Stock tank swimming pool

[Wlmedley]

I'm probably going to be watching my grandson quite a bit this summer being my DIL is having trouble finding a daycare center for him. He is 5 years old and hard for me to keep up with especially because my wife can't really help . He loves the water so I'm going to try and convert this stock tank into a pool for him to play in. It's only 2' deep but it's 8' wide and holds around 700 gallons of water. I bought a roll of peel and seal roofing and plan to put it on the bottom and up the sides a ways to hopefully prevent any leaks. I've got a little bit of cedar that I plan to build a small deck so he can get in and out easily. Wondering if anyone has rigged up something like this?

[SawyerTed]

Look at Henry's RV Roof Coating at one of the home improvement box stores.  It will be easier than the peel and stick roofing. 

[Nebraska]

When I have helped install them for their normal purpose we usually put a gravel pad under them to level them and help with drainage. In my youth I'm sure I swam in a couple. 

[doc henderson]

The ones I got into were green and slimy.  I would check for sharp parts at the seams.  It should not leak initially although not sure if ones made today are as good as the old ones of yesteryear.  I would get a floating chlorine dispenser, so the water is clear and not smelly.  If you have a garden, you might put it close enough that a water change can go on the garden, after letting the Cl concentration go down.  If you build a deck and have younger grandkids, or neighbor kids, you might put a gate and railing so someone else cannot get in it by accident.  heck maybe have the slide land in it.  

[Wlmedley]

I've been doing a little research into setting the thing up. Seems that a lot of people have been making a pool out of these tanks and there are filtration pumps and chlorine tablets that can be used to keep them clean. I only have the one grandchild and he's big enough so that 2' deep should be safe for him although I'll have to keep a close eye on him. Probably would have been cheaper to have just bought a big plastic swimming pool but I don't like the looks of them and thought that later on I could use this for something else. Good idea on the gravel pad to get it level. I've got a pile of gravel I use to keep my driveway in good shape so I'll use some of that. Who knows maybe I'll take a dip this summer from time to time . 

[Raider Bill]

Put it under a tree branch so he can have a swinging rope.

[barbender]

Don't take too much advice from these guys, or soon you'll have a whole water park made out of items from Tractor Supply😂

[Brad_bb]

Better to have grandson with you than daycare.  Always better with people that love him.  And you can teach him stuff.  

[aigheadish]

I just had a cheap above ground pool and I'm sure you can retro-fit any kind of filtration into it. I got a saltwater filter for mine, pour a bag of water softener salt in and turn the machine on and it cranks out nice, clean water without messing around with chlorine, as I understand it the salt turned into a kind of chlorine, but I never smelled it or experienced any eye burning, like I do with chlorine. 

The salt in mine would last a season, probably 3 or so bags, but my pool was probably three or four times bigger, and every other week or so take the titanium (I think) plates out and soak them in vinegar for a couple hours to remove the salt build-up, good as new after that. I would turn a greening pool clear in a few hours. 

I think this is a neat project! I want a small feed trough for a cold tub in the summer, until I can convince myself to spend the money to seal up the pond so I can swim in that. 

[SawyerTed]

Keep in mind chlorine and salt are corrosive.  That Rv roof coating will help separate the metal from the chemicals as well as seal seams.  It also will help provide a little traction on the wet bottom instead of slick metal.   

Use white roof seal.    

To help the water warm up, a sheet of clean black plastic floating on pool noodles works.  It's light weight and storable.   "Solar covers" for pools are just big sheets of bubble wrap.  Either a sheet of black plastic or a solar cover will help keep leaves and stuff out.  

[Big_eddy]

A small pond/ fountain pump and filter setup would probably be enough for a stock tank pool. Simple and easy. Submersible. Pull it out to swim,  Toss it back in when you're done. An extension cord on an outside GFI and you're done.

Or,
Used Pool pump and filters are often available on Marketplace or similar for cheap after people give upon their pool or the liner fails.

[aigheadish]

I may even have a cartridge filter option sitting around, never used, if you are interested. It came with the pool I got but we opted for the sand filtration unit instead. Not sure if my wife ever threw it away, if it was in the shed it's still there because she doesn't go in there much- eek, mice!