The only way to stop your stock tank pool from rusting

I was thrilled to get an email from a lovely couple who followed my stock tank swimming pool tutorial which is utilizing a pool liner to stop your stock tank pool from rusting and create a tropical oasis. Their old stock tank pool was rusting and had peeling paint. There is nothing better than hearing that your blog post helped someone!

We are still so in love with our tiny pool. It was the best thing we ever added to our small yard beside our DIY cat enclosure. We only have a sliver of a yard on our side of the duplex we live in but I do believe we make the best use of what we have. You can also check out my small yard landscaping ideas to see what else we added to our sloped yard.

The only way to stop your stock tank pool from rusting

That’s the number one question I see online and I figured out how! Well…

How do I keep my stock tank from rusting?

There is only one way that will work permanently to protect your stock tank pool from rusting which is a stock tank pool liner.  Leaving the galvanized metal untreated or painted won’t last longer since the pool chemicals or pool salt will eventually rust the galvanized metal or eat away at the paint.

I’m speaking from experience. Peeling paint on the stock tank pool is a big headache and you are faced with trying to figure out what to do with the mess. Stripping paint off a stock tank pool by hand or with chemicals is a big job and will damage the galvanized protective coating even more.

Essential supplies needed

• 8′ stock tank 
• 8 foot pool liner
• bamboo fence

Please read my stock tank swimming pool tutorial and video for detailed instructions and other materials used.

TIP: Make sure that the size of the pool liner matches the size of your stock tank

Stock Tank Pool Transformation

Julie was generous enough to let me use their images and even took a before photo of their stock tank pool that was rusty and had lots of areas where the paint was peeling.

Here is the before photo:

It reminds me of my failed attempts to paint our stock tank pool. Remember?

Just like us, they literally draped or let’s call it lined the stock tank pool with the pool liner like you would with a garbage can and plastic bag. That’s it! As I mentioned above, please read my tutorial and watch my video.

Differences to my tutorial

She and her husband followed my instructions with the only difference being that they didn’t have rocks surrounding the pool to keep everything in place and that they only cut holes into the liner for the water flow instead of the way I cut mine. Looking back I think the way they only cut out holes is a much better way.

They have rope keeping the bamboo in place at the back of the pool where the pump is connected. The stock tank pool liner they used is a solid color, our’s has a print.

Julie and her husband also purchased the same bamboo as I did and then cut it the same way we did.

They made sure to stain the bamboo with the same stain as us before adding the bamboo fence to the stock tank pool.

I also love how they used the leftover bamboo as edging around their beautiful tropical flower bed.

And here is their finished tropical stock tank pool with the liner and bamboo fence. I so wish I could have all these tropical plants in our yard too.

Here is a photo of how the stock tank pool looks at night:

And below is a reminder of what our little pool looks like:

So if you are in the same predicament as Julie and her husband and have an old stock tank pool that is rusting and peeling or if you are just starting out, then give my version of adding a pool liner to your stock tank pool a try.

We can’t wait to open our stock tank pool for the summer.

You should also check out Julie and her husband’s website. They are very gifted jazz musicians. I really love their music.

Tschüß,