Stock Tank Swimming Pool

** I'm not paid for any of this, any opinions here are my own, and you should absolutely consult your product manuals for your specific set up.  Your mileage may vary **

A couple of years ago we added a stock tank pool.  With the stay home orders and all of the pools closed during the pandemic we needed something that would let us cool off in the summer. Enter the stock tank!  Now that we are allowed to go out again I found that I'm still in love with this and the convenience of having it right in my back yard.

The stock tank is 8' across so we can fit two full size floaties for some prime relaxing and the maintenance was super low.  All it took was a chlorine float, a skimming net for the big stuff, and a vacuum for the fine sediment (I love this one from Intex).  We added some solar fountains, both for fun and also to keep the water moving to prevent mosquitoes.

It used to be SO easy to keep clean.  Then we got a puppy, who is now a year old and 140#.  She learned how to climb into the pool and I could NOT keep it clean enough with her getting in and out several times a day.

In fact, with all of the pollen she turned the newly filled pool (less than 24 hours) into this:

While not dirty exactly, and certainly not algae or anything, it wasn't very appealing to swim in.  So, I bought myself a pump.  But remember, this is our third season with this pool and while it was totally big enough for my husband and I, and the occasional teenager who joined us, it's not big enough with the dog, haha.  So I would love to buy the 10' poly pool but unfortunately that is not available within a 10 hour drive (seriously, I have to go to Boise, Colorado, L.A., or Texas if I want one because they don't ship to Northern Nevada and no one here carries it, sigh).  That means the larger one isn't in the cards until I can arrange a road trip.  It also means that I need to put the pump hoses over the side rather than drill holes so I can sell this one on the used market later when I DO get a big one.

Off to Home Depot! My pool hoses worked with the 2" ABS pipe fittings (with the help of a couple of added gaskets, trimmed with scissors).  Here is specifically what I bought:

A quick trim of some 2" pipe with the sawzall (my pipe cutters weren't big enough) and I had this:

 

I still have some work to do hiding the pump and I want to make new seating around the edge but the water is once again beautiful and ready for a dip on those hot days!  If you are trying to replicate this your pipe size may vary if you have a different pump so you may want to use a different size of pipe or use adapters to get to this size (hint, I just took a hose to Home Depot with me to try it out right there).  I also have a fountain coming that will hook into this so I will be adding a bypass (with a shut off valve) in the near future.

Happy swimming!