I am in the process of building a deck (more of a place to sit and look at the koi in the pond) around my koi pond. I found this idea in a magazine but I don't know if the pond had fish in it. I wanted to stain it a soft blue but I am worried that the stain will leak into the pond when it rains. The deck does lean over the pond about 3 inches to cover the lining. I called the stain company and the girl said..."oh no, it won't leak into the pond because it absorbs into the wood". I really don't know if I should trust her...My koi are 3 years old. I don't want to kill them because of this choice of using boards (untreated for now) around the pond. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.
Is it safe to use stain on a deck around a koi pond?
I've always stayed away from treated lumber and stained lumber over my ponds. I saw a great idea for a long boardwalk kind of bridge that ran down the middle of the pond, but was afraid I'd lose all my fish, some of which are 24 inches. I decided to redesign things and not take the chance.
I guess that's a conformation...I was thinking the same thing...redesigning ...or even putting stone on the boardwalk since it is very level and would make leveling the placement of the stone much easier. Would be more costly but in the long run probably better all the way around. Too bad really since I went through all the touble of cutting the boards at diagonally. Thanks.
I remember a post about this very thing about 16 months ago. The person used either a stain or treated wood on their deck overhanging their pond and the fish died. I wish I could recall the story better. Hopefully that person will see your post and will respond to you.
oh, I was afraid of that. Guess that decides that - I can use it else where in the garden. thanks
I'd strongly advise against it. At work we have a large pond under shelter (gets rainwater from drains coming from the roof). There's decking around it with a decked walkway going over the middle. Contractors came in to stain the decking and killed all the fish. It wasn't from rain washing the stain into the water but sloppy work, drips and splatter that caused the contamination. Rain would have ended up doing the same but for the fact it was sheltered from it. These compounds have toxic components plus they form films over the water.
So, you think that if I left the deck that I've already built around the pond - untreated, unstained, just natural wood - that it would be alright - wouldn't hurt the fish? I don't mind replacing the wood as needed, etc.
Earlier in the year I had emailed a company about the deck boards that are composite, thinking I wouldn't have to stain or replace boards. They said although they "thought" it should be fine, they also wouldn't guarantee the water safety for fish due to the composite make-up and breakdown. So, that was not an idea I chose to go with either.
ok, that settles it. I will take it up and use it else where in my landscaping. I will purchase slate to go around the pond...that is probably the safest material to use anyway. Thanks.
Some timbers are treated chemically before you buy them. Composite boards would definitely be treated. The safest way is to avoid them, unless you definitley know what's in them. Some may have treatments which aren't toxic. But timber sales people probably wouldn't know what is or isn't fish-friendly.