The prototype Water Storage System in the work shed at CTD is a 30 gallon plastic trashcan with a 60 gpm pond pump of limited use and not very long-lasting or ergonomic. I found an old 40 gallon gas water heater on the sidewalk as it's replacement. However, since the inner tank is iron and difficult to open, I needed to create an external housing for the pump that would allow access for replacement/repair.

I added a shut-off valve in line between the tank and the pump so that I can open the housing without having to drain the entire tank

Using silicone I created a rubber gasket between the housing cover and the housing body

Here I used two galvanized pipe footings, top-to-top for the support of the housing and to create a removable gasketed clamp that would allow water to pass through

The front cover uses silicone and Composeal 40 ml plastic sheeting as a compressable gasket. The edges have been rounded for looks. Also, the edges of the cover extend beyond the housing for ease of use.

This is upside down, but essentially the completed unit (without the housing cover screws)

The housing plumbing attached to the drain spout of the gas heater.

Here you can see the Composeal membrane (attached with silicone) that will be acting as gaskets. The footing I'm holding will be installed in the housing extension-side down and has been sanded around for a better fit into the hole in the plexiglass

housing and screws in place...

footing and screws (later to be siliconed) installed

Note here that the back side of the housing has been sanded to fit the curve of the tank. A layer of silicone will attach the housing securely to the tank

Here is the entire external pump housing unit. The cover screws (and accompanying threaded metal inserts) have been added, along with the housing's "chimney", and the pump is in place.

Since it's too difficult to guarantee a leak-proof seal around the pump's electrical cord, I decided to add a 2" acrylic tube to the top of the housing. This chimney would extend above the tank's highest water level and the cord would be protected.

I also added a 1" acrylic tube inside the chimney. This tube would act as an external water level indicator using an end-sealed plastic roller from a roll of heat paper (typically used in adding machines) as a float. The end cap will prevent a certain amount of evaporation and keep debris out, as well as keeping the float inside the tube in case of water pressure fluctuations

later I fitted a hex nut into the bottom of the float to keep the roller from sticking to the inside of the tube.

The chimney is attached INTO the housing and sealed with silicone. This allows some leeway in positioning the tube and in case the chimney is struck will avoid cracking

The white strip seen here is styrofoam packing. This keeps the pump away from the plexiglass and significantly reduces the noise of the pump.

The pump sits on the footing securely between the screws, and it's intake rotor is just above the water entry hole. As well, the housing's position low on the heater reduces the amount of work the pump needs to do and creates an even greater flow to the outside.

The tank with attached housing in it's intended spot. The trashcan at the left was the original tank, and you can see the power cord of the pump leading out of it. It will stay in use until the new tank is connected.

I removed the tank's bottom 8" of shell where the gas fixture had been previously located since it served no purpose and made the tank more compact.

Here the cover of the tank and the underlying insulation has been removed, exposing the intake, anode, and overflow holes as well as the gas fixture chimney (a tube going down thru the tank). I'll be using the central chimney as a neat overflow runoff. A plastic flexible tube allows attachment of a garden hose in order to fill the tank. I've also used a cardboard ring I found of convenient size to act as a wall to hold any overflow of water in. I soaked the cardboard in a fast drying lacquer to waterproof it and give it more body, then imbedded it into a layer of urethane grout that will eventually act as a water bowl both for overflow and rainwater from the shed's roof gutter.

The pump, the housing et al are now in place. This will be the first actual test of the whole setup...

The water level rises...

So far, no leaks. the housing is filled and the water level proceeds up the chimney indicating how much water is in the tank.

and....

... we have ...

... LIFTOFF!!!

Buoyancy looks good and the float is rising smoothly with no catches or pauses.

The adjustable rainwater spout (made with recycled plastic drink bottles) is in place...

The tank's functionality works better than expected and gives me greater capacity. However, it still looks like a rusty old water heater. This is where the second part of the fun starts...

I bought some 18x18" travertine tiles (well, I DO work at a tile retailer, after all), and cut some 5" strips. I then broke the strips up and placed them, mosaic-like, around the inside and outside edges of the cardboard ring (hence the need for the lacquer) using a premium thinset called Reflex.

Once cured, I ground the edges round and polished the stone to a shiny finish

Normally one would fill grout lines with grout - however, I was amused at the idea of having the stone pieces WELDED together instead...

Since, obviously, one can't weld stone... or can one?... I used Dap 100% silicone (aluminum colored) to make a faux weld joint. BTW, this is one of the best metallic-looking silicone sealants I have ever seen.

My first attempt at covering the tank with stone was an abysmal failure. I backed the 18" tiles with expanded metal lath and Reflex thinset. This took 3 days to cure and it was a pain in the butt to get the metal lath to lay flat.

The intent was to break up the stone using a hammer, then bend the whole thing around the tank's curve...

however, even a premium thinset like Reflex was not enough to hold all the pieces onto the mesh when it was broken up, and after more than a dozen pieces had fallen off I knew it would take forever to piece those pieces back into place...

... and then there was the unexpected problem of weight. While an 18" tile isn't all THAT heavy, add a layer of thinset and metal lath and it becomes rather cumbersome. The mesh wouldn't allow the tile to bend properly either, and lastly I had no way to keep the thing in place while the next layer of thinset was drying. After a few hours of struggle, I gave up on that method.

Instead, I wrapped the metal lath around the tank itself, securing it with drywall screws and finishing washers. I laid another set of tiles on cardboard, face down, then ran over them with a forklift which gave me a very satisfactory breakup without scattering the pieces. It was tedious, but much easier, to put those pieces up one by one in their original order.

I did one tile a night for 5 nights.

During the tiling process i also added more urethane grout to fill in the bottom of the bowl and guide the incoming water more easily without pooling.

All the puzzle pieces are in place.

Once everything had set up solid, I then ground down the surface of the stone for a good rounded look.

I filled in all the cracks with a metallic silver waterproof urethane grout. I had considered continuing the welded look, but realized that would look TOO busy. Besides, there are a HELL of a LOT of cracks! You'll also notice that the seams between the tiles have pretty much disappeared. This was accomplished by using a color-matched non-sanded grout in the seams and removing some in appropriate places where cracks happen to join across.

Once all the grout had cured, I then polished the entire surface to a mirror-like finish. However, the amusing thing is that because of the nature of the material and lighting, the mirror-like finish can't be seen except from extreme angles.

The silicone "weld" could now be finished around the top...

(I think I did a better job at imitating a weld joint this time...)

... around the housing and in the seam behind the chimney.

Just for kicks I added an "eye-catcher": by filling in only one hole near an easily-missed feature, it automatically draws the eye to the more interesting plastic-to-stone weld joint.

But wait! 68 gallons? How can that be with only a 40 gallon tank?

Fortuitously, on my way to work on the last day of this project, I found another tank on the side of the road. I noticed it was a 30 gallon tank and was about to leave it (as amusing as this project was and the potential for more of the same, I really had no need to start another one at this point) until it occurred to me that if I were to strip off the outer casing and the insulation, I could fit it into the space with the first one. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I could connect the two by siphon hose which would more than double my storage capacity from the trash can!

so that's what I did.