Stock Tank Summer
It’s no secret that where we live in Central Arizona is hot, and in general with the climate changing we are seeing new summer heat records all over the world. So the big question is how can we stay cool during the hot dry days of summer? Since we don’t live on a water source, it’s all about that stock tank. We had heard about and read up on stock tank pools for a while before deciding it was the right option. They are inexpensive and relatively more water-conservation friendly than some of the other options we had.
There are many reasons why a stock tank pool was the right option for us, but here are the most important reasons.
- Keeps us cool on a hot day
- Shallow enough for our young kids
- Relative low water usage
- Easy maintenance
- Versatile
1. Keeping Cool
Keeping cool is getting harder and harder to do with these hot summers. Having a stock tank pool to take a quick dip in or sit in is a game changer when you just need something to cool you down. Excessive heat causes frustration and definitely a lower quality of life. I can honestly say there was considerably less frustration, or at least ways to mitigate agitation from the heat with having that little pool in our backyard this summer.
2. Shallow and Fairly Kid Friendly
Our stock tank is approximately 2ft high, and often it is not even filled to the very top, so it is never actually 2 feet deep. This makes it great for our young kiddos (5 and 3 years old), as they are able to easily stand in this pool. Now, this is no substitution for always being vigilant and alert when our kids are in the pool. We make sure that there is always an adult outside with them when we are using the pool, and have thoroughly educated them on the importance of never getting in the pool on their own. That being said, it is so nice that they can stand and play safely in this pool.
3. Water usage
Our stock tank is able to hold 390 gallons when filled to the very top, but again, our pool was never filled to the top. And once we filled it we did not have to fill it again all summer long. A large part of this is due to good maintenance of the pool which we will discuss in the next section. Having to fill the small pool once is a lot less water than trying to fill a blow up pool multiple times, filling a large in-ground or above ground pool, and probably less than running a sprinkler slip and slide throughout the summer.
4. Easy Maintenance
Maintaining a stock tank pool is relatively easy when you compare it to maintaining a real pool, however, I discovered it’s more work than not having one at all. That being said, the benefits of what it provided to us during the summer outweigh the costs of the maintenance. The maintenance was also made easier by putting it into our daily chores calendar and keeping certain days just for the pool. The main things that need to happen to keep this pool clean and safe are consistent changing or cleaning of the filter, skimming out debris (and scorpions, lots of scorpions) and putting a new chlorine tablet in the floater one to two times a week. Other than these the only thing left is to keep tabs on pool chemical levels with quick and easy test strips. All in all this takes me about 20-30 mins total each week at the most.
5. Versatility
There are multiple ways that a stock tank pool is versatile. It really can fit into any kind of setting because of how customizable it is. I have seen many ideas on how to decorate it and how to make it your own. We put our stock tank in our backyard, built a deck around it and backed it to a nice natural looking rock wall. The other versatile part of it is how you choose to keep your pool clean. This varies by type of filter (paper filter or sand filter), and what you use to disinfect your pool and keep things clean from bacteria, algae and viruses (i.e. chlorine, bromine, hydrogen peroxide, UV, etc.). What we use can also change over time based on what works best for our family.
So, now that you are reeling about having a new stock tank pool at your residence, how can you make one? See our quick items list and directions below if you are interested in making your own. There are also so many great YouTube videos and other blogs that are very helpful in making this happen.
Materials List
-stock tank (we used a 6 diameter round stock tank, but there are other options for size and shape)
Tools List
Instructions:
- Find a good spot to level out that also has enough room for not only your stock tank, but your pool pump and filter. This location should also have an outlet nearby for that pump and whatever else you may want to plug in for or near the stock tank.
- Once you have a solid and level ground place the stock tank pool. You will know if your ground is not solid or level when you step in your empty stock tank and you can feel a weak or an uneven spot where your foot pushes the metal in.
3. Using a power drill with the 2 ¾” hole saw, you will drill two holes (the inlet hole towards bottom and outlet hole towards top).
4. Use silicone caulk around the outside of the holes and then place the outlet fitting and inlet strainer through the holes with the rubber gasket on the inside of the pool. Hand tighten the fittings fairly tight.
5. Attach and hand tighten the plunger valves to the fittings, as this is necessary to shut off water to the pump/filter when you need to clean or replace the filter.
6. Attach and hand tighten hoses to plunger valves and then your pump (you should be able to follow the directions for this provided with your pool pump and filter).
7. Fill with water and check for leaks. If no leaks fill to the top and enjoy your work.
Maintenance
- Using test strips test your pools pH and chlorine levels to make sure they are within normal ranges
- Place 1” chlorine tablet in chlorine floater and put in a new tablet once the other one has been dissolved.
- Clean or replace the filter every 1-2 weeks (depends on where you live and how dirty your pool gets.
- Keep a pool cover on when not using to keep pool cleaner and to help insulate and maintain some of the water temperature. A solar cover will heat up the water in the sun to keep the water from getting too cold to tolerate.
- Optional: buy a pool vacuum and clean dirt and particles from the floor. This will also help keep your filters cleaner and possibly reduce the amount of times you have to replace the filter.
Extras
- We built a deck with stairs around our pool. This makes it easier for our kids to get into and also gives us a good hiding place for our pump and other items.
- If buying and replacing filters does not sound fun to you, a sand filter may be a better option. This may be a future upgrade for us.
- There are multiple options to keeping your water clean and safe other than chlorine. This includes the use of hydrogen peroxide or converting your pool into a salt water pool. This may be another future upgrade for us, as we do not like the idea of consistent chlorine exposure for our kids, however, the chlorine level seemed to be on the lower side when testing our pool this summer using just one 1” chlorine tablet in the floater at a time.
- We plan to convert our pool into a hot tub during the colder seasons using an outdoor propane water heater. We will give updates on this in a future post, so stay tuned!
