If you’re not planning to build any in-ground ponds for your fish hatchery, you may wrongfully assume that there’s no need for flexible liners at your facility. Yet, more than just ponds need proper lining; especially as structures and features age. Pre-cast tanks that started out perfectly intact quickly become cracked or damaged by the challenging hatchery environment. Instead of replacing these units, or trying to repair them with messy patching techniques, cover the entire inner surface with a liner for a quick path to restoration. Ponds, hatchery tanks, and raceways all benefit in the same ways when lined with the right material.
Disease Risks
Liners should be used in all concrete structures, whether they’re pre-cast or poured in place, to reduce disease risks. Concrete is more porous than it looks and can’t be reliably sealed for years with a simple roll or spray-on treatment. If you allow pond water to circulate against the porous and rough surface, bacterial colonies will develop that can increase the chances of many common fish diseases. Treatments will be less effective, and illnesses will return again and again, even after you drain and dry out the facility. Liners are also essential for preventing disease spread between cycles of fish, for in-ground ponds, since it’s obviously impossible to truly sanitize them without liners.
Water Quality
Lining a tank or concrete structure, made of unknown materials with a flexible polymer tested for its fish safety, can eliminate issues with compatibility. This is also recommended for maintaining water quality in earthen ponds, where water can seep in from the exterior and bring along contaminants or dissolved minerals. Concrete, in particular, tends to affect the pH of water for the first few years of use and can leach out some unwanted chemicals. Use a fish-safe liner for stable water quality regardless of the age or material of the tanks and raceways you use for your hatchery.
Soil Shifting
Earthen ponds must be lined, because the soil supporting the water is prone to shifting if exposed and saturated. No amount of compaction, or even the addition of liner alternatives like bentonite clay, can prevent this risk. An earthen pond that shifts and collapses at the dam can release thousands or even millions of gallons of water to flood the area and potentially damage the surrounding hatchery structures. Reinforcing the soil with concrete may still be necessary even after adding a liner but concrete alone doesn’t replace the need for a flexible liner.
Costly Seepage
Losing water out of a fish hatchery or nursery pond represents a costly replacement. Considering the need for high quality water, every gallon that must be added back to a leaking or seeping pond will cost more than just the price of pumping or diverting it. Seepage is inevitable through earthen and concrete ponds and raceways that aren’t lined with a flexible material. The tiny openings between soil or concrete particles simply can’t help but slowly seep water into the surrounding soil. A flexible liner from BTL Liners has the impermeability you need to minimize water loss as much as possible, cutting operation costs significantly in large facilities.
Material Protection
Liners do more than just protect the water quality, and in turn the fish, from chemicals leaching out of concrete or mineral-rich water seeping in through the soil. They also protect the materials used for the ponds or tanks from breakdown as well. Fish hatchery water is hard on concrete and metal, especially in facilities that handle saltwater species. Costly tanks and raceways are likely to last much longer when protected from the constant breakdown of everything from UV rays to acidic fish waste.
If you don’t line all of your tanks and ponds from the beginning, make sure to at least set aside part of the future budget for these upgrades. Adding liners before serious leaks and other problems develop can dramatically extend the lifespan of hatchery fixtures while reducing maintenance repairs. Find all the materials you need for fish-safe hatchery installations here at BTL Liners.
