Hi everyone! As you can see this tutorial is a little different from my usual… But it’s still a DIY project so it counts 🙂
My husband and I live in the desert, and I have been wanting a pool since we moved here in 2013. When we would drive through town we’d see big metal stock tanks at Tractor Supply and he would joke that that could be my pool. We would have a good laugh about it, and then go about our business. Little did we know people were actually doing this! So we watched a few videos, read a few blogs, and decided it was a fantastic idea!
We went to our local Tractor Supply to buy a stock tank (we got an 8-foot tank) and the woman at customer service burst into laughter. It turns out we were the 167th (!!!) customer to order one, and it was only mid June. So we got on the waiting list, which locked in the price and ended up saving us $40 by the time our number was called in late August.
Tractor Supply offered local delivery for an extra $70, so that saved us from having to rent a truck or trailer and figuring out how to strap it down ourselves. If your local Tractor Supply offers this, take it!
After the tank was delivered I washed it down with Dawn dish detergent to remove any grease. Then I rinsed it really well and let it try in the sun.
The tanks are pretty light weight, they’re just big. Two people can easily move the tank around. you just lift it up onto its side and roll it where ever you need it.
We rolled it into our back patio and left it upside down over night to keep dirt and bugs out of it until we were ready for the next step in the morning.
We used Pond Shield epoxy pond liner to seal and protect the stock pond from rust. It comes in a range of colors, including black if you want to really heat up the water. Since we live in the desert I was worried black would make it too hot, so I ordered 2 kits in the sky blue finish.
I’ve mentioned a few times that we live in the desert, and the tank got delivered in late August. So our days were in the hundreds, and nights only cooled off to 75 degrees…at dawn. Epoxy is heat sensitive, so you’ll lose working time the warmer it is. The ideal temperature for doing epoxy work is 73 degrees, and by 8am it was going to be 80 degrees so we already had a small window of not-quite-ideal working temperature. So we refrigerated the two kits of epoxy overnight to extend the working time.
**Pro Tip: Epoxy can be refrigerated to extend the working time!**
Just as it was getting light outside we started prepping for the epoxy coating.
We put plastic down on our work surfaces and gathered the paint rollers, mixing sticks, mixing cups, and rubber gloves.
At about 6:30 am I used 99% alcohol to do one final clean of the tank. This stuff is hard to find, but you can get it at a makeup effects supply company like frendsbeautysupply.com. You’ll probably need about 16 oz, because you’ll be using more later.
Epoxy is a two-part material. When you open the components, stir each one with its own mixing stick. We split the first kit into two batches. We added a quarter cup of 99% alcohol to half of part B and mixed them together thoroughly. Then we added half of part A to that and mixed for one minute. Count the seconds for accuracy or use a timer, and scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing container as you go. We used disposable containers and paint sticks because they’ll be ruined.
We decided to coat the sides first so I could be in the tank while my husband was mixing and pouring the epoxy along the top edge. We used 6” foam rollers so it wouldn’t absorb too much of the epoxy, although they did fall apart quickly so get more than you think you need! We had a 5 pack and could have used a few more.
My husband poured the epoxy along the edge and I tried to spread it to get as much coverage as possible, as quickly as possible.
Even though this is non-toxic, it’s still messy so I’d recommend wearing gloves. Small cleanup can be done with 99% alcohol.
The pond liner kit recommended sanding the metal. We didn’t do this step. The stock pond is galvanized so it’s already resistant to rust. Sanding would have helped the epoxy adhere but would have compromised the zinc coating. So we’ll see how it holds up! As of writing this it has been 7 weeks and there’s no sign of the epoxy failing 🙂
This first batch of epoxy went on a little after 6:30am, then Ralis mixed the second half of the first kit the same way as the first batch, and we were done with the sides in about a half hour. We got pretty good coverage, but there are some thin spots at the bottom.
Ralis also went along the top edge with a disposable paint brush that he had super-glued the bristles into ahead of time.
For the bottom we did the whole second kit at once. We added a half-cup of alcohol to part B and mixed it thoroughly. Then added all of part A and mixed for one minute. We poured a thin stream over the bottom instead of pouring it in one big puddle because it’s thick and hard to spread. We put one of the rollers on a pole and spread the epoxy. I was able to use some of that epoxy to touch up the thin areas on the walls.
We considered getting a third kit of epoxy so we would have more coverage, but it’s pretty expensive so we did our best to spread the two kits around as much as possible!
After about 20 minutes the bottom was covered. By the time we cleaned up it was almost 8am and already 80 degrees, just as scheduled.
The epoxy has to cure for 24 hours before you can add water, so we let it sit and I got to work prepping the location of the pool.
I had already decided where in the yard I wanted it, which was exactly where our laundry grey water let-out is. We had made a nice little moat and planted some wild sunflowers, and also piled a bunch of dirt from another project right where I wanted the pool to go, so I had a lot of prep work to do there.
I dug a new trench for the grey water and we put new ABS pipe down to direct it along the back fence where we’ll plant some trees. Then I cut down the sunflowers – don’t worry they had all gone to see by this point, and I left the heads out for the birds to finish picking clean.
Then I filled in the moat and started leveling the dirt. Our lot is sloped, but I didn’t realize how much until I got a 6’ level. I ended up raising the low side about an inch at a time, then hose it down and tamp it, check for level, nope, still needs another inch. I did this at least 4 times over the course of a day and a half.
When it was finally level we rolled the pool into place. Well my husband rolled it, I just watched. We positioned it with enough room behind it for trees and a deck that we’ll eventually build around it. When we were both happy with the spot I marked around the circumference about 2 to 3 inches away from the sides and we moved the pool away so we could put down some gravel for drainage.
We got pea gravel from our local Home Depot. A bag of gravel is cheap but it doesn’t cover much space and each bag weighs 50 pounds! To find the square footage of a circle you use the formula pi x (diameter/2) squared. Our stock tank is 8’ wide, so divided by 2 is 4, squared would be 4×4 which is 16. 16 times pi, which is about 3.14, comes out to about 50 sf.
I checked the load limit of my car and decided it could only handle 6 bags at a time. 17 bags would have given us about 2” of coverage, which seemed like too much, so we went with only 12 bags (and two trips to Home Depot) and it was perfect.
I raked the gravel to get even coverage, checked it for level, and then we rolled the pool back into position, making sure the drain was where we would want it later.
I vacuumed out the debris that had blown into the pool and wiped it out, then plopped in a hose.
We saw a lot of other people using pool noodles for the top edge which is such a great idea! We got them at a dollar store back in June when we ordered the stock tank, so we had them ready to go. For an 8’ tank we needed 6 noodles. Peel off the sticker, use a similar colored sharpie to mark a line, and then use a retractable blade, making sure it will cut through to the center, and cut along your mark.
Then finagle it over the lip of the pool and you’re all set!
At least for now. We’re going to add a pump and some decorations, so I’ll make another post to go over that, but here’s what we’ve spent so far:
8′ Stock Tank from Tractor Supply: $400 (the price fluctuates depending on season)
Delivery (totally worth it): $70
Pond Shield (sky blue), 2 kits: $140
Pea Gravel, 12 bags: $60
Pool Noodles, x6: 12
Oh yeah and $10 for the rollers, $5 for my flamingo floaty, $10 for a tarp to use as a temporary cover, plus the stuff we already had like gloves, disposable containers, a 6’ level, rakes, tamper, bungee cords to hold the tarp on…
So we’re already over $700.
But it’s way cheaper than a full size pool, it’s way less water too, and it’s really the perfect size for us. My only regret is that we didn’t think of this sooner!!!
