Your Home Outdoors
Why a Backyard Stock Tank Pool Is a Very Good Idea
If these 14 ideas don't inspire you to get one, we're not sure what will.
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29 Comments
Diana S.
August 24, 2020
Brings back memories from when I was young. We would fill up the "tank" and play in it on hot summer day. I think I need to do this again! :)
Christie
July 27, 2020
Soooo that’s what it is called! All these years we called it the horse trough 🐴 We had that trough through my childhood and then my kids and our neighbors kids swam in it. Warm and fun memories.
Arati M.
September 4, 2020
Well, traditionally did belong to the cows and horses ;) so you were right.
Lzzyrbby
July 20, 2020
Also in the process of galvanization the steel is coated in zinc, which naturally inhibits growth of algae, moss, mildew and fungus, must be a big plus for a pool!
arcane54
July 16, 2020
We used to have a hot tub in a stock tank. We’d just build a small fire under it. It helps to have a wooden lathe covering the bottom so you don’t burn your bum. On party nights, we’d hold synchronized swimming performances. Ah, the days....
Jackie P.
July 12, 2020
I've used stock tanks for planters, drilling holes in the bottom & then using galvanized spray to help delay rust. And also have used them for water features / fountains. So far I have never found one to be smooth enough on the inside to not be worried about getting a bad cut or scratch if I were not careful & needed to reach in. Do people sand the inside or treat it with special paint to avoid cuts?
Dorraine S.
October 8, 2020
It was good enough for me all throughout my childhood and we never got a cut from it. My memories of them were pretty thick and they could come in variations of thickness but in my opinion it's worth a try and to share find memories with my grandkids.
Lisa A.
July 12, 2020
Seems like a great idea, but doesn't the water heat up due to the metal? How do you drain it?
John J.
July 11, 2020
I put a 10' stock tank 2 years ago. Love it!
I built a flagstone patio around it, use a 1 1/2 hp pool filter. Clean and clear!
I built a flagstone patio around it, use a 1 1/2 hp pool filter. Clean and clear!
rlsalvati
July 11, 2020
We had one of these when I was a kid and it was so much fun! And yes, you do have to supervise kids around water. Unless you grew up in the sixties and seventies, when we were allowed to run wild from one backyard hazard to another around the neighborhood all summer. Fun times.
Dorraine S.
October 8, 2020
I'm a sixties baby and we never had ours high enough of water for my grandparents to worry about us but they watched us nonetheless. If we did the things now our families allowed and was normal to all of us back then our children would be taken from us. What's so different from then to now is children are raised so much differently. One of the worst spankings I got as a child was in our tin tub and I wasn't listening to my grandma and being wet and spanked had a powerful impact. I don't regret any of it because she didn't have to tell me twice. Most of the time a look was all I needed. We would ride on the back of my grandpa's Chevy Truck tailgate and once and awhile he would take me to the "bar" and I would drink Mountain Dew in a shot glass while he had a beer. Then our local deputies would come in after work for a cold one and talk to me and let me play with his badge. Gone are those days!!
Dorraine S.
October 8, 2020
Another huge difference was neighbors were family. We might eat dinner anywhere on our street. Nobody worried about their kids because there was trust within the community and when something bad happened it was in large cities and extremely rare in my area, which was NC!
Kellison
July 10, 2020
These small landscapes are attractive, but they all look like drowning hazards to me: pools without any sort of safety fencing, alarms, etc, or even steps or stairs for an escape route. Be mindful how easily a young child can drown, even in a small amount of water, and be sure that no such child (even a neighbor's or friend's child) has access before considering any such installation.
Juliean B.
July 9, 2020
I put one in my yard this spring. POLY plastic, 8ft diameter with a wrap around deck. Love it! Using a sand filter.
latenac
July 9, 2020
They're pretty but how does the metal not heat up the water to a painful degree?
Arati M.
July 9, 2020
Aren't they so pretty? I believe it's the galvanized steel that keeps the water cool in the summer...Personally, I'd also pair it with some shade.
Andrew B.
July 9, 2020
The earth is a pretty constant 55° year round so being surrounded by dirt and dug into the ground should help to keep it cool. And covering it up when not in use would help. And it will naturally cool off in the evening as well. The deeper you dig it, you cooler the water would be....
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