stop after they are in the water for a while.
Cervantes---that swelling thing is the hope. and my goodness it is raining now and the tank is almost as full as yesterday and only a few drips!
woohoo!
look for (google) pond pumps or better, waterfall pumps. i got our pump from koipondcentral.com but they are here in washington so you may want something closer to you.
Phantom Scribbler--the low tech rain thing is a barrel under the raingutter downspout. a big bucket works. higher tech has a cover and way high tech has a spigot. garden stores sell these.
janeboatler---the leaks yesterday seemed to be down low where it was already soaked, but now it is better. the mystery of wood.
in related news----6 creole tomato sprouts!
dpr, great news about the Creole tomato sprouts! We now have our own ripe cherry tomatoes. What a difference a few days make.
Today I cooked a dish with olive oil, home-grown yellow squash and zucchini, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and garlic, seasoned with basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and, of course, the usual dash of Tabasco. I served it over pasta and it was yummy, if I say so myself.
Oh, and I added a little wine to the vegetables too.
sounds like the way we cook. we would use cayenne powder or dried pepper flakes tho. i think the italian culinary term for hot spicy pasta sauce, which i don't recall, translates as "angry" sauce, but i'm relying on my geezer's memory here.
janeboatler-- that sounds delicious. You've rounded up the usual suspects that we would use in our cooking.
About that wine, if it's a cabernet or a zin we pour it liberally in a glass and sip it while we cook 
janeboatler--we bought some mario batali (seen on food tv) sauce called "sugo arrabbiato." the text on the label translated "arrabbiato" as "angry," which was intimated to mean spicy hot. babelfish translates "sugo arrabbiato" as "angry gravy."
the chickpeas in water in the jar in which mario's sauce came haven't yet sprouted.
RD and pirate, we put Tabasco in everthing except the desserts.
As for the wine, my current favorite is shiraz, the Australian wine, with cabernet as second. I am prescribed a glass of red wine every day to keep my cholesterol down, and I want to tell you, as our president says, "It's hard work."
Bravo! Ingenuity is more interesting than store bought any day. I'm sure your leaks will be solved eventually. You and Rexroth's daughter might want to take up the foul habit of gum chewing, and then smearing the chewed gum on the inside or outside cracks...And after awhile you'd develop such strong manibulars that you could take to eating grass, obviating the need for a garden or watering tank altogether.
RD. I agree with you about DPR being genius. I might go so far as to say he's an artist. I think artists don't just come up with the ideas they manifest them also. And this is a beautiful piece of work. Bravo.
jsk----i am not worthy. but thanks
dpr, in all my comments, I have never paid tribute to dpr, the genius. What a wonder your water collection and dispersal system is! Oh, that I had a man who was even a little bit of a handyman. He's wonderful in the garden and in many other ways, but I am the home handywoman, and I'm not very good. In my next life I want a dpr-like genius.
janeboatler---again, i am not worthy, and thanks.
Janeboatler,
What's the "hard werk"? Keeping your cholesterol down, or, just limiting yourself to "one glass of red wine"?
A collection tank such as you have described and placed on a 7' or 8' tall platform with a BLACK hose attached makes for a marvelous outdoor shower.
Care must be taken, for if the hose has been sitting in the hot sun for any length of time, the water can be extremely HOT when it first issues from the hose.
Naturally, team showers are encouraged to promote the preservation of water. Other benefits to be derived from team showers are best left to the imaginations of the participants.
All I can say is "WOW". That is impressive.
Peter of Lone Tree---ahhh. solar water heating. so many projects, so little time. it is on the list.
FormerGuzzler,
It IS hard work keeping the cholesterol down. I was using I-R-O-N-Y about the hard work to dring the wine. It was actually hard at the beginning, because I really didn't want a glass of wine every day. Now it's easy, but I don't want more than one.
Oops, that would be "drink". See what one glass does to me.
Looking for diagrams to hook up pond filtering plumbing, visit www.koipondfiltering.com to check out more pond information. It also explains why a bottom drain is used. Bottom drains in a pond are not used to drain it. They are used to get the water to the pond pump from the ponds bottom area.
Also, it shows how to connect the pond skimmer to the bottom drain line to the pump, then to the bio-filter. From the bead filter (bio-filter), then on to the U.V light which, is used to keep the water from turning green...
Simple Koi pond filtering information all on one site. The pond products are available from www.KoiPondCentral.com
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