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.

In this video Duncan will walk you through how to use the Safe Home order test kit to check if your water is "safe to drink". Watch on tiktok Watch on YouTube

Imagine this - the power goes out, and suddenly, your water supply disappears. No flushing toilets, no washing hands, and no refreshing drink. This frustrating scenario is all too common, especially during Waiheke Island's unpredictable weather. For most homes on the island, no power means no water. Toilets won’t flush, taps run dry, and daily routines come to a halt. But what if you never had to worry about power cut water woes again? That’s exactly why PumpPal was created – a local solution for a local problem. Designed by Waiheke’s own Marty Howard (co-Director of Tankman ).   PumpPal is a reliable battery backup system that integrates seamlessly with the Grundfos SCALA2 Eco Pump. The moment a power cut hits, PumpPal automatically kicks in, providing enough power to keep your water supply running carefully and continuously for 24+ hours. Compact, durable, easy to install and maintain, PumpPal takes the stress out of outages, giving local households the peace of mind that water will keep flowing when it’s needed most. More than a convenience, it’s a necessity for Waiheke Island living. 💧 See PumpPal in action at the Tankman showroom, 116 Ostend Road, Waiheke Island , phone (09) 372 7270 or explore more online at   www.pumppal.co.nz .

TANKMANS 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. 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 components Although 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. In addition, ozone disinfection has clear advantages over the conventional and frequently used chlorine disinfection of water. In addition, this type of water disinfection also decomposes other substances that react with oxygen. These include all human substances, organic substances, pesticides, cyanides, phenols, or even gases such as hydrogen sulphide. TANKMANS Ozone System is a two-component water treatment system. The first module is the water ozone generator with an integrated air pump outside of your water tank. The second module is a diffuser with a washable filter element placed in your water tank. The ozone generator’s output is fed by tubing to the diffuser, generating millions of ozone-saturated bubbles inside the filter element and released in your drinking water. How does it work? As these bubbles rise inside and exit the filter module, the ‘friction’ resulting from them moving through the water draws more than 50,000 litres of water through the filter in 24 hours – removing oxidised particulates, capturing existing debris and preventing it from accumulating on the bottom of the tank. This method of filtering the water before ozonation is key to increasing the ability of the ozone to be absorbed by the water. As the ozone bubbles ascend through the water in the tank, they continue the ozone saturation process. The AquaZone Ozone 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. Spring Special OPTION 1 - Ozone Flush 48 Hour Large Tank Ozone Purification and Filtration Flush $395  Incl GST OPTION 2 - Tank Vacuum & Ozone Flush (For VERY dirty tanks) Tank bottom sludge vacuum followed by 48 Hour Large Tank Ozone Purification and filtration Flush $695   Incl GST TANKMAN Concrete Tank Liners Our TANKMAN concrete tank liners are ideal to reseal and extend the life of your tank. Designed specifically for drinking water and are made from food grade polyethylene laminate, molded to fit the inside dimensions of your tank. Here is an example of a tank with such a liner. See the video below for a peek inside. Like to know more? We can sort out your leaky concrete tank or any other issues with your house rainwater system. Book a free on-site tank check with one our water technicians to help you decide if a tank liner will work for your leaky concrete tank, or if not what options you have to replace your old tank. During your tank check, we'll also check your property rainwater system including existing tank, pump, filters, guttering, downpipes, and current water quality, with a quote for fixing any issues, all free of charge! Checks are generally completed Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm. Contact us or pop in for a chat: Email: waiheke@tankman.co.nz Phone 09 3727270 Visit: 116 Ostend Rd (behind gym) Waiheke Gutter Cleaning TANKMAN’s new high tech Gutter Cleaning Vacuum & Camera system allows us via carbon fibre poles to reach up to 9 metres height from the ground. No need for expensive scaffolding or dangerous ladders. INTRODUCTORY OFFERS (Including GST) Single level cottage or smaller house $350 Single level large house (4+ bedrooms) $400 Second dwelling, studio or garage Plus $100 Two Storey House $500 Order now with a water tank clean save $100. We will need access to an electrical outlet to power our machine. For difficult access sites we can visit first to give a custom quote. Our team is available NOW to sort out your house rainwater system. Get in before the summer rush. When were your gutters last cleaned? Cleaning gutters is something that may seem straightforward to many people, and it is important to clean gutters regularly. The traditional way was to take out a ladder and a scoop, climb up the ladder, and scoop out any sludge, sediment, and debris and throw them out. Then, move the ladder down a little more and repeat. However, nowadays there is a much better way to clean gutters; using a vacuum. Vacuum gutter cleaning offers many advantages and is faster, safer, and more effective. How Does Vacuum Gutter Cleaning Work? A vacuum gutter cleaner is a special vacuum that can reach up 3 storeys while the operator stays on the ground. But just because the operator remains on the ground doesn’t mean they’re cleaning blind. The end of the vacuum has a camera with a real-time feed that transmits to the ground. This means that if there’s something strange like toys or birds up there, they won’t get vacuumed up along with the dirt and debris into the tank. We use SkyVac, which claims to be the world’s most powerful gutter cleaning system. Why SkyVac Gutter Cleaning? There are many advantages to using the SkyVac gutter system. The benefits to you are that using vacuum gutter cleaning is safer, faster, and gives a better, more comprehensive clean. SkyVac can lift out sediment, clear out sludge, pickup lost toys, and remove growing plants with ease. Even large clumps are no problem, as they can be lifted away easily. Our experienced team will make sure that your gutter cleaning is done quickly and efficiently. Call or text our experienced team now to make an appointment. Call 093727270 or Marco direct on 0273763041 Email waiheke@tankman.co.nz Showroom Now Open Saturdays 9am-2pm at 116 Ostend Rd) NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING ELSE? Is your tank water discoloured? Does your tank water smell bad? Does your tank water taste bad? Do you have a water filtration system? Have the filters been serviced? How's your pump going? Is it quiet with good constant pressure? Need a flashing made for your window or roof? Come in with your diagram. Book your free, no obligation, onsite water check and we provide you with advice on how best to improve your water quality. Other popular TANKMAN® services include water tank cleaning (we do not need to drain your tank!), water treatment, and UV + Filtration servicing & repairs. Talk today to Waiheke's water tank cleaning, filtration, and rainwater system specialists! Winter 2025 sale - Limited Time, Limited Stock