Michael suggested (rightly so) that the tank was too big, and the supports too flimsy to support it. Photos of similar water tanks (i.e. metal tank on wooden supports) seem to be few and far between, so I've had to do a lot of guesswork.
The first job was to completely disassemble the frame. As this was glued using PVA, it came apart very easily - just a twist is all that is needed to separate the components. With much scratching of heads, and only a smattering of prototype photos to work from, I cobbled together a (very) wonky structure. I decided that there would need to be an added deck for people to clamber onto at the top, so it now has one cantilevered off of one side.
With that done I could also fabricate a new tank - working out at about a capacity of 2000 litres. I was apprehensive at undoing all my work from yesterday, but actually it was completely necessary. I think the whole thing looks more in proportion now. By the way, the ladder shown in the photo will need some serious sanding (if I do use it) as the moulding I think is from an old Airfix kit. It's somewhat overscale (or at least the moulding is not very fine) compared to modern equivalents.
I tried to find information online about how such a water tower would be fed using water from a pond. It seems to be a lot more common in America than here, so again, very little information could be found. I decided therefore to construct a tiny hut with which the pump could be hidden in. One pipe heading out into the pond on wooden supports, and another linking from this pumphouse to the top of the water tower. Of course, this shack will also be painted to represent a horribly rusty ramshackle state!
And so here are a couple photos showing the current set up. I did plan to make some pipework up using old sprues, but I don't seem to have any cylindrical ones. Maybe I'll pick up a pipe kit at some point! The eagle-eyed amongst you may note that the legs now splay out at the bottom - a subtle change, but it makes for a more interesting structure.
Update: More diagonal bracing has been added on the interior sides to prevent swaying of the structure!
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