We’ve had the stock tank pool up and running for almost a month now, and we’ve had people ask us how’s it going. There’s a few things we’ve learned along the way, and a few things we would change:
- Level, Level and then Level Some More. I know you’ve heard the saying “measure twice, cut once.” Well, it sorta applies here too. Level twice and fill once. It’s a pain, but I would suggest maybe even placing your pool on the sand spot and then climb in it an walk around. You’ll be able to feel the spots where the pool maybe dipping and need more sand. Also place the level in the empty pool and make sure it’s all good. Ours is slightly uneven and un-level, but it’s not a big deal. Maybe when we drain it in the fall, we will pick it up and level it out a little better.
2. Buy Scale Remover (along with all your other pool cleaner products). We filled our pool with water from the garden hose, put chlorine in it, and then ran the pump for an hour or two. The water was clear at first, but by the third day or so, we noticed it had a chalky/oily film on top of it. We could remove it with the pool skimmer, but it was still not quite right. After doing some internet research and ordering a scum bug (which did nothing), we tried a few drops of de-scaler. WHA-LA! It worked. I think our problem had something to do with the metal tub and the chlorine and the Houston water mixing? IDK, but the de-scaler did the trick. Now our water is crystal clear and we just drop a little in the pool and run the filter every three weeks or so (or if it gets scummy).
3. I don’t recommend our pump… I’m not sure if there’s another/better one out there, but ours is just okay. We have to clean out the filter constantly! If there’s a bigger and better pump out there, I wish we would have bought that.
UPDATE 7/27/2020: We discovered a way to make our pump work flawlessly! Check out our post about it here: https://danaplusdavid.com/2020/07/27/get-your-intex-krystal-clear-cartridge-filter-pump-working-on-your-stock-tank-pool/
4. Do Buy an Outdoor Plug Timer for the filter. That way you don’t have to remember to plug in and run the filter everyday. Plus you’ll have peace of mind that you turned it off. We’ve had a few late nights where we thought- dang, did we unplug the pool filter before we hopped in bed?
5. Don’t Mulch Around the Pool – especially if you have a dog or a tree in the area. I thought I would love the mulch. I thought it would solve all my aesthetic and budget problems. It solved neither. Thanks to the dog, the black mulch is always spilling over into our green grass. And thanks to our oak tree, there are always brown leaves in my clean black mulch area and they’re impossible to get out. Hand picking them takes too much time and the leaf blower just blows the mulch away with the leaves. Lose lose. Also, the mulch sticks to the bottom of your feet, so it often ends up in the pool. Next year, I hope to replace the black mulch with black rocks.
6. David’s Pump Installation Method Works! We didn’t use any of that goopy sealer stuff and we have had zero leaks!
Other random ramblings:
- Get a floatie (or two)! It’s soooo nice bobbing around in the water on a hot day. Two adults can easily float on top of the pool.
- I’m thinking of getting a pool vacuum. Our pool sits near a tree and we always have leaves, sticks etc. hang’n around the pool bottom. We can get most of it out by using a pool skimmer, but I might splurge and get a fancy vacuum. Anyone have suggestions?
- Everyone asks if the pool gets hot. So far, my answer is NO! We’ve had two weeks of almost 100 degree weather here in Houston, and the pool is still cool.
- We added some solar lights around the bottom of the pool, and strung some bistro lights above it. I’m loving how it all looks at night.
Want to see how the whole pool area ended up looking? Click to see our next post here:
