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How to Monitor Four Remote 25000 Litre Farm Water Tanks from One Location
A 25,000-litre tank holds a serious amount of water. Four of them hold enough to support livestock, irrigation, washdown, spraying, or general farm operations, but only if someone knows what is in them before the level becomes a problem.
That was the practical challenge brought to ProSense by an agricultural customer. The site had four remote 25,000-litre water tanks, and the customer wanted one common location where the tank levels could be viewed.
On paper, that sounds simple: fit level sensors, send the readings somewhere, and display them. On a working farm, the details matter. Tanks may be hundreds of metres or several kilometres apart. Mains power may not be available near the tanks. Mobile coverage may be patchy. Checking each tank by ute can take time that would be better spent elsewhere.
A good farm water tank monitoring system has to work with those site limits, not ignore them.
The monitoring problem starts with distance
Physically checking a tank is simple when it sits beside a shed. It becomes less simple when there are four tanks spread across a property.
Remote agricultural tanks can introduce several problems at once:
Long travel time between tanks
No convenient mains power at the tank location
Limited access during wet weather
Unclear sight lines between tanks and buildings
Variable mobile signal across the property
The need to see all readings in one place
For many farms, the issue is not a lack of labour alone. It is timing. A low tank found during a routine drive-around might already be affecting stock water or production. If tank levels are visible from a central point, staff can act earlier.
That central point might be a display in a shed, an on-farm control panel, a desktop monitoring platform, or a cloud-based dashboard. The best choice comes back to the site, the distances involved, and how the farm team wants to use the information.
Start with the level measurement
Every monitoring system starts with one basic job: measure how much water is in each tank.
For large farm tanks, the sensor must suit the physical tank, the water quality, the mounting position, and the level of accuracy required. ProSense investigated level-sensing options that could provide reliable readings from each 25,000-litre tank and feed those measurements into a wireless telemetry system.
Common level-sensing approaches include pressure-based sensors and non-contact sensors. Each has a place.
Pressure level sensors suit many water tanks
A pressure level sensor measures the pressure created by the water column above it. That pressure can be converted into a level reading.
For water storage tanks, this can be a practical option because the sensor can often be installed low on the tank or within suitable pipework. The reading is tied to the height of water, not the tank’s total volume by itself. Once the tank dimensions are known, the signal can be scaled to show litres, percentage full, or another useful unit.
Pressure level sensing is often a good fit where:
The tank geometry is known
Contact with clean or relatively clean water is acceptable
A stable analogue signal is needed
The installation can protect the sensor and cable from damage
Non-contact sensors reduce contact with the water
Non-contact sensors, such as ultrasonic or radar level sensors, are mounted above the water surface. They measure the distance from the sensor to the water and calculate the level from there.
These can be useful where it is better to avoid placing equipment in the water. They can also be convenient for tanks where top access is easier than side or bottom access.
The installation needs care. The sensor should have a clear view of the water surface and avoid internal obstructions, turbulence, foam, or pipework where these affect measurement.
The right sensor is the one that can be installed cleanly, powered reliably, and maintained safely on the actual tank.
Choose a wireless path back to the viewing point
Once each tank has a level reading, the next question is how to transmit it.
Running cable across a farm is rarely the preferred answer. It may be expensive, exposed to damage, and hard to route where tanks sit far apart. Wireless telemetry is often the more practical path.
For this type of project, ProSense investigated wireless options that could bring measurements from the tanks back to a central display or monitoring platform. The main options included LoRaWAN, cellular communications, or a combination of both.
Option | Where it can work well | Practical points to check |
LoRaWAN | Farms with multiple assets spread over a wide area | Gateway location, terrain, antenna height, and line of sight |
Cellular | Sites with usable mobile coverage at each tank or at key nodes | Signal strength, data plan, network availability, and enclosure location |
Local wireless telemetry | Shorter paths between tanks and a nearby shed or controller | Distance, obstructions, interference, and receiver placement |
Hybrid system | Mixed sites where no single method suits every asset | How readings move from each tank to the final display |
LoRaWAN can suit spread-out rural assets
LoRaWAN is commonly used for low-power, long-range sensing applications. It can suit farms because tank level data is small. A level reading does not need high bandwidth. It needs to arrive consistently and often enough to be useful.
A LoRaWAN-based approach may involve sensor nodes at each tank sending readings to a gateway. The gateway then passes the data to a dashboard, display, or monitoring platform, depending on the system design.
This approach can be useful when several tanks, troughs, pumps, or other rural assets need to be monitored across a property. One gateway may serve multiple sensor points if the site conditions are suitable.
Terrain still matters. Hills, trees, sheds, metal structures, and tank placement can all affect radio performance. Antenna selection and mounting height can make a significant difference.
Cellular can work where mobile coverage is available
Cellular communication can be a strong option when mobile network coverage is available at the tank site or at a nearby telemetry point. It can send readings to a cloud platform without relying on a local gateway.
This can suit tanks that are too far apart for a single local radio network or properties where the preferred viewing point is off-site as well as on-site.
The key checks are simple but important:
Is there reliable signal at each tank location?
Does the signal change in poor weather or at different times?
Can the modem and antenna be mounted securely?
Is there a suitable power source?
How often should data be sent?
Cellular systems use more power than many low-power radio sensor nodes, so the power design needs to be matched to the reporting rate and site conditions.
Plan for power before choosing the hardware
Remote tanks often have no mains power nearby. That makes the power system just as important as the sensor and radio.
In many rural monitoring projects, solar power becomes part of the solution. A small solar panel, battery, charge controller, and low-power telemetry equipment can support a remote tank monitoring point when sized correctly.
The goal is not simply to add a panel and hope for the best. The system needs enough stored energy to keep working through cloudy periods and enough solar input to recover.
Key design questions include:
How much power does the sensor use?
How much power does the transmitter or modem use?
How often are readings taken and sent?
How many days of battery backup are needed?
Will the solar panel be shaded by trees, tank walls, or nearby structures?
Can animals, machinery, or weather damage the equipment?
For LoRaWAN sensor nodes, low power use can make solar or long-life battery options practical. For cellular systems, solar is still practical in many cases, but the battery and panel sizing may need more attention.
Bring all four tank readings into one view
The customer’s core requirement was a common location where all four tank levels could be viewed. This is the part that turns four separate instruments into a useful monitoring system.
A central view can take several forms.
A local display may be best when staff mainly need to check levels from a shed, pump room, workshop, or homestead. It can show simple values such as percentage full, level in metres, or estimated litres remaining.
A monitoring platform may be better when readings need to be viewed from more than one location. It can also support historical trends, alerts, and remote access if the communications path allows it.
Some farms may need both. A local display gives quick visibility on site, while a connected platform allows managers or service teams to check conditions from elsewhere.
For four 25,000-litre tanks, the display should make comparison easy. Operators should not have to open four separate pages or interpret raw sensor values. A practical display may include:
Tank name or number
Current level
Percentage full
Low-level alert status
Last update time
Communication or sensor fault indication
The last update time is easy to overlook. It tells the operator whether the reading is current. A tank showing 80 per cent full is not helpful if the value has not updated for days.
Use alerts to avoid preventable problems
A central display is useful. Alerts can make it much more useful.
Low-level alerts can warn staff before a tank reaches a critical point. The actual threshold should match the farm operation. A stock water tank may need a different alert point from a tank used for washdown or chemical mixing water.
Useful alert types can include:
Low tank level
Very low tank level
No data received
Sensor fault
Battery low
Rapid level drop
A rapid drop alert can be valuable where a split pipe, stuck valve, or unexpected demand could drain a tank faster than normal. The system does not need to diagnose the cause. It only needs to flag that something has changed and needs attention.
Alerts should not be set so tightly that people start ignoring them. If every normal variation creates a warning, alerts soon become background noise. A better approach is to set a small number of meaningful alarms and adjust them after the farm has seen real operating patterns.
Check the site before locking in the design
No two farms are exactly the same. A system that works well on one property may need changes on another because of terrain, tank material, radio paths, power availability, or mobile coverage.
Before selecting the final equipment, a site review should cover the practical details.
Tank and sensor details
The review should identify the tank type, height, outlet arrangement, access points, and any internal features that could affect measurement. It should also consider how the sensor will be protected from knocks, weather, animals, and maintenance activity.
Communication paths
For wireless telemetry, the site needs a realistic look at distance, terrain, and obstructions. If LoRaWAN is being considered, gateway placement and antenna mounting are central to the design. If cellular is being considered, signal testing at the actual tank locations is important.
Power availability
Where mains power is absent, the review should check solar exposure, mounting options, battery location, and service access. Equipment should be designed so it can be inspected and maintained without needing awkward or unsafe work.
Viewing and alert requirements
The central display or platform should suit the way the farm operates. Some sites need simple level visibility. Others need alerts, data history, and remote access. Both are valid, but they lead to different system choices.
What a practical system can look like
For a four-tank farm water monitoring application, a practical design may include level sensors at each tank, wireless telemetry at each measurement point, and one central display or monitoring platform.
Depending on site conditions, the system may use:
Level sensors fitted to each 25,000-litre tank
LoRaWAN sensor nodes where long-range, low-power communication is suitable
Cellular telemetry where mobile coverage gives a better path
Solar power where mains power is not available
A gateway, receiver, or cloud platform to collect readings
A central display showing all four tank levels
Alerts for low level, low battery, or communication loss
The value comes from the whole system working together. A good sensor with poor power design will still fail. A strong radio system with a poor mounting location may still miss readings. A detailed dashboard that staff do not use will not improve water management.
The best outcome is usually simple from the operator’s point of view: open one display and see the current status of all four tanks.
Lessons from the application
This ProSense application shows a common pattern in agriculture. The individual measurement task is straightforward, but the operating environment adds complexity.
Four remote 25,000-litre water tanks need more than four level sensors. They need a complete path from measurement to decision.
The main lessons are clear:
Design around the site
Distance, terrain, weather exposure, and power availability must shape the system.
Choose communications for the property
LoRaWAN, cellular, and other wireless options all have a place. The best option is the one that gives dependable readings under real site conditions.
Make the display useful
The central view should show clear tank status, not raw data that needs interpretation.
Plan for faults
Low battery, missed updates, and sensor issues should be visible. Silent failure is one of the biggest risks in remote monitoring.
The takeaway for remote farm tank monitoring
Monitoring four remote 25,000-litre farm tanks from one location is achievable with the right mix of level sensing, wireless telemetry, and power design.
For this agricultural customer, ProSense investigated a practical pathway that could bring measurements from each tank back to a common viewing point. Depending on the final site conditions, that pathway can include LoRaWAN, cellular communications, and solar power.
The result is better visibility over a critical rural asset. Instead of spending time driving from tank to tank, farm staff can check levels from one place, respond earlier to low water, and manage remote water storage with more confidence.
