JoJo Tank Prices and Sizes: A Buyer's Guide

Shopping for a water storage tank in Johannesburg can feel overwhelming once you realise how many sizes, shapes, and price points exist. This guide cuts through the noise: what sizes are actually available, roughly what they cost, and how to decide what your household genuinely needs — without buying more (or less) tank than the situation calls for.

Understanding the tank market: JoJo and its competitors

“JoJo” has become a generic shorthand in South Africa, much like “Hoover” for vacuum cleaners. JoJo Tanks is a real manufacturer with a broad product range, but several other brands produce polyethylene tanks to similar or equivalent specifications. When comparing quotes, check the actual tank spec — wall thickness, UV stabilisation, food-grade certification — rather than assuming brand name equals quality. SABS approval or compliance with relevant standards is a useful baseline to ask about.

Most tanks sold in South Africa for residential rainwater harvesting or backup storage are rotationally moulded from linear polyethylene with UV stabilisers. They’re designed to sit on a flat, compacted surface — not bare soil — and should be installed level.

Tank sizes: what’s actually available

The market broadly breaks into four size bands:

Size band	Typical capacity range	Common use case
Slimline / compact	260 L – 1,000 L	Tight side passages, small gardens
Mid-range vertical	1,050 L – 2,500 L	Single-bathroom households, supplements
Large vertical	2,500 L – 5,000 L	Most Joburg family homes
High-capacity	5,000 L – 10,000 L	Large households, small smallholdings

Slimline tanks are shaped to fit in narrow spaces — typically 600–750 mm wide — making them popular on Johannesburg’s smaller plots where a standard round tank simply won’t fit. The trade-off is cost per litre: you pay more per stored litre than you would with a larger vertical tank.

The 2,500 L and 5,000 L vertical tanks are the most commonly installed sizes for residential backup in Johannesburg. They strike a reasonable balance between storage volume, footprint, and price.

JoJo tank prices: realistic ranges to budget from

As a rough guide, tank-only retail prices (before fittings, pump, base, or installation) run approximately:

• 260–500 L slimline: R2,500–R5,000
• 1,000 L vertical: R3,500–R6,500
• 2,500 L vertical: R6,000–R10,000
• 5,000 L vertical: R10,000–R16,000
• 10,000 L vertical: R18,000–R25,000

These are indicative ranges — actual pricing varies by supplier, region, current resin costs, and whether a sale is on. Always confirm current pricing directly with suppliers or via quotes, as polyethylene tank prices have shifted with material costs over recent years.

Important: the tank price is only part of what you’ll spend. Add a concrete or paving-slab base, inlet and outlet fittings, a first-flush diverter if you’re harvesting rain, a pressure pump, and installation labour, and the total rises meaningfully. A typical complete backup tank-and-pump system in Johannesburg runs R20,000–R40,000, with more comprehensive whole-house setups often around R55,000. For a fuller breakdown of what drives those costs, the backup water systems guide is worth reading before you request quotes.

Not sure which tank size and setup suits your property? Compare 3 free quotes — vetted installers, no obligation.

How much storage does your household actually need?

South Africans use on average about 237 litres of water per person per day, which is above the global average of roughly 173 litres. In practice, households that actively manage consumption during outages tend to use considerably less — but it’s a useful starting point for sizing.

A rough approach: multiply your household size by daily usage, then decide how many days’ supply you want to hold in reserve.

• A family of four at 237 L/person/day uses roughly 950 L/day at normal consumption.
• A 2,500 L tank gives you about 2–3 days at normal usage.
• A 5,000 L tank gives you roughly 5 days.
• Two 5,000 L tanks in series give you around 10 days — meaningful cover for a serious interruption.

Johannesburg’s reservoir system holds roughly 27 hours of citywide storage buffer, and Johannesburg Water reports non-revenue water (losses from leaks and theft) of 44.8% in its 2024/25 audited figures. That context matters: municipal pressure fluctuations and supply interruptions are a structural reality here, not a temporary inconvenience. Sizing your tank conservatively — then wishing you’d gone bigger — is a common regret.

Also consider your roof catchment area if you’re harvesting rainwater, and whether your property’s water pressure is sufficient to fill a tank without a booster pump on the inlet side.

Placement and installation: the details that trip people up

A full 5,000 L tank weighs approximately five tonnes. The base must be engineered accordingly — a simple sand bed is not adequate. Most installers pour a concrete slab or use interlocking paving on a compacted sub-base.

Elevation matters for gravity-fed systems: a tank raised 1 metre above the outlet provides roughly 0.1 bar of pressure — enough for a gravity shower at a push, but not for most modern fittings. Most homes pair a storage tank with a pressure pump to maintain usable pressure throughout the house.

Check with your local authority whether a water tank installation requires a plumbing certificate of compliance. In Gauteng, connections to the municipal supply or any cross-connection point generally do. A reputable installer will handle this; an unlicensed one may not.

For detailed pricing on what installers actually charge for different configurations, the article on backup water tank prices in Johannesburg breaks down typical cost components.

Ready to get actual numbers for your property? Request 3 installer quotes — free, no commitment, vetted local suppliers.

Black, green, or beige: does tank colour matter?

Yes, modestly. Dark-coloured tanks (black, dark green) inhibit algae growth by blocking light — algae need light to photosynthesise. A translucent or light-coloured tank in direct sunlight can develop algae over time, which isn’t harmful at trace levels but affects taste and odour and may require periodic cleaning.

For drinking water storage, a dark tank with UV-stabilised walls and a sealed lid is the sensible choice. If the stored water is for garden irrigation only, colour matters less.

Note that SANS 241 (2024 edition) is the South African drinking-water quality standard — it applies to water supplied for human consumption. If you’re storing tank water for drinking, the tank, fittings, and any treatment steps should be compatible with meeting that standard at the point of use.

What to ask before you buy

Before committing, get clear answers on:

• Is the tank SABS-approved or tested to an equivalent standard? Ask for documentation.
• What wall thickness and UV rating? Thinner walls degrade faster in Joburg’s sun.
• Does the price include fittings, or are those extra? They usually are.
• Who pours the base, and is that quoted separately?
• Will you provide a plumbing compliance certificate?
• What’s the manufacturer’s warranty, and who handles a claim?

A quote that looks cheap but excludes the base, fittings, and compliance paperwork often isn’t cheaper once those are added back in. Compare quotes on a like-for-like basis — same tank size, same inclusions — before deciding.