Water Gardening: Thrifty Ponding Thread, 1 by Rosepond

Rosepond wrote:
PixyDish,
Your pond looks Great!! Bet ya can't wait! Good that you are putting steps (so to speak) in your pond. You will need a flat surface to stand on if you have to get in. slanted slides get slippery and can be hard to move around on.

I would suggest you spend the (sometimes considerably more) on your liner and skimp somewhere else. 1) Inexpensive liners are not UV resistant and will decompose in a few years. 2) Liners build an algae slime on them in a year or so and that is your firend. It is easier to maintain your clear water if that algae is consuming nutrients. If you have liner problems down the road, you will not only be looking for a place to put all your critters, but you will also be loosing that wonderful coating. 3) At some point in time, you will need to walk or place heavy objects in your pond. It is a painful experience to inadvertently put a hole in your liner and be looking for where you need to put the patch especially if it is on the bottom.

There is this "forever" discussion about the difference between roofing rubber and the Pondguard by Firestone. It is a tough decision that one has to make. Although I haven't used roofing rubber, I have talked to several folks that have used it with no problems. Most recently I have heard that now-a-days the Pondguard is only marginally more expensive than the roofing stuff . Whatever your choice, my preference is the rubber liner. I know it is gonna be there in 20 years no matter what I do to it. (Consider, thought, this is not for the ponder who is going to realize in a few years that they didn't make their pond big enough .)

Patti Rose
http://www.rosepond.com