Alternatives to using liners in cement grow beds ??

[Jimmi Jones]

Hi all, greetngs from Belize.

 

I am still working on my small commercial raft system. I am weighing my options whether to use liners or some kind of cement sealer that could be used instead of liners that would be plant and fish safe, any suggestions? The challenge I have is the liners would need to be imported to Belize as I have not found anything suitable.

 

Thanks

 

Jimmi

[TCLynx]

Proper coating would probably need to be imported too.  The trick is finding a sealer that is safe for potable water and that won't mess with the pH or harm your fish.  There are sealers out there but some of them cause more pH issues than the concrete so you will have to do quite a bit of homework to find suitable ones.

[Chi Ma]

You can try Pond Coat. I have used it in Koi ponds but never for food production.

 

Pond Coat

 

MSDS

[AlbertF]

i used iso resin, a food grade approved resin, however have you looked at using ferrocrete to build your beds?

[Ryan Chatterson]

I used sweetwater epoxy paint in my wood tanks and it works great on cement too. Fish safe, EPA approved. You will still have to import it though and I'm guessing it's going to be crazy expensive to import any paint b/c most ship Haz Mat.

Chi Ma said:

You can try Pond Coat. I have used it in Koi ponds but never for food production.

 

Pond Coat

 

MSDS

[Chris Smith]

I used paraffin wax. I warmed it and painted it on. Then I used a propane torch to heat it so that it melted into the concrete. I added a second coat after that. The water beads off the concrete now and there is no more leaching.

[TCLynx]

LOL, wow now there is a food safe liner!  Cool idea.

Chris Smith said:

I used paraffin wax. I warmed it and painted it on. Then I used a propane torch to heat it so that it melted into the concrete. I added a second coat after that. The water beads off the concrete now and there is no more leaching.

[AlbertF]

would wax evetually wear off though?

[TCLynx]

Perhaps but by that time concrete would be so well and long cured that I expect it wouldn't be a problem with a concrete bed.

 

It probably wouldn't be appropriate for sealing anything other than concrete.

AlbertF said:

would wax evetually wear off though?

[Harold Sukhbir]

There are silicone additives for waterproofing cement that can be mixed in with the concrete,they are even self healing and are food safe and not expensive. If anyone's interested here's a link;

 

http://www.hycrete.com/hycrete-applications/waterproofing-plus-corr...

 

 

[Nick Rizzo]

Just found out today the company that is helping us with our school project uses Drylok for all his cement tanks said he has no issues with leaching or leaks

TCLynx said:

Proper coating would probably need to be imported too.  The trick is finding a sealer that is safe for potable water and that won't mess with the pH or harm your fish.  There are sealers out there but some of them cause more pH issues than the concrete so you will have to do quite a bit of homework to find suitable ones.

[Jimmi Jones]

I want to thank all of you for your responses, it is amazing how well this group works, I was not sure what I could use as an alternative to liners but now I have quite a few options, I have already been lloking into a few of them, I will let you know what I decided to use and how it works. I really am greatfulfor your input.

 

Jimmi

[steve]

Just wondering if you decided on which sealer to use? As I am in the same boat. The acid wash and paraffin is starting to sound good and safe. 

Jimmi Jones said:

I want to thank all of you for your responses, it is amazing how well this group works, I was not sure what I could use as an alternative to liners but now I have quite a few options, I have already been lloking into a few of them, I will let you know what I decided to use and how it works. I really am greatfulfor your input.

 

Jimmi