Ok boys and girls the question of the day is for those of y'all using 275 gal water totes. How many days can you go between fill ups? How long does it take for the critters to empty your tank? I am north west of Abilene in some pretty dry country. Thanks in advance.

Depends on what all is using it, dry sparce country usually has a lower head count.

We just put out totes with floats on troughs. Before we had about a 20 gallon tub we filled, they would last about 2 weeks with no tote to refill them.

Spades, we are in Jones county up by noodle. have you looked at installing a water guzzler? Costs a little money, but NRCS may cost share. Pretty good way to keep a watering hole. Also, if you place has any old wells, slap a solar pump on there. For about $2k, you can get steady flow all the time.

Mine lasted all of June & July 1/2 August. I had a 200 gallon one with a float. Painted green, placed in the shade. During the winter 50 gallon's a month. Placed in area that I did not hunt, just a safe place for the deer to drink. Be sure you place rocks, etc in the water troth so that mice can get out if they fall in....and they will fall in. A dead rat in the water and the deer will stop drinking. One of the photo's that I like the best.

Spades: This is my setup in Edwards County. 2 -- 275 gallon totes tied together.

I filled up on July 2, they were empty on July 27-28 according to my camera. During the summer, they dont last very long, but in the winter, it'll last almost 3 months. Also, depends on rain.

I fill mine by gravity flow from the back of my truck, but hopefully that will change soon.

Edit to add: Forgot to mention, it's been dry for the last two months and we have lots of wildlife stop by.

You sure you don't have a leak?

Can hogs/livestock get to it?

No leak. I double checked last time out. Its fenced off, so cattle cant get to it. And NO hogs.

It was 100 degrees almost everyday there, and didn't get rain till the 24 or 25th.

During the winter months, it'll last around 3 months.

That's a lot of water. We have no livestock, they are fenced from hogs, and in the middle of the drought a few years ago a 20-30 gallon tub on its own would last 2 weeks without being filled.

nice setups

Yes it is, but its a real hot spot for wildlife. I was surprised it was dry, usually last 6 weeks or so in summer. But its really dry out there and with all the spring rains and tall grass now, I'm worried about fires.

The ranch just south of Merkel, has had lots of rain. The dry creek has ran all year and we stocked three tanks with fish, mainly to eat the mosquito larvae.

But I agree on building a water guzzler. Just don't forget to paint the tank black.

A buddy in Campwood put out a couple of trailers with water totes that gravity feed to a trough. I think he's getting a couple of months between fill ups but not sure about.

What I do know is that since the water was put, hogs have shown up. I've hunted there 25 years and saw 1 pig in that time. He's got 10-20 coming into the water everyday. Going down in 3 weeks to sling lead and give the deer a chance at the water.

Tiny bit of copper sulfate will keep the algae away.

What is the reason to paint the tank black?

We have had better luck with a chocolate colored paint...

To retard the Algae Growth

That's what I was thinking. Thanks!

Do y'all not put a roof over them with a gutter and downspout into the container? That's what we did. Works great.

Awesome setup...I was looking for something like this.

I think the roof is 8' x 6'. With one inch of rain it will catch 30 gallons. We made all of ours this size and wish we would have made them bigger and used bigger containers. In the summer when it doesn't rain much they go dry.

We have a float valve in a molasses tub for the deer to drink out of.

The deer use them though.

Thanks for all the input folks.

Is the trough under the roof? Seems like it may discourage use?

Will not affect them at all...Overthinking again

Guess I have a past of overthinking

Little shade and water. What else could they ask for. Maybe tie up a hot doe and add a little protein

I've got four 275 gallon totes on 460 acres and they've only been lasting around 2.5 weeks the past couple months. When November rolls around, they won't need to be refilled again until late March.