Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,

I have spent a lot of time with my Companion about the roof cover for our commercial system.

He is absolute driven by using cheap Polyethylene Liner and I am the one fighting for Polycarbon sheets.

I am a bit back in time as I never bothered to use liner and the last time i covered a greenhouse with plastic liners was as I was a kid 40 years ago.
That cover blew apart in the first storm and so I was not even watching any development.

My cost calculation is pro liner as it is very cheap and fast to install (we need to cover 10000 sqm when it comes to it) but my experience says NO GO.
I see already plastic foil pieces flying all over the place after a few weeks...

What is you opinion, are liners nowadays so much better that you can use them?

Not all polyethylene is created equal - they make special greenhouse liners that last longer but not as long as polycarbonate panels. If you're in a populated area where the greenhouse is next to foot traffic sometimes kids can be a problem and polycarbonate is much more durable than a liner. I'm not sure what style your greenhouse is but with vertical side walls you can use polycarbonate on the sides and film on the top. I'm sure your climate is different than mine so I'm not certain if you'll have side walls or exactly how your greenhouse setup will be so take my answer with a grain of salt.

Cheers scotty435

people and specially kids from outside is a good point I not had in mind. I will bring that up as well.

The sidewalls will be some kind of insect net (aluminium or poly) as otherwise it would be too hot inside.

The roof is only as protection for the destructive rain up to 350 mm in Thailand during the rain season.. Nailed me a lot of leafy plants in my test system so the roof is a must have..