P.S.

I was thinking about this more, and maybe I don't need any kind of expensive liner...........just enough to get me through the season. When the season is over, I would empty the stocktank, take out the liner and turn the stocktank over. Of course, I would really like to reuse the plastic, but maybe for what I need, I shouldn't spend too much on it. ?? Its just that one darned crack that's causing the problem.

Since you are just using it for one season I would recommend just using a cheap plastic or vinyl liner. If you plan to set pots inside I would use some sort of buffering material since plastic and vinyl are more prone to damage than EPDM.

You can determine the size by measuring the width, the length and the height. Multiple the depth times 2 and add at least 2 feet to that. Now take that figure and add the width. This will be the width of the liner you need. Also add it to the length and that will five you the length. Ex: your tank is 3 feet wide, 5 feet long, and 2.5 feet deep. 2 x 2.5 = 5 plus 2 = 7. 7 + 3 (the width) = 10 and 7 + 5 ( the length) = 12. So the minimum size for a liner to fit your tank would be 10' x 12' in this example.

I have a similar problem with a rubbermaid stock tank and I have used and kinds of patching material to fix it but like yours it just comes back. I plan to just turn it into a planting bed for some veggies or flowers.

Good luck

Thanks cherokee_joeshoeboot! That helps alot.
I have a couple 100 gallon Rubbermaid tanks that got cracked, and I considered turning them into a raised veggie bed.......but dang......it takes alot of soil! When you turn yours into a planting bed, do you think you'll drill holes in the bottom?
It definitely would be a nice height to work at, taking care of flowers and veggies. I hate leaning over! I've gotten into using alot of vertical trellises in my garden for that reason.
Thanks again!

Can you tell me what you tried to patch it with? Mine just got a crack in it and I was hoping to patch it. I made a patch in a plastic pond liner with silicone and liner fabric that held for many years. Would this not work?

You don't have to completely fill them with soil unless that is what you want to do. In deep containers like that I use an old trick that I learned years ago for BIG flower pots. I fill the bottom of them with some sort of other non organic material, Like old busted up blocks, shipping peanuts from stuff you receive. I even bust up the Styrofoam packing material from boxes of things you buy. Use your imagination to fill it up. I usually fill to within about a foot of the top and then fill the rest with good garden soil. Works really well for me.

Oh, you may need to top off the soil as it settles into the fill material. Sometimes I put a layer of plastic bags from Walmart or the grocery store on top of the fill to minimize this.

Hi
Something I've used for filler is plastic soda bottles . They take up a lot of room and they're free lol. A layer ofl landscape fabric between the bottles and soil allows for drainage yet keeps the soil from settling.
Keep the lids on the bottles keeps them from crushing as well as keeps water, bugs out. gary

Thanks Cherokee and gary.
Frankielynn........I used something that I got at Menards several years ago. I believe it came in 2 tubes and I mixed it together and applied it, then used a heat gun on it. They weren't carrying it any more.
The cracks in 2 of mine were towards the bottom. I think there's just so much water pressure on the cracks, especially when they're near the bottom, that it just didn't hold.
You can search on google for something like "repairing leaks on poly stocktanks" and they have several possible fixes. Good luck!

How about using plumber's putty.

Holly........I don't think its meant to hold back the weight of alot of water. The pressure of 300 gallons of water is pretty high.

Hi
I've tried several ways to fix a rain barrel with no luck . Last was "gorilla glue " Though it worked for several days the crack expanded and now leaks fro the new area lol
If you find anything that works please share ?? gary

I have tried the spray-on black rubber sealer this weekend on my cracked stock tank. The lady that helped us had a 5 gal. bucket that they had poked holes in with a screw driver that they had repaired to see if it worked. Time will tell. I have put 6 coats on both sides. It is a fascinating product and I have thought of several other places to try it out.

It doesn't have a lot of directions-if you use it for anything know that--it bubbles a lot after spraying and then flattens out, needs to be sprayed on something right below it or it sags(even with light coats)-not good to spray up or sideways. I used a finger to smooth out the sags from the first spray and it did wash/rub off with out too much trouble before it was dry. Be sure to clear the spray nozzle after each spraying session.

Well, that didn't work. Once the tub was full the water pressure was too much pressure for the repair. I have done repairs with silicon and line fabric patches. I guess I will try that next. uuuugggg I hate to loose the tub. It is the perfect size for that area. And I don't want to buy a new one.

If the pressure is opening the crack further, none of these patches are going to hold. You'll need to strengthen the tub, then apply the patch material. I suppose you could use a ratcheting tie-down to hold the tub together and then patch with silicon or the spray runner, etc. None of these patches will hold back 2,000lbs. +/- of water pressure if the metal tub is flexing.

I have been reading about fixing this kind of hard plastic tub and some say it is weldable but I don't have the equipment. Rubbermaid said use JB weld and others have tried marine epoxy. It says to flash heat the area so stuff will stick. I went out and scraped my finger nail over the spray on rubber and it peels right off so next I will heat and try the marine epoxy. It says to drill a tiny hole at the ends of the crack to keep it from continuing.

I will at least have gotten an education during this experience. The crack is only 1 1/4" on a raised rib next to the bottom edge of the tub. It just seeps when filled with water until it gets half empty and then stops. I guess the water weight is decreased enough to allow the crack to come back together.