Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Used billboard tarps as liners?

I have run across a website for used billboard tarps as pond liners. http://www.billboardtarps.com/ . These guys buy used tarps with advertisement on one side and heat weld them together to make basically any size you want. The tarps are two ply with reinforcement inside to make a 20 mil tarp that will supposedly last 10 years or longer if covered with dirt. They advertise these tarps as 100% waterproof. They will run about 16 cents per square foot which is much cheaper than any other liner I have found.
Does anyone here have experience, suggestions or comments about these 'billboard tarps'?

we just got two verizon billboards the other day for our "slip n slide" flip me an email and I can show you the pic. Son bday was a hit to go down 120 feet of the slippery vinyl. I think they would work well for pond liner, great idea.

Would you use a liner for the entire pond?

Can LMB and FHM live and reproduce in a pond with a liner? Just curious?

I'm not the expert by any means, but yes they can. I would be covering the liner with a layer of soil. It should not be much different than clay lined. Of course cover, structure and size will be nescesary ingredients just like any pond.
Everyone feel free to chime in and correct me.
Greg

Gmoore,

Why only a 10 year lifespan? Would think protected form uv and under a layer of soil would last much longer? Liners specific for pond use have a much longer lifespan, and IMHO would be worth the extra cost. To risk liner failure in a relatively young pond would drive me crazy.

I tend to agree. I bought one tarp to inspect ($50.00 with shipping), it would be great for a hay tarp, but has pin some holes in it mostly where the billboard wrapped around the frame. Gorilla glue might seal them, but I agree I would not be comfortable spending the money on a gamble. I have decided to use Sodium Bentonite as other members say it is a virtually forever liner.
Greg

In my experience bentonite is forever if it works. So far, I've tried it 3 times with no results.

That doesn't sound good. How did you apply it? How many pounds per square foot?
I hand dug a small (10 sq. ft.) test hole. It dropped about an inch a day and I assumed that was evaporation and maybe a little because it wasn't compacted any more than me walking on it.
I have a sandy loam soil and was planning to use 4 or 5 pounds per sq. ft. tilled in, compacted and covered with about a foot of backfill, compacted.
Does anyone else have testimonials either good or bad about bentonite?

I first tried the sprinkle method. That is tossing it out into the water and hoping it finds the leak. It all floated to the side.

The next time, I hauled 100 pound sacks to the leak area and dumped it. No luck(or maybe no skill).

The next time I hauled enough sacks to completely cover the pond bottom. Next I broke open the bags and dumped the bentonite. I then got my tractor and disked it in.

These were 3 different small dry ponds on my land. I've quit messing with them and consider them dry holes.

Maybe I need to do some more homework here. From reading most of the posts here, I got the impression that Sodium Bentonite was one of the most reliable, permanent sealing solution. I was pretty skeptical of the sprinkle method though.

Bentonite is probably the most reliable but there are different types of bentonite. I think it really depends on where it comes from. I compared some mined here in Oklahoma to some stuff from Wyoming. The stuff from Wyoming swelled more than 10 times better. Check the source and test it before buying large quantities.

Thanks, I will do that.
DD2, what did you use?

I used some kind of stuff with the consistency of flour. It is all I can get from the local drilling companies.

I agree to use a recycled or used billboard tarps as pond liners. As I saw the great review on used billboard tarps here - http://tarpsworld.blogspot.com/2010/03/building-fish-pond-using-used-billboard.html, I realized that the used billboard tarps can be the best alternative use as pond liner. Thanks to this thread.