Pond Lining Nip and Tuck

[endecotp]

It's not being used as a weed suppressant just packing to prevent sharp objects piercing the liner from underneath.

Right but you still don't want a carpet that contains unpleasant chemicals under your pond.

 

[Odds]

Right but you still don't want a carpet that contains unpleasant chemicals under your pond.

Using a pond liner underlay would be better.

 

[evdamadiynot]

The throwaway culture

 

[Saifu]

I did a few very successful wildlife ponds with the liner sandwiched between two layers of old carpet.
Looks awful for the first season but next year the plants ,and wildlife move in.
Toads newts dragonflies make homes and bees come to take water.
Do not put soil in as the nutrients will provide perfect coditions for algae which strangles everything and is almost impossible to eradicate
View attachment 381390
View attachment 381391

Is this the effect of when putting the soil inside the pond. Looks bit murly inside?

 

[evdamadiynot]

Look closer and you will see the water is clear.
There is accumulated natural silt and debris on the bottom and underneath that a beige carpet.
Plants secure themselves to the weave quite happily.
Do Not put soil into a pond!!!!

 

[Saifu]

Using a pond liner underlay would be better.

Bear in mind I need a pond lining that will hold its own weight with near vertical sides and back filling soil to get a narrow border inside a walled enclosure. I had also considered rubber grass matting mesh but it is very costly for the coverage.

 

[Saifu]

The reason I avoid foam back carpet is that it degrades quickly and in some cases floats- neither trait is helpful.

Some of the carpet in the ponds was such that you would wipe your shoes after walking on it.
Some reeked of carpet shampoo and Shake and Vac

But as the pictures show the flora and fauna have been undeterred.

Brilliant non fiction book -Islands of Abandonment by Cal Flynn.
Accounts of places around the globe where humans have destroyed the environment seemingly irreparably but nature has miraculously reclaimed it.The derelict Detroit car factory estates,Chernobyl and the Zone Rouge amongst others.Worth a read.

Carpet with foam underlay shouldn't have chemical. After all it is sponge which comes from seas?

 

[Saifu]

Look closer and you will see the water is clear.
There is accumulated natural silt and debris on the bottom and underneath that a beige carpet.
Plants secure themselves to the weave quite happily.
Do Not put soil into a pond!!!!

Most pond liners are smooth how will I get the aquatic plants to secure themselves?

 

[jj4091]

Plant them in perforated pond pots they won't attach themselves to a liner. But make sure you use nutrient free aquatic pond compost and lots of oxygenating plants or your pond will keep greening up.

 

[evdamadiynot]

Pots (or carpet like pictured)
Foam backed carpet is made from oil like most things.
If its a formal pond then you have a regime of maintenance ahead
If its a wildlife pond you leave it well alone.

 

[endecotp]

Carpet with foam underlay shouldn't have chemical. After all it is sponge which comes from seas?

Huh? You think that foam carpet backing “comes from the sea”?

 

[Saifu]

Huh? You think that foam carpet backing “comes from the sea”?

Shows how little I know. Our urban world seems to be mostly plastic.

 

[Odds]

You can create a pond without using plastic if the ground is suitable.

 

[Munroast]

Carpet with foam underlay shouldn't have chemical. After all it is sponge which comes from seas?

I understand this whole EU fisherman thing now - they're nicking our carpets - I always thought it couldn't be just about fish

 

[Saifu]

Not a pensioner yet, but I still recall the good old days of normal consumption and waste of sponges.

• Early 20th Century:
  Sponge harvesting was a significant industry, with high catches and lucrative markets.
• Mid-20th Century:
  The introduction of synthetic sponges in the 1950s significantly impacted the natural sponge fishery and trade.
• 1980s and 90s:
  Disease outbreaks and environmental concerns led to a dramatic decline in natural sponge stocks, and in some regions, harvesting was stopped for a period.
• Present Day:
  While some regions still harvest natural sponges, the industry has faced significant challenges and has been replaced to a great extent by synthetic alternatives.
  
  Incidentally, Google AI for what it's worth reports Synthetic carpets not posing much of a risk in a fresh water pond environment. Although from what I understood the carpet is to be the underlay for the pond liner and the foam backing touches the soil.