Pond Liner..where/whos best to get it from?

paddy147

Where is the best place to buy a large sheet (around 9 meters x 5 meters) of pond liner?

Good propper liner that will more or less last a lifetime too.

Any reccomendations please?

Thanks in advance.:)





PS-Wheres "ponddigger" when you need him??;):D

redser7

Reading my mind, interested in this too as planning one soon.

(Dont mean to highjack the thread, but butyl looks very dear, how about heavy gauge builders plastic, say 1000+? I know it will give out eventually but would you get a few years out of it?)

Thunderbird2

Butyl is expensive but its guranteed for life when used with an underlay ( you won't have to pull up the rock work below the water line ). There's also green seal and Firestone . I had samples sent out from www.pondkeeper.co.uk
There own brand flexi liner is as thin as a ground sheet and looks and feels like you'd get the year out of it

magicbastarder

there's a place out in ballyboughal in north dublin which i heard is good.

paddy147

magicbastarder wrote: »

there's a place out in ballyboughal in north dublin which i heard is good.

Pondworld...Its up the road just past Tullys Nurseries.

But its hard to track down the comapny owner and get in to view their place and stock..:(

paddy147

From Googling it.."firestone" seems to be the one eveyone is using.

1mm thick and good for up to 50 years.

Thunderbird2

paddy147 wrote: »

From Googling it.."firestone" seems to be the one eveyone is using.

1mm thick and good for up to 50 years.

Looks and feels the same as butyl and greenseal

paddy147

redser7 wrote: »

Reading my mind, interested in this too as planning one soon.

(Dont mean to highjack the thread, but butyl looks very dear, how about heavy gauge builders plastic, say 1000+? I know it will give out eventually but would you get a few years out of it?)

Not a hope in hell of using bulders plastic.

Also,if it leaked in a few years time,,,then the sh!t would really hit the fan for me.:eek::(:D



You aint hijacking either.......All ideas and questions are wellcome.:D

paddy147

Thunderbird2 wrote: »

Looks and feels the same as butyl and greenseal

You just recently built your own pond,from what I can remember??:)

Any tips on a lining the pond hole...sharp sand,old carpet or a specific pond fleece??

Thanks.:)

redser7

paddy147 wrote: »

Not a hope in hell of using bulders plastic.

Also,if it leaked in a few years time,,,then the sh!t would really hit the fan for me.:eek::(:D



You aint hijacking either.......All ideas and questions are wellcome.:D

I'm just wanting to make a small wildlife pond at the plot to hopefully get some frogs in. If I got a few years out of it I would be happy enough to replace it when needs be, but not every year.

paddy147

redser7 wrote: »

I'm just wanting to make a small wildlife pond at the plot to hopefully get some frogs in. If I got a few years out of it I would be happy enough to replace it when needs be, but not every year.

Same here.Going for a large wildlife pond and waterfall.......tadpoles,frogs,newts,pond skaters and hopefully mayfly/dragon fly too.:)

Then a chicken coop and 2-3 chickens or ducks too.:D

redser7

I've decided. I'm going with 1000 gauge builders plastic, tripled over. So there

Thunderbird2

redser7 wrote: »

I've decided. I'm going with 1000 gauge builders plastic, tripled over. So there

Is that UV resistant or is it going to crack and leak?

Thunderbird2

paddy147 wrote: »

Thunderbird2 wrote: »

Looks and feels the same as butyl and greenseal

You just recently built your own pond,from what I can remember??:)

Any tips on a lining the pond hole...sharp sand,old carpet or a specific pond fleece??

Thanks.:)

That's why I got the samples but decided that the liner I could afford was to flimsy so I'm saving for butyl or Firestone
My garden is hard soil 1 foot deep then it's sand so it's really easy to dig
Make sure you dig up any roots . Pull them back as far from the liner as possible . Use a good thick underlay as this discourages roots . Try remove all sharp stones . Firestone liner is incredibly stretchy .
Have the hole dip in the middle and place your pump down below the liner so all the water flows towards the pump . Lay some extra pipes for future water jets and air pumps .

redser7

Thunderbird2 wrote: »

Is that UV resistant or is it going to crack and leak?

Not that I'm aware of. Is it possible to get UV resistant plastic cheaply? I do have some spare polytunnel cover but I'm hanging on to it for some other future use.
I've read up and know builders plastic will fail, but hopefully I can get a few years (3 even) before it needs to be replaced. It's just for a small allotment pond to attract frogs. No pumps or ornamentals.

rje66

If your only doing a small pond then maybe a pre formed liner would do. Suppliers around dublin for liner and pre formed liners are pond hobby, near tullys nurseries or N J Power . He is in ind estate in ballymount . From memory i think tjere is a product that is cheaper than butyl out there. Wouldnt try plastic as other posters have said uv light breaks it down. Ponds are not cheap to put in and always use a pump to circulate water or you will have even more problems.

redser7

Thanks. I looked at preformed but I really want to do this on a shoestring. If it was for my back garden I'd definately go with preformed or butyl.
So would I be right in thinking that UV light is the main enemy of cheaper plastics? I have some scrap lengths 2 foot wide UV resistant tunnel plastic, I could lay this over the builders plastic and weigh it down with plants in baskets. That should take care of that problem. Also have old kids rubber play matting that I'll use as an underlay.

redser7

btw Paddy, this place was recommended to me ...
http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/broomefieldaquatics/

Different material but supposedly as tough and reliable and much cheaper.

Thunderbird2

redser7 wrote: »

Thunderbird2 wrote: »

Is that UV resistant or is it going to crack and leak?

Not that I'm aware of. Is it possible to get UV resistant plastic cheaply? I do have some spare polytunnel cover but I'm hanging on to it for some other future use.
I've read up and know builders plastic will fail, but hopefully I can get a few years (3 even) before it needs to be replaced. It's just for a small allotment pond to attract frogs. No pumps or ornamentals.

It's going to break your heart if it leaks :P
Have a look here . Www.pondkeeper.co.uk
They have loads of different liners both cheap and dear

redser7

Thanks for the warning. I understand the risks but cant afford proper liner right now. Plenty of other expenses at the plot

paddy147

Right...so whats the best pond liner to go for then??

Thunderbird2

I currently am using BUTYL . I'd recommend it but it is expensive but really strong and stretchable
It would cost me €360 without an underlay to create a 4 x 3 x 1 m size pond

Rancid

paddy147 wrote: »

Right...so whats the best pond liner to go for then??

Definitely Butyl.
Got it and the underlay in Pond Hobby 3 years ago and at the time it cost about the same as buying it cheaper online because the postage costs were so high.

I have a small garden (6' x 5' approx) wildlife pond, no pumps, no filters and no fish, just plants and water creatures, snails, daphnia, etc.

paddy147

Rancid wrote: »

Definitely Butyl.
Got it and the underlay in Pond Hobby 3 years ago and at the time it cost about the same as buying it cheaper online because the postage costs were so high.

I have a small garden (6' x 5' approx) wildlife pond, no pumps, no filters and no fish, just plants and water creatures, snails, daphnia, etc.

Pond Hobby...thats the place up beside Tullys Nurseries then?

We tried to get in to see that place before,but seemed unable to get in or get the attention of the owner of the place.:(

Rancid

paddy147 wrote: »

Pond Hobby...thats the place up beside Tullys Nurseries then?

We tried to get in to see that place before,but seemed unable to get in or get the attention of the owner of the place.:(

Yah, that's the place.
I had to phone ahead and make an appointment, though I thought that only applied off-season.
http://www.pondhobby.ie/
This message is on their home page, it seems you have to ring them first:
Simply Call on +353(0)1-8078892 or Request Call Back

Thunderbird2

There's a place down in Carlow beside the arboretum garden centre . Maiden head aquatics . I get most of my pond stuff there

bagels

I was a fan of pond liner until the big freezes in recent winters.
The 4inch plus ice that covered the surface of my pond was extremely difficult to cope with due to the fragility of the pond liner.
Unfortunately, when trying to move a slab of ice for aeration purposes, it ripped apart the pond liner way below the water mark.
The volume of water the pond could hold was drastically reduced and consequently the oxygen within.
During the six weeks of the big freeze i lost many fish, either due to lack of oxygen or the temperature or both.
Remember, fish need a minimum depth of 2 ft of water in order to withstand winter temperatures.
When my pond liner ripped the depth of water became far less than that.

Solution:
I bought a JFC 60 inch diameter by 28 inch depth cattle water trough, deepened the pond hole and placed it so that the top is a little above ground level - to prevent run-off from the lawn.
It cost less than €300 (can't remember exactly how much) and will outlast me.
The product is made by John Concannon of RTE's version of the Secret Millionaire, the man who is devoting so much time, energy and funds to Pieta House.

I'm an old hand at garden ponds now and i'm satisfied that my solution is perfect for my needs and i'll have no more worries ever about replacing liners,etc.

If any of you live in the vicinity of Tuam or are passing by, i have mature yellow iris pond plants to give away free.

paddy147

bagels wrote: »

I was a fan of pond liner until the big freezes in recent winters.
The 4inch plus ice that covered the surface of my pond was extremely difficult to cope with due to the fragility of the pond liner.
Unfortunately, when trying to move a slab of ice for aeration purposes, it ripped apart the pond liner way below the water mark.
The volume of water the pond could hold was drastically reduced and consequently the oxygen within.
During the six weeks of the big freeze i lost many fish, either due to lack of oxygen or the temperature or both.
Remember, fish need a minimum depth of 2 ft of water in order to withstand winter temperatures.
When my pond liner ripped the depth of water became far less than that.

Solution:
I bought a JFC 60 inch diameter by 28 inch depth cattle water trough, deepened the pond hole and placed it so that the top is a little above ground level - to prevent run-off from the lawn.
It cost less than €300 (can't remember exactly how much) and will outlast me.
The product is made by John Concannon of RTE's version of the Secret Millionaire, the man who is devoting so much time, energy and funds to Pieta House.

I'm an old hand at garden ponds now and i'm satisfied that my solution is perfect for my needs and i'll have no more worries ever about replacing liners,etc.

If any of you live in the vicinity of Tuam or are passing by, i have mature yellow iris pond plants to give away free.

You should allways place a small plastic football in the pond when winter approaches,this will prevent the pond from freezing over fully,its also an air pocket for the likes of Koi..


Nice idea over the cattle trough,but that is no good to me,when I will have a rather large end to end waterfall and wildlife pond (no fish) with stepping stones to get accross it to the other part of the garden.;)

Thunderbird2

Butyl is Guranteed for life when used with an underlay

redser7

Hi - took a look at pond hobby website and they dont seem to sell butyl but have a PVC liner, 5 euro per sqr mt. Any thoughts on this material?

http://www.pondhobby.ie/product/153/pond-construction-and-decoration/alfafol-pvc-liner-05mm-per-m

Thanks

Thunderbird2

redser7 wrote: »

Hi - took a look at pond hobby website and they dont seem to sell butyl but have a PVC liner, 5 euro per sqr mt. Any thoughts on this material?

http://www.pondhobby.ie/product/153/pond-construction-and-decoration/alfafol-pvc-liner-05mm-per-m

Good suppliers should stock butyl