Thinking about building a pool at the lease to enjoy over the summer. Tired of tearing holes in the inflatable kind, and someobody reccommended a galvanized stock tank. I can get an 8 foot one from Tractor Supply. I was thinking of coating the inside with blue bedliner and then filling it up and draining it each weekend. I wouldn't have power for a pump, but could throw some chlorine it. Anyone ever tried this?

Never tried it but I would think it would heat up pretty quick.

Post pics of how it turns out if you end up doing it.

The rotomolded plastic tanks work great, my inlaws have this at their place and the kiddos love it. There aren't many safety provisions, however, so constant supervision is required for small children and drunk adults.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/american-farmland-reg-round-tank-8-x-2-in-plastic-2177188

This looks perfect. The question is whether I really need a pool pump, and if so, do I have to leave it running all week while I'm gone.

That's a lot of water to fill it up/drain if you do it 10x a year.

What about a solar pump/filter?

That's the one the inlaws have. Don't need a pump if you drain it. You're not going to fill it all the way to the top, anyway.

We use a plastic one similar at my friend's ranch. Just fill it up off the well (nice cold water) and drain it at the end of the day. Works well, flip it over when you leave for the weekend.

When we were little kids, my parents bought a galvanized steel one that was about 10' in diameter, maybe 12, and about 2 feet tall. That was our pool for years. They checked it for burs and sharp edges, of course. Painting it would have been nice as the galvanizing could chafe after a while. Only big danger was an occasional banged elbow or head on the edge.

Funny related story is we had a really bad thunderstorm once, and it was hailing quarter to golf ball sized hail through a pea green fog, and blowing pretty good gusts My mom is waiting at the bus stop in our old Ford van at the end of the street, and next thing she sees is that big round water trough rolling down the street at 30mph in the wind all the way across the neighborhood (rural acre+ lots, half empty), where it demolished a chainlink fence section.

My friend in Sq 18 had a small water trough outside his window of Dorm 9 that two people could fit in at a time. They used to sit out there in it on the weekends and drink beer. Still not sure how/why corps housing didn't remove it, but it was there quite a while if I'm not mistaken

Zats some serious redneck stuff. Love it.

My guess is that since it was Squadron 18, they were probably two dudes sitting in it together sipping wine coolers and Corps Housing didn't want to get anywhere near that thing!

I would definitely drain each time and throw in some kind of chlorine/mild chemical to kill off any bacteria. Otherwise it sounds doable.

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THIS!!!!

I swam in stock tanks as a kid. I think you’re worrying about making it like a swimming pool too much. You don’t need chlorine or any chemicals. Definitely don’t need to drain it every time you use it. Maybe drain it once a month. It may turn a little green and there may be a few water bugs in it but the kids won’t care.

^^^ ageee. no chlorine. put goldfish in it to control bugs and algae.

I had a friend slice the water noodle floaties down one side and place them over the edges so that the kids didn't crack their heads open while playing. Just a thought....

My great grandmother bought a separate galvanized water trough that was big enough to fit all 11 great grandchildren in for when we visited her house during family gatherings. No chemicals were ever put in the pool aside from residual off and sunscreen.

I thought this information may be helpful to those interested in building a true stock tank pool;

With the intent of putting in a stock tank pool I prepped an area by making a level solid base. I used crushed granite, as I had some on hand, but nice level compacted sand will do. You want to have a smooth surface clear of any rocks so you don't end up with holes in the bottom if a child jumps up and down.

I purchase a 9' round galvanized stock tank from Callahan's in Austin. They had a lot of larger dented tanks and a few with nail size holes. After speaking with Mike, he agreed to sell me a tank with holes and a few dents at a great price. Loaded the tank flat across the 8' bed of my F-250 and strapped it down for a 23 mile trek to the hill country in north western Travis county. What a trip!

My wife and I unloaded the tank and rolled it to the back of our property and put it in place. I repaired the holes with JB Weld and then prepped the interior for paint according to the information at the American Galvanizers Association. I cleaned it well with muratic acid, rinsed it, roughed it up with heavy scotch brite pads, rinsed again, wiped with lacquer thinner and then painted it with Monstaliner bed liner tinted paint (white and carolina blue).

We let the Monstaliner set up for 10 days. I filled the tank with 1000 gallons of water and all was great. It was important for us to save water (scarce and expensive) so we decided to treat it like a real pool. I purchased a Savior solar pool pump at a discounted price from Natural Current. Added a chlorinater, algecide and other chemicals so it tested out as a pool would. Of course a skimmer net comes in handy as well.

I must tell you it has worked out great. Even with 100 degree days the pool is great to relax in. The water stays cooler that one would expect maybe due to nights being cooler in the hill country. We will see how the Monstaliner holds up but if it anything like it does in my truck it will be fine.

Total cost about $750. A little less that the installation of a $40k pool!

Hope this helps someone.

How did the monstaliner hold up?

I was driving around in east Austin one time and saw a pickup bed with a blue tarp strapped down in the bed, it was full of water and they were lounging around in the water.