# Painting a plastic pond full of live fish: help please!



## Bob Mariani (Dec 1, 2008)

not a good solution at all. If the pond is in balance the water will remain clear. I have several ponds with fish. Event the black cement pond that is 7 feet deep allows a clear view of all the fish. Smaller ponds usually require some sort of filtration, larger ones do not.


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

Traditionally I would have said you don't have any good options

Any marine paint (that would take being submerged) could be toxic in such a small environment
A pool paint won't stick to plastic
Plastic paints will not claim to hold up under water, or to not be toxic in this instance
Tub and Tile Epoxies would soon crack over plastic, if they even stuck at all

I say "traditionally", because this past winter I was shown a product pamphlet by a garden center employee showing a paint _for_ plastic fish ponds (and other things)
They didn't have it, just wanted my opinion if I had any or seen or used it
I hadn't...in fact when mentioned it I said it didn't exist
That's when she showed me the info

I'm sorry I cannot remember the name of the product, but I remember being impressed it was from a major quality manufacturer
I told them they definitely should carry it
They won't make millions (I said), but every once in a while they'll get somebody with this type of problem that previously had no good solution

If no one here knows what it is, I certainly will be swinging by the place in the next few days
I'll see if they ever got it in, or if at least someone there remembers the company or product


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

My folks had a number of ponds--all with black liners(roofing rubber)

The water remained clear--Ponds in direct sun can be difficult as the algae loves sun.

My father tried endless filtering methods--What worked best?

He built a long -stepped--spillway ,each step was planted in watercress --water irises--and a little blue flower(which I remembered when I started to type this---duh) 

Any way, the water was circulated through the spillway and the roots filtered out all the crud.

The only maintenance was thinning out the plants when they crowded the spillway.

As to your original question about paint--I don't think that you will have success with that ,sorry.

--Mike--

EDIT--Forget-me-nots--How did I forget a name like that?


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

oh'mike said:


> My folks had a number of ponds--all with black liners(roofing rubber)
> 
> The water remained clear--Ponds in direct sun can be difficult as the algae loves sun.
> 
> ...


 
I like that idea with the bonus of having watercress for your salads,good stuff!:yes:


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## Sprayboy (Oct 21, 2009)

Freshwater fish and pond life are used to a muddy-dark bottom. Especially crawdads. Salt-water sea-life are used to a lighter sandy-bottom. What you are proposing will really confuse anything in the pond. Don't do it. :no:


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

Bob Mariani said:


> not a good solution at all. If the pond is in balance the water will remain clear. I have several ponds with fish. Event the black cement pond that is 7 feet deep allows a clear view of all the fish. Smaller ponds usually require some sort of filtration, larger ones do not.


I've always had a filtration system and have gone through several different types of pond pumps and filters but the same thing always happens no matter what...algae, mud and other junk will cloud up the water and stick to the sides of the pond. The only solution I've found is to totally empty it out, scrub the sides of the pond thoroughly, then fill it back up with clear stream water and try again. And even then it only stays clear for about a week or so before getting dark and cloudy again.



slickshift said:


> Traditionally I would have said you don't have any good options
> 
> Any marine paint (that would take being submerged) could be toxic in such a small environment
> A pool paint won't stick to plastic
> ...


This sounds perfect, if you or someone else could come up with the name of the product that would be great.



oh'mike said:


> My folks had a number of ponds--all with black liners(roofing rubber)
> 
> The water remained clear--Ponds in direct sun can be difficult as the algae loves sun.
> 
> ...


Sounds like a good idea; I'm not sure how I would go about building a spillway but I suppose I can look into it.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

The bigger problem I see is that if you change the color so you can see your fish/inverts you will also allow predators to do so. Unless you net your pond I predict a short lifespan for your fish and crawdads.


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

Leah Frances said:


> The bigger problem I see is that if you change the color so you can see your fish/inverts you will also allow predators to do so. Unless you net your pond I predict a short lifespan for your fish and crawdads.


I keep a wire mesh over the top of the pond (I had problems with some of the fish jumping out) so I don't think this would be an issue


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

:thumbsup:


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

Any other recommendations? I've been looking for paints that would do the job but I have yet to find anything that would work.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Put a blue liner in


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## Snav (Aug 20, 2009)

I don't know much about ponding - but have you considered pebbles on the bottom?


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## clb2010 (Mar 17, 2010)

From my own experience with fresh and salt water tanks/ponds...

The main reasons why your water is cloudy are going to be algae. Algae is going to come from having too high a biological load from fish coupled with not strong enough filtration. It shouldn't be caused by mud/dirt buildup unless you are getting dirt dumped in there somehow. You can beat this (algae) via the use of a much stronger mechanical filtration system as well as a very strong UV sterilizer and/or cutting down on the number of fish you have in the pond. I would also recommend putting in some water plants if the fish you have will not eat/disturb them (Koi will disturb the soil in pots which will cause murky water) as another form of biological filtration.


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

I ended up buying a white tarp which I plan to somehow attach to the bottom/sides of the pond; I'm also thinking of trying oh'mike's spillway suggestion with the watercress as a way to clear up the water so that it doesn't get all green and murky all the time.
I'm still not entirely sure how to build a spillway like that though, so any tips or suggestions would be great


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

*Got It!..Almost!*

Got it!...almost!
It's made by Zinsser, but the name of the product is so "not having to do with the application" that it keeps falling out of my head
And though it is now (as of moments ago) being carried by my Favorite Paint Store, it's so new to them that the staff may not know they carry it...I'm sure the "Garden Center" (of said store) doesn't yet know regardless...
I think it's for bird baths (not plastic as in liners)...but I may be over there tomorrow as it might rain in the afternoon and I need product so I can find out for sure

They do a fair bit of online sales so if the product works for fish pond liners I'll post up the website/purchase info


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

I cleaned out the pond yesterday and took some photos in the process so you can see how bad the situation really is...


































And this is the pump/filter that I took out of it...clearly it wasn't doing much.











So even if I paint it white or the tarp idea works, I've still got to do something about the solid green water and the coating of scum on everything. I asked at the local hardware store about what I could do and they recommended a much larger filtration system (which seems kind of unnecessary for such a small pond) or a sort of waterfall system where the water would get filtered up through a tube and then run back down into the pond, getting cleaned in the process. Either way would not be cheap at all ($200.00+) and since I started one too many projects this year, I've got to fix this on a shoestring budget.

I'm not sure how the fish even survived in there, but there were 10 or so still swimming around when I emptied it down to the bottom. I filled it up with completely clean water but already the entire thing is cloudy and murky again because of the algae and other junk on the sides that came loose while pouring the buckets of fresh water in.

So again, any solutions (particularly cheap/easy ones) would be much appreciated!


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

No offense...but yuch!
Yeah you need a bit more help than paint
I suspect the hardware store people were correct, but I'd take show these pics to some garden center (that carries ponds, pumps, and filters) and see what they say
I don't know, maybe there's some additive you can put in there or something


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## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

And unfortunately I don't think the paint I was thinking of would work for you anyway
It's called Watertite, and it _says_ it's for fish ponds, but after a careful reading of the label it doesn't say plastic anywhere
I think it's only for cement fish ponds, sorry


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## housepaintingny (Jul 25, 2009)

If you wanted to paint your plastic fish pond, Mural Mate, made by Lifeguard pool paints would work and it is non toxic, its designed for underwater murals, logos and will adhere to concrete, fiberglass and plastic, it is also chemical safe


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## jdplus33 (May 10, 2010)

Rubber roofing material is available in white. No paint involved, reline your ponds.

JD


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## clb2010 (Mar 17, 2010)

Sorry to have to say this mate but that is an algae problem not a detritus problem. Though detritus is going to be a part of it. This is going to be because of sunlight combined with Nitrates and Phosphates from food and fish waste which is what the algae feeds on.

You don't need to paint anything. You need to get a bigger filter, consider biological (water plants) filtration, look at a big UV Sterilizer, reduce the number of fish in there, and get on a weekly/bi-weekly water change system. If you do that you will see clean water.


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

I ended up emptying out the pond entirely, putting a white tarp in it, weighing it down with rocks and then refilling it with clean water. The effect isn't too bad, although there is some extra tarp around the sides that i'm not sure what to do with yet. I know the water will turn green soon enough though, so I'm still looking for a solution. I went to another garden store and asked about watercress or underwater plants that could help with the algae and they told me they wouldn't have any for another few months but suggested I get a UV sterilizer instead.

Their cheapest UV sterilizer was $189.99 though and is designed for ponds over 1,000 gallons, which is more than I want to spend and more than I need...I think my pond is somewhere between 75 and 150 gallons, maybe 200 at most.

Does anyone know if there are less expensive UV sterilizers designed for smaller ponds like the one I've got? I asked the clerk at the garden store this and he told me he didn't think so, but I think he may have just been saying that in order to get me to buy from his store.


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## Hands-on (Apr 24, 2010)

I've had 2 ponds for the last 15 years - put plants in there! If I turn my pumps of during the winter when the weather warms up I'll get an algae bloom, but if I leave them on they stay clear. You need to cover 60 - 75% of the surface to keep the algae down, then let it balance itself. You need some muck in the bottom along with fish and plants - if you want a perfectly clean pond down to the bottom you'll need some exceptionally good filter systems; you'd have to check with a pond specialist.


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## snowfall (Mar 12, 2010)

Just an update in case anyone's still interested:

So as I said in my last post, I ended up going with the white tarp idea; it has more or less the same effect as the sides of the pond being painted white, it just doesn't look as neat and tidy. I also fixed the algae/solid green water issue by adding a gravel filtration system.

Here's the finished product:










Now the problem is just that green gunk has built up all over the sides, turning the interior of the pond (mostly) black/dark again. The water is clear now, but the pond looks dirty and it's harder to see the fish because the sides are so gunked up. Here's what I mean...this was 12 days later:










So does anyone know of any way to fix this and to get the sides to stay (at least mostly) white? I can clean the tarp and put it back in so it's white again, but that takes an incredible amount of time and it's just dirty again less than 2 weeks later so I don't see a whole lot of point.
As always, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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