Stock Tank Monitoring
Stock tank monitoring puts a wireless sensor over each cattle tank so the water level — and a low-water alarm — reach your phone instead of you driving the pasture to check. It catches the things that empty a stock tank between rounds: a stuck float valve, a cracked line, or a frozen supply in winter, while there's still time to keep the herd watered.
What is stock tank monitoring?
Stock tank monitoring is the continuous, remote measurement of water level in livestock tanks — the galvanized and poly tanks cattle and horses drink from — with the reading and any alarms sent to a phone. Instead of driving the pasture to eyeball each tank, you see the level, the trend, and an alert the moment a tank starts running low.
It exists because a stock tank failing is both common and costly: cattle off water lose condition fast, and a tank can empty between morning checks. Monitoring turns the daily loop into a glance, and turns a quiet failure into an alarm you can act on.
Why ranchers monitor stock tanks
The case is labor, fuel, and the animals themselves:
- Stop driving to tanks that are fine. Drive out only when a reading or an alarm tells you to. On a spread with water spread across sections, that is real fuel and hours back.
- Protect weight and welfare. Cattle off water in heat lose gains quickly and are at real risk. An empty-tank alarm reaches you long before a visual check would.
- Catch the failure early. A stuck float, a cracked line, or a quit pump can drain or overflow a tank in hours. You learn about it while it is still small.
University extension programs (UNL Beef, SDSU Extension) now cover remote water monitoring as standard ranch practice for exactly these reasons.
Monitoring stock tanks through winter
Winter is the hardest season for stock water and the one where most monitors are weakest. Cold cracks and fouls hardware that sits in the water — and a submerged pressure probe or float, the design many stock-tank monitors use, can freeze into the ice and fail. Meterra reads the surface with non-contact ultrasonic sensing from above, so there is nothing in the tank to freeze or crack. One honest caveat: once a tank ices over, a surface sensor reads the ice rather than the water beneath it — so it pairs with a tank heater that keeps the water liquid and the reading true.
A tank heater (from a submersible heater to a thermostatic system) keeps the water liquid; the monitor tells you, from the house on the coldest morning, whether the heater is keeping up and whether the line is still feeding the tank. That pairing — heater for the ice, monitor for the alarm — is what keeps cattle watered through a cold snap without a 5 a.m. drive.
How it works
A stock tank monitor has three parts worth understanding:
- The sensor. Ultrasonic and non-contact — mounted above the tank, reading the distance to the surface. Nothing submerged to corrode, foul, or freeze, and nothing for cattle to rub against.
- Connectivity. Verizon NB-IoT cellular, so it needs no power or Wi-Fi at the tank — only rural coverage. Satellite is the alternative for sites with no signal at all.
- Alerts and history. Each sensor reports on a schedule and alarms when the level crosses a threshold you set. The Meterra app and dashboard hold live level, percentage and volume, and the trend over days or weeks.
Choosing a stock tank monitor
- Non-contact vs. in-water. A surface sensor avoids the freeze, corrosion, and fouling that take out submerged probes and floats — the difference shows up in winter.
- Out of reach of stock. The unit must mount where cattle cannot rub or knock it.
- Power and battery. Multi-year battery or solar, with no wiring to run to the tank.
- Connectivity and coverage. Confirm cellular signal at the actual tanks, and account for the connectivity plan, not just the hardware.
- One account, every tank. For more than a few tanks — or more than one place — they should all report into one screen.
Why Meterra
For stock tanks, the practical edge is keeping the sensor out of the water. Non-contact ultrasonic means nothing to freeze, corrode, or foul, and nothing for cattle to wreck — it mounts above the tank and reports level, trend, and low-water alarms over cellular, on its own power, for years. It is the same proven sensor ranchers run across the rest of their water, set up for the tank the herd drinks from.
The winter test
When the surface freezes over, we keep reading.
An ultrasonic sensor reads the first surface it hits — in a hard freeze, that’s the top of the ice. Meterra’s submerged pressure sensors read the water itself, so troughs, ponds, and dams keep reporting straight through winter, and a high-level alarm can still fire before an iced-over pond overflows.
One honest note: extreme cold shortens battery life on any electronics. We’ll help you plan for your climate.
The hardware for this job
Every device reports to the same Meterra dashboard and app.
Tell us your site and we'll map the right sensors and coverage.
Frequently asked questions
How do you monitor a stock tank remotely?
A sensor mounts above the stock tank, measures the water level without touching it, and sends the reading to your phone over the cellular network. You set a low-water threshold and get an alarm the moment the tank drops below it.
Will it work in winter when the tank can freeze?
The sensor itself handles the cold — nothing is submerged to freeze, crack, or corrode like the in-water probes many systems use. But be clear on what it reads — once a tank ices over on top, a surface sensor measures the ice, not the water below, so it won't track the level under the ice. That's why winter monitoring pairs with a tank heater that keeps the water liquid. It still catches the failures that don't depend on ice — a leak, a quit pump, a line that's stopped filling.
Does the sensor get in the way of cattle?
No. It mounts above the water, out of reach, so stock cannot rub, scratch, or knock it like they will with anything inside or beside the tank. Reading the surface from above keeps the hardware clear of the herd.
Will it catch a stuck float valve?
Yes. A float valve that sticks open overflows the tank; one that sticks shut stops it filling. Either way the level moves the wrong direction, and the alarm reaches you before the tank runs dry or runs over.
Does it need power or Wi-Fi at the tank?
No. It is battery or solar powered and reports over Verizon NB-IoT cellular, so it works on tanks far from any building, power, or Wi-Fi.
How many stock tanks can I monitor?
As many as you put sensors on. Every tank reports into one app, so you check the whole outfit — and several properties — from one screen instead of driving each pasture.
How long does the battery last?
3+ years on a single battery, with solar an option for indefinite runtime. There is no wiring to maintain at the tank.
How much does stock tank monitoring cost?
In our US rollout the Tank Level Sensor is $299 and the Trough Level Monitor is $399, each including three months of connectivity and full app access; connectivity is then from $10/month per device, with discounts on annual subscriptions. Send your details or call and we'll size a multi-tank setup for you.
Related Meterra solutions
- Livestock Water Monitoring — the full ranch-water picture — tanks, troughs, and dams together.
- Tank Level Sensor — the non-contact sensor behind this application.
- Water Tank Monitoring — the same approach for storage, cistern, and off-grid tanks.
- How Much Water Do Cattle Drink Per Day? — what normal daily draw-down looks like — and what abnormal means.