This Christmas I want to spoil myself with some new big stock tanks. Yes i sure know how to have a good time… Do you prefer the rubbermaid / plastic type or the galvanized behlen type? I’ve never had anything other than plastic…am i missing out on a better option?
How big? I am happy with my Rubbermaid 100 gallon tanks. I do have one metal tank… but I got it for a chick brooder, not for water. 
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I have both. I vastly prefer the Rubbermaid. My horses love the galvanized, I think they like the water flavor from the metal, but I got really tired of patching pinholes. It’s not hard, I just epoxied them, but a waste of water & time. Both my galvanized tanks are now laying outside pastures until I decide what to convert them to.
The Rubbermaid can also definitely take a lot of abuse. My young horse chews on EVERYTHING, so that is a necessary feature.
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I use a black Rubbermaid in the winter. I think the black absorbs the sun/heat and helps with ice (I also use a sinking heater). In the summer I switch to metal for the same reason, I think the metal reflects the sun and the water stays cooler.
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I have a 400 gallon plastic stock tank or kids swimming pool. Not really sure which. A friend gave it to me. It’s very old but seems to do just fine. I’ve debated about putting fish in it, but so far it hasn’t been too difficult to dump and clean. You just unscrew the plug and it empties. I keep it on a hill to make it easier to drain. I scrub it, scoop the remaining water with a feed scoop and whatever is left is taken out with rag towels. Works really well and not as difficult as i expected to keep clean. Compared to scrubbing multiple muck tubs, i prefer the pool.
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I have three Rubbermaid tanks - 75, 100 and 150 gallons. When the 150 gallon is totally full of water, it is very hard to tip over by myself to clean. I have to bail out some water first. So I wouldn’t get one any bigger than 150 gallons. Put liberal pipe tape on the threads of the plug. Mine never leak. Fairly easy to clean and they are very durable - mine are 19 years old (and I’m in a state where we have plenty of freezing weather).
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I’ve had the Rubbermaid tanks for about 20 years and have been very pleased with them. I can second the liberal plumber’s tape. I use the plug in heaters.
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There are several manufacturers of plastic tanks. My 100 gallon Rubbermaid tanks have served for 23 years. A friend’s galvanized steel tank leaked after 4 years. I favor the Rubbermaid since they’re a foamed poly material. The other solid poly tanks seem to crack.
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I should have also mentioned that I have 1 High Country Plastics tank (its green, 100 gallons) - about the same age as my Rubbermaid tanks. Never leaked. Very easy to clean (very smooth surface). BUT, the green plastic its made of is not opaque - it lets a lot of light in on sunny days. This is a nightmare in summer here. Its grows more algae and funk in summer that my other 3 tanks combined. Would not recommend it (and I’ll never get another one).
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@4LeafCloverFarm Weird… for the past 15yrs my “trough” has been a 50gal, foodgrade plastic barrel.
It is white & lets in plenty light, but despite being set in full sun, algae is not the problem, for me, It’s the scale from my iron-rich well water. Eventually flakes off (mostly) when I dump & scrub, but doesn’t seem to deter horses from drinking.
For my Herd of 3 - horse, pony, mini - it seldom needs more than topping off with a couple buckets.
I use a sinking de-icer when temps go below 40F.
I have 60gal galvanized tank that serves as a pond for my gold(fish)trout. Going on 10yrs sitting outdoors year-round.
@wildlifer ??? No problem with pinholes - mfr is Tarter. Maybe because it never experienced horse usage?
I use a floating de-icer in this one.
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@2DogsFarm - the difference may be that your rain barrel has a fairly small water surface? (as compared to my large 100 gallon tank with sloped sides - larger at top than bottom) I dunno. I just know that every 4ish days, it has to be dumped and scrubbed, as the algae bloom in it gets gross (brown and green algae). Don’t think the horses give a hoot, but its slimy and nasty on the sides, with bothers me! lol
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I have a 75g galvanized Behlen going on 8 or 9 years now - no leaks, no problems. I use a sinking tank deicer in the winter, so no issues with the drain plug.
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I prefer the galvanized metal because they are easier to clean and I like the look better, but… my horse who loved to play in the water damaged one of them and caused it to leak so I am actually using the rubber ones. I think they are about 40 or 50 gallon sized.
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I have 3 300 gallon rubbermaid stock tanks. I am very pleased with them. I keep goldfish in them to keep the algae down. I top them up regularly but almost never dump them.
The first one did spring a leak via a small crack because the ground under it got all twisted. I was able to repair it after I drained it and moved it and it is still in use. Taking a moment to level and compact the ground before you place it is probably worth it.
What I love about these tanks is that my horses can have water for a week or two even in summer even if I cannot fill them, like say during an extended power outage or because we were evacuated for a fire (in one case both). I also love that the horses have water under ordinary circumstances, like I’ve come home late after a fun day away, and that I don’t have to fill them every single day.
You can install automatic valves on them as well and leave them permanently attached to a hose.
I also provide my horses with buckets that are easy to clean and refill. Having two water sources means that there’s always something good enough for them, and I’m covered if something breaks or the buckets get fouled. That said, my mare used to always leave her stall in the morning with the fresh and filled water bucket and head straight for the fish water, where she’d take a nice long drink.
These tanks are too tall for sheep, so for them I have the Tuff Stuff 40 gallon rubber tubs that are easy to tip and refill. Again, I’ve found it very useful to have those in addition to buckets, and in the enclosure with a lot of sheep, two of them. These are heavy enough for horses but you’d be spilling water out of them pretty regularly to keep them clean.
Our ice issues are at most an inch of ice overnight on top which I can break with a hay hook, so I don’t need a deicer.
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Thank you all! It looks like rubbermaid will be best for my crew - now i hope for some boxing day sales 
I also use Rubbermaid types - the unrelenting Texas sun makes metal a scalding hot safety hazard.
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Mine is probably older than that, it was given to me. It did pretty well for a few years, but then just kept springing leaks. I do have really hard water.
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I’m curious, for those that keep fish in their trough to keep algae at bay, is fish poop worse then algae? How does that work? Do you have to feed the fish?
I don’t feed the fish once they’re established. The fish seem to do fine and get pretty big! Sediment accumulates at the bottom - which of course includes poop - but the system in my pasture seems to get to a nice equilibrium where everyone is happy. Every year or so I let it get low and scoop out some sediment. The water looks cleaner with this system than the sheep tanks I have where I fill and spill them a couple times a week - of course that’s not scientific or diagnostic. However, my horses seem pretty healthy and I’ve been doing this for 15 years.
One of the reasons this works, I think, is because the tanks are so big. I wouldn’t try it with anything smaller than the 300 gallon personally.
Also of note: I have well water and it’s fairly acidic. I do feed these tanks from our drinking water tank that has an ozone treatment system.
My biggest fish grew from the typical 1 1/2" goldfish to around 8"!
As I mentioned, I try to make sure every pasture has at least two water sources, and that one of them is easy to clean and refill. I pay attention to what happens to the water level in both, which is one of the reasons I’ve elected not to have mine set up to automatically refill. If the animals aren’t drinking from a particular tank, that’s something I need to worry about.
By the way, fully onboard with the OP’s plan of this as an xmas present. Really, my stock tanks make my everyday life so much better. Stock tanks and a load of gravel are two of my favorite gifts ever.
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