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Backyard Pool

Toreadorranger

Atomic Test Lab Rat
Joined
May 21, 2020
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My wife wants a pool to cool off in with the kids. We currently have a "very nice" $40 inflatable intex pool stuck in the middle of my yard. I would like something more permanent but I cant stand the look of above ground pools or the PVC style pools. I was doing some internet searching last night and stumbled across a few setups using large stock tanks. I have an area laid out and prepped for a hot tub, that I figure would make a great location for a 8ft round stock tank until a future time that we put in a hot tub. The plan is to run a 1500gph to 2500gph above ground pool filter on it using bulkhead fittings in the side of the tank and a light amount of chlorine to keep the growth down.

Whats up in the air is do I coat the inside of it with something or leave it galvanized? Anyone know of a coating that will hold up to chlorine? It looks like a epoxy coating could hold up the longest, but the ultimate plan isn't for this thing to be installed for 15years so do I just leave it galvanized then replace it once it starts to rust?

Ill throw up a picture of the spot I'm thinking about later but for now enjoy this google sourced pintrest level picture. :flipoff2:

stock-tank-pools-1.jpg
 
Someone on the other board built one with a skimmer, and coated it with something. It was pretty well done. Without a skimmer its going to be way harder to keep it clean. Put one of the floating chlorinators in it and you should be good.
 
I'll be following this. Wife wants a pool and I'm thinking of a concrete stock tank dug into the ground.

Epoxy paint would be my guess to use on the metal tank.
 
I was about this ______ close to doing this last week. I decided it was going to cost me $600 and I didn't think we'd use it enough to blow the cash.

What I do know is that my local feed store has 8' plastic stocktanks for about $50 cheaper than the 8' galv. They also have a nice 7' x 8' x 28" deep square for a little more than the 8' round galv. That's the route I had chosen to avoid the salt/chlorine/coating issues.

YMMV

hastings-round-poly-stock-tank.jpg


hastings_containment_tank.jpg
 
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Metal stock tank with a wood fired hot tub heater it could be a pool in the day and a hot tub at night. Everybody wins.
 
You probably wouldn’t need a heater with a little metal stock tank. Depending on location the water will be 95 degrees. Hell, my shitty 5000 gallon above ground has already hit 89 degrees.
 
Metal stock tank with a wood fired hot tub heater it could be a pool in the day and a hot tub at night. Everybody wins.

My plan for hot tub conversion involved using the subaru that my kid rolled. Park it behind a fence/wall so we dont have to look at it, plumb lines to the water pump, run a few wires for key on and start to the pool. #Redneckognise !

You probably wouldn’t need a heater with a little metal stock tank. Depending on location the water will be 95 degrees. Hell, my shitty 5000 gallon above ground has already hit 89 degrees.

It gets down to 0*f here regularly and -20* now and then. I gonna need a heater. :flipoff2:
 
I think I convinced the wife on the plan, she was still leaning towards full blown above ground pool, but my kids are young so having a deeper pool than 2ft doesnt work as well anyways since they wouldnt be able to stand up. So looks like I'm going to start collecting the materials and get it going. I think I'm going to take my chances without coating the interior. The more I read, as long as you dont let the chlorine tablets sit on the tank and keep the concentration low it should be ok.

I was about this ______ close to doing this last week. I decided it was going to cost me $600 and I didn't think we'd use it enough to blow the cash.

What I do know is that my local feed store has 8' plastic stocktanks for about $50 cheaper than the 8' galv. They also have a nice 7' x 8' x 28" deep square for a little more than the 8' round galv. That's the route I had chosen to avoid the salt/chlorine/coating issues.

If I get a plastic tank, then I have to build a surround so it doesnt look silly in the backyard. I'd rather just plop the tank down after leveling the area.
 
We use a plastic round one for the dogs to have their own pool. They use it all the time. I placed some boulders around it to help with the looks. It nice to tip over and scrub out every so often.
 
If I get a plastic tank, then I have to build a surround so it doesnt look silly in the backyard. I'd rather just plop the tank down after leveling the area.

Why does a plastic round tank look silly compared to a bright silver round tank the same size? 😕
 
Why does a plastic round tank look silly compared to a bright silver round tank the same size? 😕

I got to say that first pic looks way more classy then the plastic ones.

I agree with the guy on a skimmer. I wouldn't buy one from Lowes though. Make one that is actually a water fall. I know this is differnt, but my wife and I love the sound it makes. You could do the same thing into a wash basin.

dscn2086.jpgs.jpg
 
I got to say that first pic looks way more classy then the plastic ones.

I agree with the guy on a skimmer. I wouldn't buy one from Lowes though. Make one that is actually a water fall. I know this is differnt, but my wife and I love the sound it makes. You could do the same thing into a wash basin.



see your tablet floater sitting right there on your top step? That's a great way to ruin the plaster on said step. Get a larger one that won't make it onto the top step
 
Wife badly wants a stock tank pool after we move. Trying to source the largest one we can find.

keeping an eye on this thread.
 
I got to say that first pic looks way more classy then the plastic ones.


the op has a partial surround and has been coated inside and out.

I don't see any difference between plopping either of these in the yard as is, as the OP is intending. The plastic alleviates the concerns about corrosion, and looks a bunch more comfy to sit in. They are the same size 8' diam, 24" deep.


hastings-round-poly-stock-tank.jpg


hastings-round-blacklabel-stock-tank.jpg
 
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I've had a pool for most of my life, off and on.. the parties and fun have to stop sometime.. I don't know if I enjoyed them more in the 80s when I was a kid.. or the 90s when my backyard looked like a rap video..

unless I win the lotto, I don't think I will have one again..

they are very hard to keep clean, especially if you have lots of trees.. vacuuming gets very old, very quickly.. friends and family ask if they can clean it, cuz they think its fun.. soon they learn.. and a floating chlorine thing is not enough.. you have to add chemicals all the time, and sometimes the water gets all kinds of algae or whatever..

edit: but I would like to get me an enclosed hot-tub
 
I coated mine with Monstaliner. It held up great all season, then one day my ph got all messed up and the color started rubbing off on us. I was going to add another layer of Monstaliner this season and make sure the ph stays good to see if that works, but we're doing a bunch of landscaping right now and have no where to set the pool up that isn't in the way.

Edit: I feel like I added a ph reducer and that may have caused it. I think next time my ph gets off, it's small enough, I'll just change the water.
 
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I coated mine with Monstaliner. It held up great all season, then one day my ph got all messed up and the color started rubbing off on us. I was going to add another layer of Monstaliner this season and make sure the ph stays good to see if that works, but we're doing a bunch of landscaping right now and have no where to set the pool up that isn't in the way.

Edit: I feel like I added a ph reducer and that may have caused it. I think next time my ph gets off, it's small enough, I'll just change the water.

What do you have for a pump setup?
 
the op has a partial surround and has been coated inside and out.

I don't see any difference between plopping either of these in the yard as is, as the OP is intending. The plastic alleviates the concerns about corrosion, and looks a bunch more comfy to sit in. They are the same size 8' diam, 24" deep.


hastings-round-poly-stock-tank.jpg


hastings-round-blacklabel-stock-tank.jpg

To me the metal tanks have a more rustic feel. The metal tank fits in better with how my back yard is setup in that respect. A plastic tank would look out of place similar to how a Intex pool would look out of place.
 
see your tablet floater sitting right there on your top step? That's a great way to ruin the plaster on said step. Get a larger one that won't make it onto the top step

That pool is fiberglass. Will it hurt that? I have a complete salt system installed on the pool. But I haven't put any salt in because I need to finish the stucco/tile work around the pool. The salt may be an issue. So the floater is temporary. I actually put it on the top step because it goes in front of the skimmer.

For anyone interested in my pool build, here's the link. I hate to link to Pirate, but it's a pain to bring over.

https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/fiberglass-pools.2684786/
 
the op has a partial surround and has been coated inside and out.

I don't see any difference between plopping either of these in the yard as is, as the OP is intending. The plastic alleviates the concerns about corrosion, and looks a bunch more comfy to sit in. They are the same size 8' diam, 24" deep.


hastings-round-poly-stock-tank.jpg


hastings-round-blacklabel-stock-tank.jpg

The metal tank in your pic doesn't have the vertical "bead rolls" that the OP's first pic has. They definitely add some style. I totally agree the plastic would be better for corrosion and comfort. I just think you need to build a complete surround to look nice.
 
That pool is fiberglass. Will it hurt that? I have a complete salt system installed on the pool. But I haven't put any salt in because I need to finish the stucco/tile work around the pool. The salt may be an issue. So the floater is temporary. I actually put it on the top step because it goes in front of the skimmer.

For anyone interested in my pool build, here's the link. I hate to link to Pirate, but it's a pain to bring over.

https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/fiberglass-pools.2684786/


yes it will absolutely destroy your fiberglass. Chlorine tablets have a pH of 2. That is straight acid sitting on your steps if/when there is no movement in the water to keep it from getting stuck.

we use the long floaters that hold up to 9 tablets (though you should only be putting 2-3 in per week) exactly for the reason of not having them destroy the steps in customers pools
 
Well this plan is official in motion. Pool parts are really hard to get a hold of right now. I can only assume this is because everyone is stuck at home and is trying to setup a pool for summer. This filter popped up as in stock so I pull the trigger on it. My initial impression is its a lot better then the cheapo Intex pump/filter I was going to use. I can actually get replacement parts on the companies website. Its a 12" sand filter with a 20gpm pump.


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My wife wants a pool to cool off in with the kids. We currently have a "very nice" $40 inflatable intex pool stuck in the middle of my yard. I would like something more permanent but I cant stand the look of above ground pools or the PVC style pools. I was doing some internet searching last night and stumbled across a few setups using large stock tanks. I have an area laid out and prepped for a hot tub, that I figure would make a great location for a 8ft round stock tank until a future time that we put in a hot tub. The plan is to run a 1500gph to 2500gph above ground pool filter on it using bulkhead fittings in the side of the tank and a light amount of chlorine to keep the growth down.

Whats up in the air is do I coat the inside of it with something or leave it galvanized? Anyone know of a coating that will hold up to chlorine? It looks like a epoxy coating could hold up the longest, but the ultimate plan isn't for this thing to be installed for 15years so do I just leave it galvanized then replace it once it starts to rust?

Ill throw up a picture of the spot I'm thinking about later but for now enjoy this google sourced pintrest level picture. :flipoff2:


I tried to do this with for a duck pond...for our...one duck.

Its doable cost didnt stop me. I was looking at like 600 bucks for it to filter itself, heat above freezing in the winter and not be a cess pool during summer.

What stopped me is i decided to bury half of it for support for various reasons i dont remember right now.

But my soil in this are is rock 12" down and in my case apparently my house being the last built in this neighbor hood it had all the rocks and scrap concret buried in the spot i chose..i got 6 inches down and said fuck it..but im lazy and now i have a 10ft around 6 inch deep fucked up spot in my backyard that has repacked and i now and gonna haft to scrape and relevel.


Good luck:lmao:
 
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