Have you ever thought about making a stock tank pool for your backyard? My husband and I learned through a lot of trial and error how to do it, and in this blog you will find detailed step by step instructions including a video that will make setting up your own stock tank pool a breeze!

Swimming in Our Stock Tank Pool (2017)

With five young kids seven and under, we prefer staying home and finding ways to entertain ourselves in a simple, safe, and cost effective way. This stock tank pool has been an amazing addition to our yard for both us and our kids and provides countless hours of entertainment. When the temperature is above 70º F (we’ll even settle for 60º F on an early spring thaw), our kids will play in it for hours every single day. This is our fourth summer using it, and has held up beautifully. (*Note: I originally wrote this blog when we first made our pool in 2015, but I update it every summer to include any changes or modifications we’ve made, including 2018 where we replaced the hoses and installed real plunger valves.)

Swimming in our stock tank pool in mid April 2015! Brrrr…

They love sitting in their round doughnuts bouncing up and down, riding around on pool noodles, jumping off from the ladder, and just splashing around. My husband and I like to find a way to float and relax. When we close our eyes and feel our bodies bob around in the water, we can almost envision that we’re floating on the shores of some tropical island…until Elliot does a cannonball that is! (Check out all of our backyard summer fun ideas here!)

*Video note: We don’t typically run the filter while kids are swimming in it. The suction is incredibly strong and can be quite shocking if you accidentally press your butt against it! 🙂

When we started researching pools last summer, I was almost tempted to buy a 12 foot Intex pool, but after reading reviews about patching pinholes and knowing that my kids like to play rough (which it couldn’t sustain), I didn’t think it sounded like a good idea.

Growing up, my Aunt Sue always had a round stock tank pool that she placed on a deck in her backyard. She always kept the water crystal clear with a filter and had it set up on a little deck. It was beautiful! We had an oval shaped horse trough pool growing up, but we never really kept it clean, and it turned into a holding tank for the tadpoles and turtles that we would catch in our nearby lake. It was still really fun though!

I scoured the Internet for some good directions for making a stock tank pool and could only find really cute pictures (that often showed crystal clear water with no filter…not possible!) without many good directions, so I hope that in this post, I can be a little more specific. Needless to say, we learned how to do everything wrong before we learned how to do everything right, so hopefully, if you’re looking to make your own stock tank pool, you can avoid some of the pitfalls we had and do things right the first time around!

Stock Tank Pool and Sand Filter Filled with Water

Materials

• • 8 Foot (diameter) Round Galvanized Steel Stock Tank Pool: I would have liked a 10 foot, but they didn’t have any at our local Tractor Supply Store and the 8 foot has actually been just perfect. They are typically 2 feet high – which is pretty much shorter than anyone who is really good at walking, so it’s safe for toddlers! We bought ours at a local farm store for $350, but if you want to buy something online, Amazon has 6′ diameter stock tanks available. Stockyards Ranch Supply in Colorado also has them online, and you can call for a delivery quote.
  • Sand Filter Pump: You don’t have to have a pump if you’re okay with just emptying the pool when it gets dirty or using some chlorine or bromine tablets, but I highly recommend buying one for the long haul. It’s great for filtering out algae and debris, has a 24-hour timer with preset cycles for automatic operation, is low maintenance (you only need to empty out the sand every 5 years), and has a six-function control valve that lets you filter, backwash, rinse, recirculate, drain, and close the system. We bought the filter for a 16 foot diameter pool. It filters 2,450 gallons per hour, and it does a very nice job, but we still need to add shock treatment or drain it completely several times over the summer. They also offer a 12′ filter that cycles through 1,600 gallons an hour and a 10′ filter that cycles through 1,050 gallons an hour (*FYI: a 10 foot stock tank pool holds 1,100 gallons of water). *Each pool filter also comes with two connecting hoses, but if you need to buy replacement hoses (like we did because they became full of algae), you can do that too.
  • Pool Filter Sand: We just used some sand from our sandbox, but this type of sand was recommended by our pool filter system manual.
  • *Additional Filter Systems:
    • Saltwater System: It pretty much makes its own “natural” chlorine. You could use this in addition to the sand filter for optimum performance.
    • Cartridge Filter Pump: If you’re looking for the cheapest option, you could get this cartridge filter pump, but you’d have to replace the filters every two weeks. I’ve heard that these don’t last very long, but it’s a cheaper up front cost.
    • Floating Dispenser and Bromine Tablets or Chlorine Tablets: (Bromine is safer than chlorine…slightly.)
    • Pool Water Shock: Kills bacteria and algae in one big shock of chlorine. (Because of the dangers of chlorine, we try our best to avoid it. We’d prefer not to use any of these methods, but we have used the pool shock a time or two when things got bad…mainly because we didn’t use our pool filter properly…it did a fine job of killing the algae, and then we just avoided the pool until it all evaporated, 24-48 hours.)
    • Liquid Chlorine: We recently purchased (in 2019) an Intex 15′ x 48″ Metal Frame Above Ground Pool at Menards because it was HALF OFF and the older kids (ages 8 and 9) have been BEGGING us for a bigger pool, and I finally learned about the miracles of liquid chlorine! Follow the directions and use a pool testing kit (you can get something cheap like this or more comprehensive and expensive like this…we opted for cheap), but basically for a 1,100 gallon stock tank pool, you’d put in about 6 oz (so half a beer bottle) to start things out, about 1 oz every night for maintenance, and then 6 oz once a week. When we just had the stock tank pool, I was fine to avoid chlorine and just empty the pool when it got green, but now that we have a 10,000 gallon pool and all around less time on our hands, I’ve been chlorinating both pools and it’s been a dream.
  • Plunger Valves: Unfortunately, the plunger valves pictured below are no longer available on Amazon. These plunger valves appear to be similar, but beware that while many people were very happy with their purchase, about 32% say they didn’t receive all of the parts listed. (I also found them here on ebay with great reviews.) These other plunger valves have good reviews, but they don’t include the part you’d need to attach to the inside of the pooI. When we originally made our stock tank pool, we just went to the plumbing section of the hardware store with a tape measure and bought some connecting pieces that had threads with a 1.5 inch interior diameter and 2 1/8 inch diameter and attachment pieces for the inside of the pool. We got it to work with a lot of trial and error and epoxy, but now four years later, we’re redoing it properly.
    

    Hoses and Plunger Valves for Stock Tank Pool

    I recently had someone ask for alternatives to the plunger valves, so I’ll share what we did originally, although I must say that it did not work very well! They would constantly leak and we had to add a lot of epoxy and other adhesives. I suppose if we had used something like these rubber rings, we could’ve gotten a better seal.

    

    Exterior View of Connecting Hose (2014)

    

    Interior View of the Connecting Hose (2014)

    

    Original Stock Tank Pool Set Up (2014)

  • Drill: You’ll need to drill two holes (each with a 2.5 inch diameter) into the pool if you’re going to attach a filter. As convenient as a cordless drill can be, we have had much more success with drilling projects that need a lot of power to use a corded drill like this. You’ll also need a hole saw kit to attach to your drill.
  • PC-11 Epoxy: I accidentally hit one of the plunger valves with the snow blower this winter (2019) and needed something heavy duty to reattach the plastic pieces. The guy at the hardware store recommended this marine grade quality epoxy, and let me tell you it is a MIRACLE WORKER!!! How have I never heard of this stuff?!?!?! (We even used it to fix our leaky pump on our washing machine…amazing!) In case you’re wondering, I’ll include what I used from the video below. It has held up nicely, but if I had to do it all over again I would use the PC-11.
    • Plumber’s Epoxy: This stuff is waterproof and great for filling in all of the gaps. Two packages should do nicely.
    • Waterproof Epoxy: Paint this around all of your attachment pieces. Go really heavy on this and do 2-3 coats all over everything. 4-6 packages seems overkill, but better safe than sorry!
  • *18′ Intex Pool: If all of this is just sounding like too much (really, it’s not that bad), then maybe you’d be better off just buying the complete package…and why not get the dream set up! This pool looks rather appealing and has everything ready to go! 🙂

Check out the video below for a detailed description for creating your very own stock tank pool! This is my first video on my new Embracing Motherhood YouTube channel, so please like, subscribe, and be on the lookout for more videos to come soon!

Directions

1. Get the pool to your house! We bought our 8′ (8 foot diameter) stock tank pool from our local farm store. They would have delivered it to us for a fee, but my husband knew someone with a trailer so they strapped the pool down and drove it (slowly) to our house.
2. Prepare the pool location. You want to find a place that is level and not close to too many trees that will annoy you with their random leaves cluttering your pool. When we made our sandbox, we put an extra load of sand where we wanted our pool, and it made an excellent base. (You don’t have to do this, it’s just a nice touch.) You’ll also need to be close to an electrical outlet (the cord for the filter is quite long). We have a shed right next to our pool location, so we run the power cord through the shed window.
   

   Laying Down the Stock Tank Pool (2014)

3. Set up the pool filter. This seems a lot more complicated than it really is, especially after you watch the instruction video, but bear with it, it’s not that bad. Basically, you’ll need to put it together and fill it with sand. You can put it on a base, but we never did, and it has worked just fine.
   

   Pool Filter for the Stock Tank Pool (2014)

4. Cut two holes in the stock tank pool for the filter tubes. You’ll want to position the holes about 2-3 feet apart from each other in about the middle of the top half of the pool walls. Measure the outside diameter of the attachment piece that will fit through the hole before cutting. It should be 2 1/8 inches wide. We used a corded drill and a drill bit with a 2.5 inch diameter which was slightly bigger than the attachment pieces, and it worked perfectly. (The first time we made our stock tank pool, we measured the inside diameter of the tube which was 1.5 inches, so the holes were too small. Making the holes slightly bigger was a huge task that we finally took on four years later. This is why in the older pictures of our stock tank pool, the tubes are covered with lots of extra adhesive and towels!)
   

   Stock Tank Pool (2014)
5. Attach the plunger valves and secure with epoxy. The big round end with the filter goes on the inside of the pool. *Originally, I used plumber’s epoxy and waterproof epoxy, which has held up nicely, but if I could do it all over again, I would use PC-11 epoxy which is designed to be underwater and withstand massive amount of pressure. To use the PC-11, mix the epoxy from the two containers together (using popsicle sticks and some cardboard), apply liberally around the attachment pieces, and let cure for 24 hours. **If you want to follow what I did in the video, roll out a nice long snake of plumber’s epoxy and put it around the top part of the threads. Roll another big snake of plumber’s epoxy and put it around the top part of the threads on the attachment piece that will be outside of the pool. (It’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves for this…I learned that the hard way!) Press them together (having an extra set of hands for this is pretty crucial), and then start twisting until they are connected. Use a big wrench to get it really tight! When completely hardened, paint with waterproof epoxy on every single part that could leak and let cure for 24 hours. Nothing should move! These plunger valves will stay permanently connected to your pool, but you want to be able to detach the hoses for cleaning purposes so don’t put any epoxy on the hose attachment.
   

   Stock Tank Pool with Plunger Valves and Sand Filter (2018)

6. Attach the pool filter tubes and fill with water. You’ll want to let the epoxy fully dry for at least 24 hours before filling with water. If you notice any leaks as you fill the pool, you’ll have to drain it, let it dry, and troubleshoot. Sometimes the threading on one of the hoses can be off a little bit. Also, when you turn the pool filter on, you’ll have to release the small valve on the top of the debris catcher (near the intake) to release the air and allow the filter to work.

Stock Tank Pool Maintenance

1. Keep the junk out. We made sure to establish some rules with the kids about not putting sand or other debris into the pool and put a little foot rinsing b