Stock Tank Pool DIY

i turned this livestock tank into a pool and today i'm going to show you exactly how i did it [Music] i chose this location for a pool because it's private but still gets plenty of midday sun this is a temporary location for this pool so rather than using crushed rock or sand as the base i'm actually using high quality soil because by this time next year i plan on having vegetables growing here the first step is to create a nice smooth level platform for the pool a long straight 2x4 works great for ensuring the ground is smooth and level so here's the stock tank it's eight feet in diameter and two feet deep and was really easy to transport on top of the bed of my pickup truck as you can see it's also surprisingly lightweight and pretty easy to move because it's just a giant wheel most farm supply and feed stores sell these large stock tanks but due to the recent popularity of these stock tank pools the hardest part of this project was tracking one down with the tank in place i'll double check that it's level because once it's full it's going to weigh almost 6 000 pounds so any adjustments need to happen now so at this point i could just fill this stock tank with water and i would have a stock tank pool a very simple one and in fact that's what i've done the last couple of months just filled with water added a chlorine float skimmed off any leaves or sediment with a regular pool skimmer and it's worked great but over time the water did become a little bit murky probably because of sunscreen and that sort of thing so today i'm going to turn this into a true stock tank pool by installing a pump and i'll even show you how to incorporate a very simple vacuum hose right into the system so that you can vacuum up any of the sediment that doesn't make it to the pump this is the pump that i'm using it's an intex sand filter pump and i'll add a link to it in the description below so you can learn more about it if you're interested and i'll talk a little bit more about why i chose this pump later in the video but there are plenty of other options out there so chances are you might be using something completely different the pump comes with two inch and a half connection hoses and one inlet fitting i purchased these two plunger valves separately and i was unable to find an outlet fitting anywhere in stock so i made this diy outlet fitting from materials i found on my local hardware store for about 10 bucks and i'll show you exactly how i made it i'm also using a drill a three and one quarter inch hole saw a two and three quarter inch hole saw a tape measure and a pencil oh and a file i'll start by installing the inlet fitting this is where the water will re-enter the pool after being filtered in the pump it should be installed near the top edge of the pool but below the surface of the water i use the gasket to mark exactly where i need to drill the hole tapping a nail or screw in the center will keep the pilot bit from sliding around as i start to drill for the inlet valve i'm using this two and three quarter inch hole saw now i'll use a file to smooth out any of the rough edges [Music] this fitting should be installed with the gasket on the inside of the pool with the bleeder valve facing up i'll thread on the collar hand tight this plunger valve is not required but it's convenient because it allows me to stop the flow of water to the pump when necessary now i'll drill the hole for the outlet fitting which should be placed near the bottom of the pool and about a quarter of the way around the pool from the inlet fitting to optimize water circulation if you can find an inlet fitting that works with your pump buy it if not here's how i built mine this is just a regular shower drain but its design is very similar to a pool pump outlet fitting so all i have to do is attach this two inch male coupling so i can connect it to my pump hoses and i'll use abs glue to glue it all [Music] together i'm installing this outlet fitting with the gasket on the inside of the pool just as i did with the inlet fitting and i'll screw on this collar hand tight once again now for the optional diy hose vacuum connection when deciding whether or not you want to add something like this to your pump plumbing keep in mind that even with the best pump properly installed there will still be sand and sediment that accumulates in the bottom of the pool so adding something like this will make it much easier to keep clean for my vacuum manifold i'm using a two inch to three quarter inch t a two inch male fitting and a two inch female fitting and i'll connect those together with two pieces of abs pipe some glue and some primer [Music] for the valve i'm using this quarter turn hose bib this hose wand will work as my vacuum once i remove this strainer it even has its own on and off switch teflon tape like this should always be used on any threaded coupling that doesn't seat to a gasket [Music] i'll connect this plunger valve just past the vacuum manifold all right it's time to sweep up those metal shavings and fill her up to check for leaks and we've got a leak so you can see here there's a little bit of water leaking from the back side of my outlet fitting so i removed it and added this additional gasket to the outside of the pool then filled it again with this additional gasket in place i've got no leaks all right let's keep filling her up now it's time to install the filter pump the pump needs to rest on a sturdy level surface so i'm just using this small pallet and i'm concealing it in the hedge behind the stock tank as i said there are a lot of different options of pumps to choose from but i think the biggest consideration is whether you want a pump that has a disposable filter or a sand pump like this i chose the sand pump because basically i filled this big basin with sand and it only needs to be changed every six years whereas with a filter pump most of them have disposable filters that you need to switch out every month so even though this pump costs more up front it'll save me time and money in the long run and it's way less waste going into landfill the reason i'm not explaining exactly how i'm setting this pump up is because you might be using a completely different pump and it comes with really clear simple instructions so if you get this pump and probably any other intex pump you'll see that it's actually very simple to set up basically i'm just connecting one hose to the inlet and one hose to the outlet and then i'm opening these plunger valves now i'll just plug it in turn it on and we're good to go all right let me show you how this vacuum hose works real quick before i test out the pool basically this will work because of something called the venturi effect when the pump is running and water is flowing through this pipe if i open this valve it creates a suction in this hose so i can use this hose wand to vacuum up all of the sediment that doesn't make it into the filter pump and when i cover the outlet strainer with my hand or another object it increases the suction there's not much sediment yet and it's kind of hard to see here so let me show you how it works with a piece of paper [Music] there you have it [Music] all right i guess it's time to test it out all right not bad [Music] oh that was refreshing i hope you enjoyed this video if you did hit that like button if you want to see lots of gardening videos and the occasional diy project like this consider subscribing if you have any questions at all ask them in the comments below and otherwise we'll see you all next [Music] time

Channel: Urban Farmstead

Views: 844,997

Rating: 4.9429688 out of 5

Keywords: stock tank pool, stocktank pool, stocktank, stock tank, how to make a stock tank pool, how to build, how to, diy stock tank pool, backyard projects, backyard diy, diy pool, easy diy pool, above ground pool, tank pool, stock tank pool pump

Id: WXE_cDO_8VE

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 06 2020