There’s never been a better time to have a pool in Houston than this summer. As the heat dome continues its suffocating hold over Texas, many pool-deficient Houstonians are likely finding themselves staring forlornly at their waterless backyards, imagining how nice it would be if they had a pool in which to drown their heat-induced sorrows.

Unfortunately, not every homeowner has the budget or the space to put in an in-ground pool at home. For people in this predicament, a stock tank pool is an excellent way to have easy access to water without breaking the bank. Unlike in-ground pools, which can set you back anywhere from $30,000 to over $100,000, stock tank pools can be purchased and set up for under $5,000, with budget options costing less than $2,000. Although their original purpose is for cooling off cattle, the galvanized metal pools have proven to be just as effective at cooling off humans. 

Stock tank pools have always been trendy in DIY corners of the internet, but they exploded into the mainstream in the summer of 2020, when people stuck at home due to the pandemic realized their unplanned social sabbaticals could be far more pleasant if spent partially submerged in a pool—a margarita in one hand and a COVID test in the other. While many people turned to inflatables, folks looking for more permanent solutions discovered the unique appeal of stock tank pools, which provide a nice spot to cool off without having to take up too much space in a yard. Due to the demand, there are now several companies that supply them in the Houston area, including Cowboy Pools, Stock Tank Love, Swimming Holes by Schroeder & Co., and Houston Stock Tank Pools.

Husband-and-wife duo Aaron Weiss and Amanda Shaftel were early fans of stock tank pools and DIY’d their own prior to the pandemic. When the marketing professionals found their work slowing down in 2020, they decided to put the knowledge they gained from their own project to use by founding Cowboy Pools. The Austin-based company delivers and installs its stock tank pools in the Austin and Houston areas and ships DIY pool packages nationwide. 

“When we were introduced to the concept of stock tank pools, I personally was blown away by the idea that there was an affordable and easy pool out there that wasn't going to put you in debt and that you would actually be able to maintain yourself,” Shaftel says.

Despite their best efforts, however, Shaftel and Weiss ran into some challenges while DIY-ing their own pool, citing a lack of comprehensive resources available to prospective stock tank pool owners. After completing their install, the duo thought about how great it would be if they started a business to teach others their new skills. When COVID hit and they found themselves with more time on their hands, they decided to go for it. “We wanted to create a turnkey service for people who don’t want to worry about doing any of it themselves or accidentally messing up the tank while doing the install,” Weiss says. 

Cowboy Pools come in three sizes—six feet, eight feet, and 10 feet—which can fit anywhere from two to eight adults. The pool packages include a filter pump system, a floating chlorine dispenser, chlorine tablets, a maintenance kit, water chemistry test strips, and an automatic timer—meaning once a Cowboy Pool is installed, it’s good to be filled up with water right away. All of the added pool accoutrements also mean new pool owners aren’t having to research and acquire all of the necessary accessories themselves, saving them both time and potential headaches that could arise from accidentally ordering the wrong item. 

Ashley Beshara, a local photographer and interior design student who lives with her husband and two-year-old daughter in Cypress, jumped onto the stock tank pool train last year. “I love that they’re low maintenance, sturdy, and portable, so you can take them with you when you move,” she says.

Beshara had owned an inflatable previously, but she says having a galvanized one was a game changer. She acquired hers through Houston Stock Tank Pools. “You don’t have to worry about the water getting weird or where you are going to store your pool when you are done with it like you have to with an inflatable pool,” she says. 

Like many stock tank pool owners, Beshara installed hers herself after first preparing a space for it in her yard, a process that she notes was a bit exhausting and included lots of grass removal and laying of gravel. Fortunately, she was able to coax some friends over through the offer of some free beer to help her with the work. “It does require some pre-planning,” she notes. “You have to figure out where you’re going to put it and make sure the space is level and that you clear out the grass in that area.”

Now that her pool is fully installed and she’s had some time to live with it in her yard, she’s grown even more in love with it. She enjoys keeping it uncovered so she can see the water shimmering in the tank while spending time with her daughter in her backyard. “It was a no-brainer that we were going to have one since our backyard is not that big,” she says. “We love it, and my kid loves it too.”