Garden Pond Liner Options

By: J. Helmi

Cheap maintenance, dependable durability, as well as unlimited potential for design creativity offered by garden pond liner have made it one of the most popular choices for highly developed garden pond construction. Anyway, since a low quality liner may be toxic to marine life, leak, or any other damages in the forthcoming month after installation, so make sure you invest in a high quality garden pond liner.

garden pond liners

To retain the water within the pond basin is the main purpose of a garden pond liner. Furthermore, it is providing the water gardener with the complete flexibility of shaping magnificent pond design. To measure the efficiency of garden pond liner, the durability is still one of the primary criterions used. Garden pond liner is last longer than its preformed cousins. This is based on fact that liners do not crack as easily as concrete or preformed liners as we can see in areas where earth tremors take place. However, liners are unfavorably affected by Ultra Violet light to varying degrees depending on the garden pond liner material.

The suitability of the garden pond liner material towards marine life becomes a secondary consideration when you want to buy it. Stabilizers that allow the plastic to bond found in plastic-based liner material, such as PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene. These stabilizers also known as carcinogens are heavy-metal that lead and barium based. Meanwhile, Polypropylene utilizes Di-Octyl Phtalate as a stabilizer. Di-Octyl Phtalate (DOP) is a toxic stuff that is tremendously harmful and corrosive. Imagine what would happen to your aquatic life if plasticizer were to enter the pond ecosystem soon a crack was to grow in a plastic liner.

There are five major types of garden pond liner constructions available to choose:

1. Polyethylene

garden pond liners

Polyethylene doesn’t have the strength that is required for a stable garden pond liner yet it will easily adapt to any shape to serve your creativity. Without pricey welding equipment, polyethylene cannot be seamed together when it is damaged.

2. Polythylene

On the contrary, polyethylene can be stiff to work with and is awfully severe. It has to be handled with care and can be easily damaged by rocks.

Polythylene and polyethylene liners usually cost half cheaper that of EPDM and polypropylene.  Both are inexpensive and lightweight and typically last only for one season.

3. PVC liners

Up a level from polyethylene and polyethylene are PVC and PVC-E liners that can last for up to ten years. While being rather puncture resistant, PVC is a bit more affordable compared to other garden pond liners. The durability of the typical 20 mil thick PVC is fairly middling; since no water gardener wishes to replace their garden pond liners with any frequency, its need to last a significant amount of time. That’s why garden pond liners that can last at least 20 years are preferred by most water gardener.

4. Polypropylene

Because polypropylene can last for up to 40 years, it is remarkably the most durable yet pricey garden pond liner material in existence. Yet, it is less flexible than EPDM liners. However ,for you who wish to build an enormously large pond, polypropylene would be likely a viable option since it is available in large sheets larger than 50’ x 100’. Or else, EPDM rubber liners are preferred by most of the pond builders.

5. EPDM/rubber

garden pond liners

Because of EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) rubber liners lack of poisonous plasticizers, and their subtle balance between affordability, longevity, and flexibility, they are suggested for most pond installations. In addition to make EPDM completely aquatic and fish safe, the lack of plasticizers make the garden pond liner avoid from crack and brittle with age as well. They are also awfully more flexible than PVC liners for they are rubber-based type one.

When working with uneven shelves and folds that are frequently found in a pond, the extra elasticity of EPDM would comes in handy. A 45-mil EPDM liner, for instance, has remarkable durability so it can last for up to 20 years because its puncture resistance and its natural resistance to UV make it worth to buy though it is pricier than PVC liners, Polyethylene, and Polythylene. The size is likely the only limitation of EPDM. They are usually a roll-sheet ranging from 5’ x 10’ to 50 x 100’. A trained landscaper should be capable to join small piece of EPDM garden pond liner with seaming tape in this size,

For the largest part of water gardening installations, EPDM rubber liner is presently the standard liner. Nevertheless, make sure you do the preceding calculations to find out how much liner you need before you go out and buy and EPDM garden pond liner.

Check out my other guide on garden landscaping and solar pond pump