Brown or dirty tank water is most often caused by tannins—the natural compounds released when rainwater mixes with decaying leaves, pollen, and vegetation. On Waiheke, this becomes particularly problematic during pōhutukawa flowering season, when the stunning red stamens shed heavily across rooftops. As beautiful as they are, they are one of the biggest culprits behind tea-coloured water, bitter tastes, unpleasant odours, and staining on spas, sinks, and toilets. Left untreated, tannin-rich water can cause residual damage to washing machines, clogging internal parts and leaving clothes less clean with every wash. Potentially, it’s the kind of slow, hidden deterioration that can lead to costly repairs—and it’s certainly not something you want your family or summer guests to experience. Your trusted solutions:   Option 1:   Book a Tank Clean & Drain with a 10,000L water refill.  Often with tannin polluted tanks the dirty water is too hard to treat. Instead we vacuum sludge & residue from the bottom of your tank, draining all the bad water then deliver 10,000 litres of water to give you a fresh start. Option 2:  Install a Tannin Reduction Cartridge beside your sediment filter. The Purtec TR20MP2 Tannin Reduction Cartridge is designed specifically to remove tannins from your water. It works using a special ion-exchange resin that pulls out the tea-coloured stains and improves taste and smell. Because it targets tannins only, it’s best installed as part of a two or three-stage filtration system. This means: Sediment filter first — to remove dirt and debris so the tannin cartridge doesn’t clog early. Tannin cartridge next — to remove the colour. Carbon filter last — to polish the water and reduce any remaining taste or odour. Call our local Tankman experts today to assess your system and advise which option will work best for your Waiheke home. Our local Tankman experts can assess your system and advise which option will work best for your Waiheke home. Depending on the quality of your tank water a combination may be needed to restore clean, safe, clear water.

Gulf News, 2 October 2025 Tankman creates solution to very Waiheke-specific problem. A frustrating reality on Waiheke is we often get hit with rough weather and power cuts, which mess with our water tank pumps and can leave us without running water. Tankman Waiheke co-director Marty Howard says he figured that was a solvable problem. And after a year and half of noodling, prototyping and testing created PumpPal - a water pump system with a backup battery that automatically kicks in when power is interrupted. Marty says he had always known it was an issue but didn't know the full impact it had on people until he and Duncan Styles bought Tankman from the previous owners a few years ago. "The problem struck me between the eyes as soon as I got on the job," he says. "You've got people climbing up ladders to get a bucket of water out the top of their tank, in the middle of a storm - just so they can tip it down the dunny." Hospitality businesses and schools must close because they have no running water and the toilets aren't working. In many island homes, similar problems occur, and they don't always end when the power comes back on. Marty says standard pumps are sensitive to power fluctuations. Often it's just a case of having to go turn the pump off and on to get water flowing again, "but sometimes the pump's damaged and doesn't come back on," he says. "It has an error or a meltdown and people need us to come around and do something to fix it. Sometimes the pump loses its prime, and we have to come and bleed the air out of the line if it has been off for too long and their system is configured a certain way." Marty says he originally trained as an electrical engineer, so he took on finding a solution to the problem as a side project. In his research he couldn't find a backup power system and pump unit out there that was right for Waiheke - so he decided to make one. "Through testing I quickly concluded that the normal pumps use too much power anyway. The bog-standard pumps just go on full bore or turn off, and if you're just running one tap you don't need that." However, Marty says, variable speed pumps which used to be too expensive for home systems have become more affordable. "These new kinds of variable speed pumps also use 40 to 70 percent less power - so that's off your power bill for a start. And that brings it in the range of being able to run it off some [onboard] power supply for a decent length of time." The final PumpPal model uses a battery pack that will keep water flowing for at least 24 hours without external power and automatically switches to battery power within a millisecond of a power cut. "Obviously, if there's a power cut, you're probably not going to be running the washing machine or dishwasher, but you'll probably want to have showers, get a drink, wash your hands and so on," he says. "And with careful water use, it will last a lot longer." Marty says hospitality businesses and schools can also benefit from his invention, just with a bigger battery. For further information, sales and trade enquiries phone Marty on +64 9 372 7270 www.tankman.co.nz or pop into the Tankman showroom - 116 Ostend Road, Waiheke Island. #tankmanwaiheke #waterpump #tankman #offrgridliving #waihekewater

A new study  by the University of Otago's department of public health, has found rates of bacterial infection were twice as likely for people living in rural / island locations on private water tank supplies than for their mainland counterparts on treated water supplies. Campylobacterisos can be transmitted through drinking water or contaminated food, and is a gastrointestinal tract infection that results in vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, fever or nausea. It was the most commonly reported gastrointestinal disease in New Zealand with 5000 to 6000 cases diagnosed each year, according to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance data base. Tankman are Waiheke Island's rainwater system experts, it‘s our job to ensure your rainwater is safe for you and your family. If you have concerns about the quality of your tank water we ask these questions : When was your tank last cleaned? Is your tank water discoloured? Does your tank water smell, or taste off? For 100% peace of mind we offer a Free Tank Check and can advise on the next steps to get your rainwater safe and healthy again. Options include : Tank cleaning UV + Filtration Servicing Rainwater System Maintenance Water Sterilisation Treatment Non Chemical Ozone Tank Filtration Flushing Tannin Filtration and more There can be many reasons why good water gets contaminated when living on Waiheke Island but Tankman has the expertise to find a solution to suit your needs. Book your onsite water check today and receive a detailed residential/commercial rainwater system report with a plan to make your rainwater clean, clear, and safe for every use for the whole family.

TankOzone Ozone Water Sterilisation System Flush by TANKMAN Tank & Pump Shop Waiheke Chemical Free Tank Water Purification TANKMAN'S Ozone system flush will treat, condition and filter the entire contents of your water tank, without using chemicals or draining your tank. The Ozone filtration process will take 48 hours, but unlike chemical sterilisers, you can continue to safely use your house water as normal through the process. What's the quality of the water stored in your tank? Is your tap water brown or murky? Does your drinking water taste foul or musty? Rotting leaves could cause this in your water tank. If your tap water tastes bad or smells foul, there are pollutants, bacteria or other contaminants in the water tank and, thus potentially in your drinking water. Roof water often contains faecal and urine deposits from birds, possums, rodents and tannins from decaying organic matter. Ozone kills coliform bacteria such as E.coli on contact more effectively than chemicals. Additionally, it treats fungus, mould and yeast spores. Spray drift in agricultural areas also poses a severe risk to roof or groundwater – potentially contaminating these with pesticides and glyphosate. For this purpose, ozone is very effective in neutralising these contaminants – a particular benefit to people with compromised immunity. TANKMANS Ozone system flush will treat, condition and filter the entire contents of your water tank, without using chemicals or draining your tank. Book Now How does ozone purify water? Ozone is oxygen (O) with three atoms (O3) instead of two atoms (O2). Therefore, it consists of three oxygen atoms, “O3”, with a high oxidation potential. In chemistry, this property means that the gas is particularly “reactive”. This is because its third atom “steals” an oxygen atom from everything that comes into contact with ozone. Thus, ozone is one of the strongest oxidants of all and is used in water treatment worldwide. Since it is not water-soluble, ozone reacts with the pollutants in the water. This process is called ozonation.The oxidation process destroys unwanted contaminants such as viruses, bacteria or other pathogens by causing the disintegration of their cell membrane. Ozone binds toxic componentsAlthough its oxidative properties are powerful, the lifetime of ozone is very short. As soon as it comes into contact with viruses, bacteria, odours, these are destroyed by the extra oxygen atom in the ozone!During ozone water treatment, the cellular components of the bacterial cell walls of all harmful substances in the environment are oxidised. As soon as the ozone has reached the individual cells, it oxidises all components – what remains is pure oxygen. As the ozone bubbles ascend through the wa ter in the tank, they continue the ozone saturation process. The Tankozone system then filters oxidised material. What remains is healthy, clean drinking water, ideal for all your domestic water uses. Thereby, the electricity costs are only about $7.50 per month. Ozonation protects you and your family against virtually all toxic and harmful unwanted bacteria, germs, viruses, fungi and protozoa. SPECIAL SPRING OFFER OPTION 1: 48 Hour Large Tank Ozone Purification and Filtration Flush $395 OPTION 2: (For VERY dirty tanks) Tank bottom sludge vacuum followed by 48 Hour Large Tank Ozone Purification & filtration Flush $695 includes gst Book Now Book Your Tank Water Treatment Now