John C Daley

Two points;
- You can buy smaller petrol pumps
- I would put a T piece at the discharge point, cap off the larger exit point and with a 2" x 1" reducer fit a 1 inch ball valve to the side of the T.
Using the ball valve to adjust the flow I would then use the garden hose with perhaps a 25mm [ 1 inch ] hose

I am having trouble as well.
What is the brown line?
The pink does not really show.
A three foot embankment is not hard to achive.
Do you have any clay around to build levies, [ banks, walls] with?

History of Cisterns

This is an interesting read.

How are you going to fill the cistern?

Its possibe to get heat exchangers which capture the heat in exiting air.
They are excellent.
German passive houses

This site has lots of info about insulation and ventilation.

They are shown being driven by a jackhammer, which may work for very hard conditions.
I ask, is there ground that does not heave with the frost?
We dont have that problem in Australia, so I find the whole issue fascinating.

Very interesting;
Diamond piers

I am one who likes to make stuff.
If you search diy evaporative coolers you will find many examples of small ideas.
I chose to buy a secondhand unit and fit that, because it was so easy.
BUT, I have seen wind towers in the middle East and India where air is drawn out of the house via the tower and replacement air into the house is drawn from a cool courtyard with ponds.

cooling towers are similar but work backwards by being the source of the air into the house.
Membranes are installed high in the tower, water is applied to them and air is drawn through the membrane, down the tower and inside the house.
The is drawn down by ventilation systems which can draw air through the house.

What did you finish ending up with?

Have you considered logs with an external covering to improve its life?

In Australia its possible to buy a mozi filter that fits in the plastic pipe.
If you are using mesh, I would insert it inside the T branch that heads to the tank.
So poop will head down the trap and water will pass sideways through the branch, good luck.