Keeping Your Stock Tank Pool Clean — Mid Modern Mama (2024)

What Chemicals & Equipment Do I Need?

We have opted for chlorine for our pool, but you can use salt water or bromide — all will work. If you are going to keep your pool full for more than a day or two, however, you will want to treat the water. I consulted our local spa store, and they put together a great kit of pool chemicals to get us started.

A stock tank pool is somewhere between a spa and a kiddie pool. It is a strange size — containing more water than an average spa. Ours has about 550 gallons of water. So getting the water just right takes some time. You will need to calculate the number of gallons in your tank, and you’ll need to learn about the basics of your water chemistry. This varies depending on where you get your water.

Every city is slightly different, and if you are on a well your water will vary even more. My local spa store was really helpful here, too. The woman I spoke with knew just what to expect from our city water, and she was quite helpful! I encourage you to consult a local expert to help you get the water chemistry right from the start — and to keep it safe and clean.

Here’s what’s in our water care kit:

• Rendezvous Spa Specialties: pH Down

• Rendezvous Spa Specialties: pH Up

• Rendezvous Spa Specialties: Alkalinity Up

• Leisure Time Filter Clean for Spas and Hot Tubs

• Regal Pool Care System 1” Chlorinated Tablets

• SpaPure Hardness Increaser

• SpaPure Chlorinating Granules

We purchased a few other items to help keep the pool sparkling clean and comfortable.

• Pool brush: to keep the pool clean, it should be scrubbed once or twice per week. A good pool brush will do the trick. No need to get a long handle. Just do the brushing while you are in the pool.

• Pool Skimmer: skim your pool each day to keep larger debris out of the filter and out of the water. Again, we didn’t even get a handle — just use the skimmer and skim the water before you get in.

• Hot Tub Blanket: so this is basically a big sheet of heavy-duty bubble wrap, but it serves three purposes. First, once it is cut to fit, it will help to keep out debris making keeping your pool clean even easier. But it also helps keep the water warmer — important here in Colorado where we have cool spells and colder nights — and it keeps the water from evaporating as quickly which helps the water chemistry stay consistent.

HOW TO MONITOR THE WATER IN A STOCK TANK POOL

When we had a swimming pool in Los Angeles, we also had a pool service. They came each week to check the water quality, added the necessary chemicals, and came out if we had a water quality issue. With our stock tank pool, however, that seems unnecessary. You might decide that’s the way to go for you, and if so: great! I know your local pool guy will be glad for the business.

We opted instead to try a high-tech solution to monitoring: pHin. This floating monitor stays in the pool and checks the water quality constantly. I get a notification on my phone if there is an issue as well as instructions for how to fix the issue. It’s great! If you are intimidated by the pool regulation process in any way, I highly recommend pHin. It makes everything super easy! Read my full product review of the pHin here.

Update: pHin is no longer available.

I replaced our pHin with My Sutro. Read more about it here!