Varieties in stainless steel tanks or any other type of storage tank shape are present and popular for a couple main reasons. First is the obvious space issue. Industries requiring storage tanks of any material are not looking for residential size water purifiers but massive, space hogging structures. Their own space must be able to accommodate whichever stainless steel tank model they choose, whether it is a vertical storage tank or a horizontal storage tank. Another major factor when considering the alignment of a storage tank is how the substance being kept within it will move. The internal structure of a storage tank is just as important as the external.

The ease of motion that takes place when a substance, whether it is grain from an agricultural setting or milk from a large dairy, is stored in a vertical storage tank is better then that in a horizontal storage tank. That is why horizontal storage tanks are always used for transportation tanks on trucks, since they are able to stabilize, rather then encourage the motion of, the product. That is why stainless steel silos are often modeled as vertical storage tanks.

Vertical storage tanks are not only chosen based on how they sit within a space, but are built with many other considerations in mind as well. All large industrial purchases have multiple levels of functionality that need to be considered so that they are as efficient and effective as possible. The environment where a storage tank will be affects the type of material that is utilized, which is not always stainless steel. Other materials also have a plethora of positive characteristics that can be chosen based on what will be stored inside the tank as well as where the tank will be located. Polyethylene, for example, is non-corrosive, able to withstand temperature extremes and impact-resistant, which makes it an excellent material for outdoor storage as well as the container for more difficult substances such as chemicals.