One of the biggest benefits of choosing flexible liner materials over rigid tanks or cast concrete is customization. Hatcheries are often built around natural features like rivers or lakes to take advantage of a natural source of water. Laying out all the various buildings, structures, and outdoor ponds and tanks can seem impossible when working with pre-cast and rigid designs. Getting creative with flexible liners allows for hatchery designs that better fit into the existing environment for wind shelter and easy access. Aside from flexibility, here are four other reasons to choose custom ponds and tanks built with the utilization of flexible liners.
Costs
Pre-cast fiberglass and concrete tanks are expensive even in the smallest sizes. Once you’re ordering them in 10,000- and 20,000-gallon sizes for nursery tanks and beyond, you’ll find that most of a facility’s budget quickly goes to these fixtures. They’re necessary for some stages of delicate hatchling and fry handling, but they’re not feasible on a financial level for larger nursery and production tanks. Unless you only plan to hatch out small tropical fish that require far less total volume, you’ll likely find that in-ground ponds or tanks, made with flexible liner materials, are more affordable than trying to use pre-cast tanks alone.
Installation Time
Rigid tanks are the fastest to install in most cases but be sure you don’t overlook the extra preparation time needed to clear and prepare a flat gravel pad or pour a concrete foundation. This can add weeks to the hatchery construction process if the weather doesn’t cooperate. In contrast, flexible liners can still be installed when it’s a little too cold for pouring concrete. The actual layout of the liner material goes quickly, especially if the material is custom fabricated by a source like BTL Liners. A custom fabricated sheet spreads out quickly with minimal seam sealing, allowing for quick installation.
Site Limitations
Some fish hatchery sites simply can’t support either rigid tanks or in-ground ponds. Loose soil or extra high water tables can make it impractical or extremely costly to dig into the ground for large ponds. On the other end of the spectrum, sites that are too far from nearby roads can make it practically impossible to get the largest tanks in place without outrageous delivery costs. Don’t be afraid to adapt your original plans if you discover difficulties with the site as the work progresses.
Shipping and Handling Challenges
Speaking of delivery, don’t underestimate the costs of getting the tanks or liners shipped to the actual building site. The availability of certain materials in the general area still doesn’t tell you how feasible it is to get them to the hatchery. Large, rigid tanks are almost always oversized loads that require special permits and hauling specialists even for short trips. Flexible liners arrive folded into bundles or rolled on spools, easy to move with everyday equipment or by hand. The largest tanks need cranes to lift them into place, while the largest bundles of seamless liner will still only need a forklift or front-end loader.
Most fish hatcheries will include a mix of both in-ground and above-ground fixtures, but few larger facilities will feature only rigid tanks. It’s simply too expensive and difficult to transport tanks capable of holding thousands of fingerlings at a time as they grow to full size. Limit your rigid tank use to hatching and nursery tanks for sensitive hatchlings and fry, then try BTL Liners ArmorPro for building custom outdoor ponds for the rest of the growth cycle.
