Welcome back for the third part of the stock tank pool journey, the set up!
Step 1: Preparation can be found here.
Step 2: Getting the Supplies can be found here.
Here are the main steps to get everything set up and ready to use. Set up took a little over two hours because I was using the silicone sealant, plus I watched several videos from different DIYers to ensure perfection — this was very much a measure twice, cut once situation. I’ll mention it again, the set up was very easy, it was obtaining the parts that was difficult and time consuming because so much was out of stock at the time or going for WAY above standard pricing.
- Level and prep the area and put your stock tank down.
Mine came with some bonus red sand so I turned it sideways and rinsed it with the water hose and a brush. I also rotated it counter clockwise so that the “HW Brand” signage was on the side.
2. Drill the two holes on the top and bottom of the tank for your inlet strainer (pulls water in) and jet nozzle (spurts water out) using the hole saw attachment. None of the videos really mentioned exactly where these holes should go so I just went with the most popular orientation – placing the two holes right above each other with the jet nozzle at the top and the strainer at the bottom in the same area. Use the FAST setting on your drill (2 if you have a Ryobi like me) and give it a little umph, and it will go pretty smoothly pretty quickly. If the hole saw attachment stops spinning, pull back on it slightly and just push forward again. Please use protective glasses because hot shards will come at your face.
3) Install the inlet strainer (bottom/pulls water in) and jet nozzle (top/spurts water out) with your washers. If you only use the two washers that come with the kit, you will put them on the inside of the tank. If you double up like I suggested in the previous post, you will use four washers, all touching the tank. Tighten this using your hands and tighten the jet nozzle enough so that the Air Jet Valve fits on. You may think this little nub thing is useless but will spill water out once you stop the pump so you will definitely need to install it and make sure it fits once you are done tightening. I speak from experience.
Optional: Use silicone sealant on both sides of the tank if do not have a firm seal. As a reminder, this is more necessary if you end up with a stock tank that has small grooves on the outside vs the more smoother version sold by Tractor Supply Company. The silicone sealant will cure in about thirty minutes if it not too humid. I did two rounds on each side, allowing the both applications to cure fully before proceeding. Grab some rubber gloves and paper towels, the sealant is simultaneously sticky and gooey. Treat it like caulk and smooth it around with your pointer finger.
4) Follow the directions that come with the pump to attach the hoses and the jet nozzle that comes in the set. The jet nozzle (again … top/spurts water out) will attach to the hose that goes in the round tower-looking part. The inlet strainer (again … bottom/pulls water in) will attach to shorter part of the pump that says “Intex” on top. Tighten everything by hand.
5) Fill the pool with water. You can be cautious or full on take the risk here depending on your confidence level. I was all in, so I went ahead and filled the entire pool. If you are a bit more of the cautious type, you can fill up until the bottom/inlet hole and see how your seal is doing.
The pool filled up fairly quickly, I was very excited so I didn’t exactly time it but I believe it was 30-45 minutes, tops.
6) Once the pool is full of water, it’s time to turn on the pump for the first time. Again, these steps are in the manual that come with the pump but if you are fully putting your trust in me at this point (WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?) it’s just a little trial and error. Plug the pump into your GCFI outlet and unscrew the little flower-looking knob on top of the filter tower a few turns. Turn the pump on and wait a few seconds as air comes out of the system and water starts to come out of the top of the tower. Screw the flower-looking knob back on fully and you will (hopefully) start to see water come out of the top jet nozzle.
Here are a few things that you may experience, there are additional troubleshooting steps in the manual:
No sound? Nothing happens? You may need to reset the plug, it has a reset and test button. Also check that you actually have power to your outlet.
Sound? No water? You have either reversed the hoses or you did not turn the plunger valves on. There are two, one attached to each hose at the back of the tank and you can see the lock/unlock options on the handle. Open those fully.
Water continues to leak out of the filter tower? I thought I had broken something or didn’t tighten one of the pieces fully. Instead, note that there are two washers (one inside the tower where the filter resides – it’s white and flimsy and one inside the flower-looking thingie -it’s tiny and black). Make sure you don’t accidentally knock them out during your set up process. Once I replaced the smaller one, after finding it on the ground staring at me in disgust, everything was perfectly dry and humming along.
7) Add your chlorine and let it chill overnight, setting the pump to run for a few hours. I added my floating rubber ducky chlorine dispenser and went to bed very satisfied. In the morning, I was tickled pink to find that there were no leaks!
Let’s conclude this post with a few questions that I have gotten about the set up:
How long do you need to run the filter? Google and associated math says that you should run it at least two hours a day. I normally also run it when we are in the pool because it feels nice. The pump isn’t very loud or distracting.
Should I paint or seal the pool? So you are looking at Pinterest and all of the fun painted pools! They are adorable! However, seasoned stock tank poolers agree that you should not paint or seal a brand new stock tank pool; the paint and sealant will just flake off because of the way the galvanized steel is created initially. After the top layer of the steel comes off, the paint will adhere much better and several have painted theirs after a few years or when they needed to do additional maintenance on the pool. It sounds like you will need a crap ton of spray if you do paint the pool. Good luck with that.
Speaking of maintenance, will it rust? It looks like the consensus is that it depends. It is less likely to do so in the first year if you do not drop a chlorine tablet inside the pool itself but it’s possible and the only way to solve it once that happens it to empty the tank, scrub out the rust and either seal it or try again until it rusts again(?). I’ll report back after some time, but please keep your fingers crossed for no rust.
Is it hot in the pool? Actually, I have experienced quite the opposite, it has been a bit chilly even on a 100 degree day! I should also note that it lives in a shaded area under a large pecan tree and I have added shade sail for additional coverage.
I’d like to leave you with the final image of my pool. Isn’t it just lovely?
But wait … there’s more! If you are a very visual person, there are several videos on YouTube on how to set up your stock tank pool and a few have additional nuggets of information, but they don’t differ too much overall. I will save you the time of watching them all (I took one for the team, don’t worry) and share the best one with you. Check out Ryan with Stock Tank Pools: