Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi guys, first post, though I've been reading this forum for a long time, anyway I recently got a partial roll of this stuff given to me, and I was wondering some of you guys opinion on using it for grow bed liner
http://www.watersaver.com/products/liners-geomembranes its the 30 mil PVC, hope I put this post in the right place, thanks for your time.

My only concern would be the requirement to be buried in site soils. That leads me to guess that it may not be uv stable. Personally, I'd use it anyways, but I'd try to keep the media or raft high enough to not let much be exposed to sunlight.
Given is sure a good price, too.

It looks much like what I use and I am quite happy with it.

I wouldn't use it because PVC is naturaly rigid. To make it flexible chemicals are added to the liner to make it flexible. Those chemicals are human hormone analogues and over time they leach out of the liner.

I have seen a few clips on how they make raised grow beds out of them on you tube. As well as the pond setups. They have a lifespan of around ten years. that was said in one of the clips (don’t quote me on this) I may go down that path myself one day. Its cheaper than plastic tanks. But you would have to be mindful of tree roots if putting it into the ground.

Thanks for the replies everyone, What Stuart mentioned was my primary concern, I had strayed from using a few different plastic options so far because of that, I just thought since they sell this for fish stock ponds, that it might be safe to use in this application as well, trying to do this on a budget, and so far it seems the grow beds are going to take up most of it =/

The sheet that I use is food safe,it is offcuts from our shelter roofs and the steel is offcuts from the silo walls,all material the could end up in land fill and it is working well for me.

HPDE, LDPE, LLDPE, EPDM and bituminous liners are my recommendations. Each has pros can cons which include price, ease of use, durability, etc.. They have all been discussed pretty extensively elsewhere.

What are your thoughts on this as a liner
http://www.americover.com/8_mil_reinfor ... 3_prd1.htm

it says here, not hazardous
http://www.americover.com/images_templ/ ... b_12wb.pdf

thanks for your time

Its a PE liner so should be safe. Most likely it is a LLDPE or a LDPE liner forming the bread with the fibers in the middle.

TCLynx has used such liners to good effect although I don't know that I'd feel comfortable relying on the reinforcing mesh as much as she does.

While I believe that this liner is fine take safety warnings with a grain of salt. Flexible PVC is deemed safe by many authorities even though it is either banned on in the process of being banned troughout europe and much of the US.

Any idea why they leach Stuart? eg UV heat etc.
We have just opened a cut through part of the old tip some of the plastics have been there for at least 20 yrs and did not appear any different; out of the ground for 6 months and they are breaking down.

There are a lot of factors and they vary in importance between different types of plastic. UV, Heat, bacteria, oxidation all play a part but I'm not sure of the actual mechanism of why plasticers (the chemicals that make PVC flexible) leach out of PVC.

Hi Iamdirt, I just wanted to shed more light on what makes the 8 and 12 mil reinforced poly liners not hazardous. These liners are manufactured with virgin resin polyethylene and is not mixed with contaminated plastics. It's been organically certified by several companies, and that is why it's been recommended for grow beds and troughs. The reinforcement is polyester scrim and helps by stopping rips and tears from spreading. It doesn't off-gas because there aren't any chemicals in it. This has become more popular for aquaponics over the recent years because it's an economic choice to some of the more expensive liners made of HDPE, EPDM, etc. Hope this helps!

thanks for your time[/quote]

Hi Iamdirt, I just wanted to shed more light on what makes the 8 and 12 mil reinforced poly liners not hazardous. These liners are manufactured with virgin resin polyethylene and is not mixed with contaminated plastics. It's been organically certified by several companies, and that is why it's been recommended for grow beds and troughs. The reinforcement is polyester scrim and helps by stopping rips and tears from spreading. It doesn't off-gas because there aren't any chemicals in it. This has become more popular for aquaponics over the recent years because it's an economic choice to some of the more expensive liners made of HDPE, EPDM, etc. Hope this helps![/quote]

I've been using your 8 mil reinforced poly for years to make my reservoiors in my WB's and SIP's, but I don't use rock ballast for my reservoirs either, I use polyester or microfiber wicks to bring water up into my soil-less growing media.

One of the best thing I can say for your product its a lot cheaper than LLDPE liners.