Alternative to pond liners

Hi all , I would really love to rebuild my pond , but I really want to skip the pond liners , really don`t like the look and keep having hole in it , I don`t really like preformed one because they are not to deep and would like to grow few Koi in a minimum space (small but deep pond) .
any suggestion?
this is my one at the moment , originally the water was just level with the bridge , but because there is an hole somewhere , not even the water lily are flowering .

 

concrete or clay lined

 

Sal, get a butyl liner.
Mines mines 23yrs old and still ok.

The liner must not get direct sunlight as the UV degrades it.

And I must say, I always feel sorry for Koi that are in too smaller pond, they get big and need space.

 

Apart from the problems you are having with the holes, is there any other reason why you don't want a liner?

 

It look ugly , so unnatural , and would like to create a soil/water at the same level effect , my ideal solution would be a massive plastic clear tub ....but can`t find one.

 

Sal, you bury the liner around the edges, and take the liner up under the soil.

That way the soil can come down to the water, without any water loss.

 

To be honest, anything of a decent size that you want to keep Koi in, is going to look unnatural, to some extent. It's not that difficult to hide the top edge of the liner, with decent planting. If you were prepared to make a more 'regular' shape, you could use a box welded liner, which would mean no creases, but these are more expensive, but still only half the price of fibreglassing. Bear in mind, that if you want to keep Koi, many will say that the minimum amount of water needed is 2,000 gallons. You can get away with less, but it's not ideal.

Cheers...Freddy

 

Pete , if you look at my pond it look ever so natural , lots of work , levelling and make everything invisible that you will not see any liner , all the inside is covered in concrete and now it`s all green , it look ever so natural , but there is a hole somewhere and now it look like a puddle .

Freddy , 2,000 gallons pond will mean all my garden , this time i want to try the unnatural look , need some different material , but fibreglassing could be a solution ....I was even thinking of commishioning one from a plastic fabricator , a circle pond of 1200mm diameter and 800mm deep , enought to grow water lily and few gold fish.

 

Fibreglass is another option. "British Racing Green" is probably the best colour - make a sports car out of any you have left over!!

 

I have two small ponds in the front garden. They are 8 feet in diameter and are actually very deep circular cattle troughs bought from an agricultural co-op. They come complete with ballcock, so that they keep the level topped up of their own accord and are made from a very, very strong black plastic.

You can get bigger ones as well. Mine cost €250 each and you just dig the hole and drop them in. Easy peasy.

I'll dig out a pic and post it up.

 

Here's a pic of the bottom one in the front garden from a distance. I have Red Sandstone slabs around it.

 

Here's a piccie of the top one. They've blended into the garden nicely and "should" last for ever. (Famous last words. )

 

this is what I was looking for , could you send me any information where did you get them from?

 

Eric the fishes pond was just cement rendered and painted with blackjack, no problems there.

 

Thank Zigs , that was in my mind as well , but someone told me that cement with heavy frost will crack , even rubber paint can easy crack .