Garden Fish Pond Liner Selection | Useful Advice And Tips

Choose The Right Pond Liner To Save Money

Unless you are intending to build a large Koi pond with the bottom drains and other specialist equipment needed to successfully keep these ornamental Koi, then a liner pond, constructed from EPDM rubber or butyl rubber is your best bet.

These modern rubber pond liners are tough, come with excellent warranties and are extremely flexible in terms of the shapes you can achieve.

There are of course cheaper alternatives such as 250 micron thick plastic pond liners (black plastic sheets). The downside however is that they will not last as long as 500 micron EPDM flexible pond liner.

Plastic sheeting is also more prone to leaks and tears. For larger ponds above 120 gallons preformed plastic liners become too expensive.

Rubber (butyl or EPDM) is the best liner pond material choice. You can go as big as you like. Even small reservoirs use EPDM or butyl rubber.

Rubber pond liners are also an excellent choice for water lily ponds. Remember large ponds need low maintenance, powerful biological pond filters such as Aquabead Filters for Koi Ponds

For ponds below about 120 gallons it would be very wise to choose from a range of preformed pond liners or preformed fish ponds as they are better known. A word of warning: Do not let your dogs swim in water where flexible garden pond liners are used non preformed pond liners are easily damaged by their claws. If you do have dogs go for fiberglass preformed fish ponds.

If you are looking for help in calculating the size of pond liner needed then click How To Create An In Ground Fish Liner Pond Using Flexible EPDM Pond Liner Or Other Pond Liner Material

Flexible pond liner is not suitable generally speaking for an indoor or patio pond rather use preformed pond liners. Fiberglass preformed fish ponds are ideal for this.

Money Saving Advice For Selecting The Right Fish Pond Liner

Do your homework and work out the cost of the entire pond project: cost of pond pump, pond filter, UVC, pond skimmer etc. Once you have an idea as too how much the pond keeping equipment is going to cost then go for the thickest and best liner pond material you can afford. Do not cut corners, just to save a few $$$ on anything over 60 square feet. The thickness will need to be at least 45mls.

  • For ease of convenience many EPDM and butyl rubber liners are available off the roll or available in pre cut standard sizes.

  • To estimate the size of the liner for a pond: length of liner = (length + (2 x depth))+10% width of liner = (width + (2 x depth))+10%

  • To estimate the size of the liner for a waterfall roughly: Length of liner = Length along the horizontal + (2 x height of the head); Width of liner = width of widest header pool + (2 X depth)

  • Plan your pool with one dimension equals a standard width of liner off the rolls. EPDM generally comes in multiples of 5 feet up to about 25 feet. PVC (plastic liner) and butyl rubber in 2 meter widths up to 8 meters in some places.

  • Dramatic indentations in the shape use up extra liner. Measure along the contour of the pool excavation just to check before you try to install it. In desperation you can gain a few inches by laying it in skew, using the extra length of the diagonal.

  • Ideally you should tuck and fold the liner into place; don't stretch it into place. Just before you cut too much off around the top, then you can make sure it is properly fitted by filling it with water.

  • Always a suitable pond underlay, as this will protect the EPDM, butyl rubber or PVC liner pond from sharp objects, such as stones and twigs. Water pressure actually causes stones to rise up through the sand. This pressure will eventually cause the stone to press against the liner.

  • You also need to double the underlay for conservation projects or projects where the liner is going to be totally obscured by stone work.

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