My husband and I are building an indoor koi pond. It will be made out of cement. Can someone tell me what it should be coated with. Someone told us to use something like used for swimming pools. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I do not know much about cement ponds. I do know that you can use gunite and I am suspecting it's the same thing, or maybe just a cheaper version? I have been following a thread on a gunite pond and they used CIM to seal it with. Here is what they postd on CIM;

This is off the CIM website:

CIM Industrial Membranes are used worldwide to provide a seamless, impermeable barrier against harsh environments, moisture, chemical attack and abrasion.
Ready for application as soon as activator is added to the premix, CIM adheres to concrete, metal, glass, wood -- nearly any surface. Applies faster and easier than competitive systems which rely on pre-formed sheets needing solvent or hot-sealed seaming in the field. The following features of CIM make it the most cost-effective, trouble-free industrial membrane system available.

CIM Is Applied Easily And Rapidly -- Sprays, squeegees, rolls, or brushes quickly to a desired thickness (typically 60 mils-100 mils)

CIM Saves Labor -- No specialized factory fabrication, fast application rate

CIM Is Versatile -- Recommended for much wider range of applications than any other in-place or pre-formed system

CIM Is Seamless -- No field seaming is required, low maintenance

CIM Is Easily Repaired -- If the membrane is damaged, it is easily repaired and returned to better than new properties

CIM Cures Rapidly -- Quickly ready for service, second coat application permitted within minutes if required

CIM Is UV Stable -- Good UV stability, extra protection available with coatings, in decorative colors, if needed

CIM Resists Abrasion -- Recommended for applications subject to heavy wear

CIM Is Flexible At Extreme Temperatures -- Permits use when conditions include severe outdoor exposure from Alaska's North Slope (-60F/-50C) to roofs in the Saudi Desert (180F/85C)

CIM Has High Solids Content -- Limited volatility due to greater than 90% solids composition

CIM Is Highly Chemical Resistant -- Outstanding chemical resistance, even at high temperatures

Here is the thread on this pond, it's an awesome pond you might realy enjoying checking this thread out.

http://www.koivetforums.com/forums/showthr...65&page=1&pp=15

It is a very long thread but follows completely through on the process of building this pond with lots of pictures. Way awesome.

Scott

a two-part epoxy paint would be best. theres probably a few that are specifically designed for your application. after it has dried and cured, you may want to season it (putting water in and letting sort of rinse off).

hope this helps

from my friend's experience, if cement is used, it has to be filled with water and left running for quite a while before it is cleared of chemical that is harmful to the fishes.. his father modified his pond and the work was mostly done with cement.. the pond was left running with water (no fish) for a week.. water was then replaced with the water from the temporary big fiber glass tank thinking the pond is free of chemical, but all koi still died from poisoning over night.. water condition was good, but traces of chemical from cement was found in the water upon investigation.. so sad to see so many koi died and that was a tidy sum of money wasted..

I am not a pond builder, thus dun know what to say.. I am jus sharing what I personally witnessed...

i read in my pond book that cement ponds are
the badest out of all of them.

Contrary to what your "book" says... concrete or gunnite ponds are what all advance ponders use for a permanent pond.

There is a product called G4 on the market which is a water proofing membrane paint for ponds.

http://www.kockneykoi.co.uk/productpages/g4.htm

Curing a concrete pond will take more than just guess work... Because concrete has lots of lime in it, the lime has to be neutralised b4 fish can be introduced. Filling a new concrete pond with water will give you pH readings of nearly 12 which will kill your fish very quickly. Concrete ponds have to be cured with acid over a period of time. Some people scrub with acetic acid (vinegar), some use the old method of "pineapple skin". I soaked my pond in a phosphoric acid solution for over a month prior to emptying the pond and giving it a thorough scrubbing and then introducing fresh water and most importantly TESTING the pH prior to even contemplating introducing fish!! pH levels should be no more than 8 (test over a week period) b4 introducing fish.

Concret ponds allow you get vertical shears on ponds where the others such as liners cannot achieve (without the sides collapsing in!).

It might be best to get a swimming pool builder to advice on the strenght and reinforcing required for a concrete pond to make sure.

Remember, a concrete pond is permanenet.... You must really want to it and do it right from the start or else it will be a BIG hassle to then try to demolish.

kev

my indoor concrete pond when first filled and ready for fish.

CONCRETE PONDS:

In most respects,concrete is the least desirable material to use
in pond construction.It is much more physically demanding,messy,
and the most expensive choice.
In colder climates concrete should never be a
consideration.Even with all the extra work and money that
goes into their construction,they rarely
hold water for more then a year or 2 before they crack due to
frezzing temperatures.However if you do choose a aquality concrete,
it is very rich and needs to be applied by a professional.

I'm not sure where you are getting your information at but it doesn't sound correct to me. I have a friend here in Idaho who had a concrete pond for 20 years. He never had any troubles with it and it was beautiful. In fact it was his pond that got me hooked, I was 12 when his wife would take care of me after school. Through some of those years we've had temps as low as -25 F (below zero). I think it is all in how you take care of the pond that makes the difference.


Scott

im guessing it's because you guys are in The U.S
and it gets alot colder here in Quebec canada...... so i think this
would only aply to People who live in cold climates.

with the use of concrete, and allowing the concrete to cure (dry out), if you then applied a coating to the inside, wouldnt that eliminate the direct leaching of the lime?

or is the point of using concrete so that you do not have to have a type of 'liner'?

(new to pond info) -Tooter

I have a concrete pond that was already in when I bought my house. It is a blown type concrete that is molded to looks like rocks. I do not know how long it was installed before I bought the house 5 years ago. I live in southwest Missouri and our temps can vary from below zero to 100 plus. I have had no problems with it all. I even put a concrete block in the bottom to brace a PVC pipe before I read about exposing goldfish to concrete. No known problems with my golds. They are easy to clean if need be. When I moved in, the pond was full of leaves and algae. I pumped out the water put the fish into a wading pool, then got a high pressure sprayer and blasted all the ick out. My 2 cents worth.

Sorry,no help what so ever on cement pond theory,however,I do live in pgh.pa.,where the temps get pretty frigid,and I had a neighbor that had a cement pond for years,and never had any issues with it. Kevkoi,I was more intrigued by your indoor pond,and wanted to see more Do you have any pics with your fish in the pond?

I had a cement tank before.. it was a gift from a breeder and he told me to let algae infest the tank before allowing fishes to live in it..

partly algae is a sign that the tank is free of chemical.. and algae grows well in such tank.. and the fishes in such algae infested cemented tank are much brighter where the color is darker in red/orange and more glossy than those fishes in normal tank with lighting...

and the breeder himself has a BIG gigantic pond filled with greenish water and fully covered/infested with algae... gosh, his goldfishes are bright...

so I dun think cement tank are bad choice.. except they do crack and it is a headache to patch cracks if it is a pond.. tank is simple, where we ca patch from the outside.. but for pond might be a problem.. maybe silicon or chewing gum may help...

by the way, concrete are cement isn't it?? or there are other form of concrete??

Thank you all for your guidance and useful information. Nice to have such great feed back. Thank again.
Pam