LargeSilage Tanks

Capacity depends on your silage tonnage, clamp size, effluent production rates and how often you're prepared to arrange pump-outs. As a rough guide, more silage stored and wetter forage means higher effluent volumes, so it's worth calculating against your specific clamp dimensions rather than guessing. If you're unsure, we can help you work through the sums, and if none of our standard sizes up to 79,000 litres fit, we can look at a bespoke option.

You'll need a suitably sized excavation, a stable, level base (typically a concrete slab or bed appropriate to the tank size and ground conditions), and careful backfilling to avoid distorting the GRP shell. Groundwater level and soil type both affect installation method, so a site assessment beforehand is strongly recommended. Given the weight and size of these units, you'll also need appropriate lifting equipment on site for the day of delivery.

Yes — silage effluent storage on most farms falls under the Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (SSAFO) Regulations, which set minimum requirements for capacity, construction and structural integrity. Our GRP tanks are built to withstand the corrosive, high-strength nature of silage effluent, but it remains your responsibility to ensure the installed system meets the specific SSAFO requirements for your holding. Your local authority or environment agency can advise on any additional site-specific conditions.

This depends on your effluent production rate and the tank capacity you've chosen, but the main benefit of going larger is spacing out pump-outs and reducing disruption during busy silaging periods. Many farms running substantial operations find a tank in the higher capacity range means significantly fewer call-outs across the season compared with smaller units. Monitoring levels regularly, especially after wet forage is ensiled, will help you plan pump-outs before capacity becomes an issue.

Silage effluent is highly acidic and far more aggressive than slurry, so tanks used for it need liners and construction specifically suited to resisting that corrosivity over the long term. Our large silage tanks use specialist GRP liners for exactly this purpose, rather than being generic waste storage. Using the wrong type of tank for effluent can lead to premature liner degradation, so it's worth confirming what you're storing before choosing a tank.

Given their size and weight, large silage tanks are typically delivered on a flatbed or specialist vehicle and lifted into the prepared excavation using a crane or suitable lifting equipment arranged for the day. Good site access is essential, so it's worth checking gate widths, ground conditions and turning space for a large vehicle well in advance. Our team can talk through delivery logistics with you before the order is confirmed to help avoid any surprises on the day.