How long to fill a 5,000 gallon tank
At a typical 8 GPM garden-hose flow: 10 h 25 min. Full table below; exact math is volume ÷ flow.
| Flow rate | Time | Minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 2 GPM | 41 h 40 min | 2,500.0 min |
| 5 GPM | 16 h 40 min | 1,000.0 min |
| 8 GPM | 10 h 25 min | 625.0 min |
| 10 GPM | 8 h 20 min | 500.0 min |
| 15 GPM | 5 h 33 min | 333.3 min |
| 20 GPM | 4 h 10 min | 250.0 min |
| 30 GPM | 2 h 47 min | 166.7 min |
| 50 GPM | 1 h 40 min | 100.0 min |
Flow-rate reality check: hose bib with good pressure 6–10 GPM; 1/2 HP transfer pump 20–40 GPM; gravity from an IBC barely 5 GPM through a garden fitting. Time a 5-gallon bucket and divide — it beats every nameplate rating. For the volume side, the tank charts give exact gallons at any depth.
FAQ
How long does it take to fill a 5000 gallon tank with a garden hose?
A typical hose delivers 6–10 GPM — call it 13 h 53 min to 8 h 20 min for 5,000 gallons. Bucket-test your actual flow: a 5-gallon bucket filling in 30 seconds is 10 GPM.
How long with a transfer pump?
At a common 30 GPM transfer rate, about 2 h 47 min. At 50 GPM, 1 h 40 min.
Does draining take the same time?
Only if the flow is constant. Gravity drains slow as the head drops, so treat these times as a lower bound for draining.