• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Pond Wiki

Everything About Pond And Fish

  • Algae Control
    • 6 Best Blanket Weed Eating Fish
  • Build
    • 7 Cheap Pond Liner Alternatives and Underlay
    • 100, 150, 200 and 300 Gallon Small Koi Pond The Ultimate Guide
    • How Deep Should A Koi Pond Be? Answered and Explained
    • Best Pond Tubing & Aeration Hose – Find Out The Correct Size
    • Best Pond Liner To Use For Koi And Wildlife Pond
  • Decoration
    • Best Floating Pond Plants For Clear Water And Shade
  • Fish Care
    • 8 Fish That Can Live With Koi In A Tank – Koi Tank Mates
    • Will Koi Eat Goldfish and Other Smaller Fish? – Answered
    • How Big Do Koi Get & How to Make Koi Grow Bigger
    • Salt Bath For Koi – The Ultimate Guide
  • Maintenance
    • Sealing A Pond With Bentonite – A Complete Guide
    • Best Pond Sealer And Paint That Are Safe For Fish
    • Sealing A Pond With Lime and Clay Lining
    • How To Make A Pond Hold Water – 7 Effective Actions
    • How To Dredge A Pond | A Definitive Guide With DIY Methods
  • Pondweed
    • Duckweed Control – How To Get Rid Of Duckweed In Pond
    • Pondweed Removal And Control – The Ultimate Guide
  • Water Quality
    • How to Use Vinegar to Lower pH in Koi Pond
    • How to Dechlorinate Tap Water for Pond? – 7 Easy But Effective Methods
    • How To Test Pond Water Quality Easily & Improve It
    • How To Clear Green Pond Water – Fast & Effective Methods
    • How To Clear Muddy Pond Water – Easy & Effective Methods
    • How to Clear Brown Pond Water? Causes & Solutions
    • How To Clean Pond Water With Fish In It? 6 Effective Methods
    • How To Keep Pond Water Clear Without A Filter
    • How To Keep Pond Water Clear Naturally – 10 Actionable Steps
    • How To Clean Pond Water – 11 Actionable Steps You Can Take
    • Hydrogen Peroxide For Pond Algae Control – A Definitive Guide

7 Cheap Pond Liner Alternatives and Underlay

June 10, 2019 By Mostaq 15 Comments

Pond liner isn’t cheap and many people are looking for alternatives. Luckily, there is a wide range of materials that you can use instead of a pond liner. In this article, we have discussed some of the cheap pond liner alternatives that you can use in your pond. We have also made a list of pond underlays that are cheap and readily available. A large pond liner with pond liner

Table of Contents

  • Pond Liner Alternatives to Use
    • Polyethylene Pond Liner
    • Tarp
    • PVC Liners
    • Lime and Clay Cover
    • Bentonite Sealing
    • Polypropylene Pond Liner
    • Waterbed Liner
  • Pond Liner Underlays Materials

Pond Liner Alternatives to Use

  1. Polyethylene Pond Liner

The cheapest alternative to pond liners that you can find is Polyethylene. It fully retains water.

However, there are several disadvantages. First of all, it is difficult to work with polyethylene due to its thinness and lightweight. On the other hand, this is also easy to puncture. The life of polyethylene is less than EPDM liner and therefore you will need to replace it sooner than EPDM. Polyethylene can cause problems to fish in hot weather because polyethylene will release it when exposed to heat.

But if you use HDPE (High-Density Polythene) liner you won’t face these problems. HDPE can give the same performance of EPDM liner. It is cheaper too. You can use this HDPE liner (link to amazon) from Growneer for your pond to save some bucks.

  1. Tarp

Tarp or tarpaulin is widely used tents for its waterproof capabilities. Tarp has a polyethylene coating over canvas or polyester. Canvas or polyester makes it strong and the polyethylene layer makes it waterproof. Together they made a good pond liner alternative. You can use this Tarp (link to Amazon) for your pond. The quality is good and it is available in many sizes and color.

  1. PVC Liners

PVC liner is widely used for pool lining. You can use PVC as lining material for its high puncture strength. It is also resistant to abrasion. Therefore it won’t leak by the abrasion of stones and won’t require repairing. The chemical resistance gives it long durability.

  1. Lime and Clay Cover

If you completely want to avoid any kind of liners in your pond, you can use lime and clay cover to make your pond retain water. Clay particles are small and retain water well. In this method, a layer of quick lime is used beneath the clay layer and then lightly compacted. Lime and clay make lime concrete which is strong to penetrate and impermeable for water to pass.

  1. Bentonite Sealing

Bentonite is widely used for fixing leaking pond. Bentonite clay swells when water is added to it. There are three methods of sealing a pond with bentonite. You can adopt a suitable one depending upon the soil condition. Bentonite cover can be a cheap alternative to pond liner for a large pond.

  1. Polypropylene Pond Liner

Polypropylene is another good substitute for the pond liner. It is durable and strong than EPDM pond liner. But again there are some disadvantages. If you have experience working with it, then you must know that it is not flexible.

Polypropylene prices higher than EPDM but for higher strength, it is preferred by the commercial fish pond owners.

  1. Waterbed Liner

Waterbed liner does the same job that a pond liner does. A water bed liner is more strong and durable than EPDM pond liner. But they are not cheaper than EPDM.

But as the popularity of waterbed is decreasing, you can easily find old waterbeds and take out the liner from it. A waterbed liner is sufficient for a small garden pond. But when we talk about a large pond, this is certainly not a good option.

Pond Liner Underlays Materials

You will find sharp and hard material in the bottom when you construct a pond. They can cause puncture your pond liner easily. To save your liner from these objects, you will need to provide pond liner underlay. You can use a wide range of materials for this purpose. Just make sure they provide enough padding. Some easily available pond liner underlay are as follows –

  1. Geotextile
  2. Weed Barrier
  3. Old Caret
  4. Trap
  5. Newspaper
  6. Landscape Fabrics
  7. Vinyl
  8. Quilts
  9. Old Blankets

Filed Under: Build

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marie Trammell says

    September 9, 2019 at 3:45 pm

    Our pond liner has holes created by a dog chewing into seversl places. The liner is held down by heavy rocks so iner cant be replaced. Is there a spray or product that can coat the pond to seal it like a pool would?

    Reply
    • Mostaq says

      September 10, 2019 at 11:25 am

      Hi Marie,
      If the holes are within 1-2 inches you can use a pond sealant as it won’t require to remove the liner. I recommend you use Stone’s Great Stuff sealant for it.

      Reply
      • Karla Lozano says

        April 4, 2020 at 12:46 am

        Hi I made a box out of wood what stuff from home could I use as a liner

        Reply
        • Mostaq says

          April 8, 2020 at 3:01 am

          Yes, you can use it as a liner. But Make sure you there are no splitting or crack. Also, paint the inside with rubber sealant or tar. Hope This helps

          Reply
  2. Richard Dion says

    April 25, 2020 at 11:04 pm

    Anyone have any experience in using old or used shingles to line a large pond bottom? I am thinking of using old shingle by digging down the bottom, back-fill with native soil (sandy clay). I am also thinking to basically seal the shingles by using a propane fire thrower to melt the tiles together. I believe this could be a good environmental option for disposing of used shingles in land fills.

    Reply
    • Mostaq says

      August 28, 2020 at 6:26 am

      It’s a great idea. just make sure the materials are safe for fish.

      Reply
  3. hassim idin says

    May 2, 2020 at 7:55 am

    Can i use the geotextile as a underlay. and use it to protect the liner also?

    Reply
    • Mostaq says

      August 28, 2020 at 6:27 am

      Yes you can. Go for the thicker one.

      Reply
  4. hecksal says

    May 3, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    Hi can you please tell me if I can use chlorine tablets in my small 12×10 pond the grandkids like toget in a play in the water but I’m afraid they will get sick, I used a 14.5-mil pvc liner.
    thank you for your respond .
    Sincerely
    Hecksal.

    Reply
    • Mostaq says

      August 28, 2020 at 6:30 am

      You can use chlorine tablets in your pond. But you should check the chlorine level in your pond before your let your Grandkids play in it. Male sure its not more than 3 ppm.

      Reply
  5. Rebekah Thomas says

    June 4, 2020 at 1:43 am

    Can I use a pool cover as a pond lining?

    Reply
    • Mostaq says

      August 28, 2020 at 6:31 am

      I’m afraid, it won’t last long.

      Reply
  6. Mark says

    October 16, 2020 at 10:06 pm

    I’m using Owens Corning pro armor as a stream liner to my pond. (The pond itself will have a traditional rubber liner) proarmor is the material used under roof shingles and is waterproof.
    I’m wondering if you know anyone who had used it?
    My only dilemma is the printed side is The side I’m supposed to use against the water but it’s annoyingly visible under the river stones. The question I’m having is can I use the other side up so the printing isn’t as visible? It says to use the printing side up.

    Reply
  7. Mark says

    October 17, 2020 at 3:41 pm

    Hello Mostoq
    Have you used Owens Corning proarmor as an underlay for streams? It’s what builders use on roofs under shingles.
    It’s way cheaper than pond liner, has UV resistance but very thin.
    Thanks
    Mark
    Drmadef@gmail.com

    Reply
  8. Vienna says

    October 19, 2020 at 12:20 am

    looking for a different color pond liner. I dont like the look of the black plasti. Where can I find a tan or lite grey color liner? Or a printed rock or pebble liner?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

Emergent pond plants in shallow dried pond

How To Dredge A Pond | A Definitive Guide With DIY Methods

Fish For Fountain

7 Fish For Fountains – Easy To Take Care And Attractive

Installing a bottom filter in pond

How To Install A Bottom Filter In Your Pond?

A Nano Pond

Nano Pond – How To Build & Maintain

An Indoor Fish Pond

How To Build An Indoor Fish Pond – A DIY Guide

A crayfish hiding inside a can

Crayfish Pond – A Comprehensive Guide

How to build a tractor tire pond

Tractor Tire Pond – How To Build, Decorate & Maintain

Footer

  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Pondwiki.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising & linking to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com

Copyright© 2021 · PondWiki