Oase Alfafol PVC pond liner - is it safe for animals?

[KLN88]

I was given some of the above-mentioned pond liner, and I´m not sure if I should use it or not.
The whole thing about PVC liners containing harmful chemicals that will leak into the water honestly scares me as I don´t want my animals to die.
I can´t find a whole lot of information on Oase´s webpage other than the liner is "fish-safe".
I hope that there's someone on here who can help me, to decide whether to use it or not.
Thanks.

 

[JRS]

Are you talking aquatic animals? PVC will work, usually not as sturdy or long lasting as EPDM rubber. Not sure if this brand is any better than other PVC liners. https://www.oase.com/en/products-a-z/family/f/alfafol-pvc-pond-liners.1000926051.html

Had not heard about toxicity but I do see some other companies marketing alternatives mention it, for what that is worth. Might depend on whether the manufacturer/vendor is reputable, which Oase is as far as I know.

I used a Henri 32 mil reinforced PVC liner since I had it on hand cheap from a store closing sale. So far it has been fine, will see how long it lasts. Has been in use about 5 years, had in storage about 15 years before that.

 

[GBBUDD]

If your wanting your water feature to last more than 5 years or abouts I would not use pvc. Or vinyl. If I'm putting in the work to dig and move boulders around plant and create . I'm not going to chinse on liner or underlayment

 

[KLN88]

Are you talking aquatic animals? PVC will work, usually not as sturdy or long lasting as EPDM rubber. Not sure if this brand is any better than other PVC liners. https://www.oase.com/en/products-a-z/family/f/alfafol-pvc-pond-liners.1000926051.html

Had not heard about toxicity but I do see some other companies marketing alternatives mention it, for what that is worth. Might depend on whether the manufacturer/vendor is reputable, which Oase is as far as I know.

I used a Henri 32 mil reinforced PVC liner since I had it on hand cheap from a store closing sale. So far it has been fine, will see how long it lasts. Has been in use about 5 years, had in storage about 15 years before that.

It will be used as a liner in an enclosure for bullfrogs, so I'm not worried about the longevity of the liner as there won't be any sharp gravel in there. It will only hold very moist substrate and mud, and since frogs are very sensitive to toxins I´m kinda scared of using it.

 

[GBBUDD]

It will be used as a liner in an enclosure for bullfrogs, so I'm not worried about the longevity of the liner as there won't be any sharp gravel in there. It will only hold very moist substrate and mud, and since frogs are very sensitive to toxins I´m kinda scared of using it.

I get 100's of tag poles a year ending up with more frogs than i can count , using epdm and a wetland filter

 

[JRS]

I get hundreds of toad tadpoles every year as well as other microfauna/invertebrates in my pond. Here is a baby toad from my pond:

Post your yard and pond visitors

Great Spangled Fritillary A clearwing moth specie I have never seen before.

www.gardenpondforum.com

Here is a link from the Toronto zoo mentioning its limitations as well as being non toxic to wildlife. https://www.torontozoo.com/adoptapond/urbanoutback/part28.html Most links I have found say safe, other say maybe not. You will have to decide based on the weight you give the sources. Nothing linked to a definitive study nor could I find one off hand, just mentions of leaching chemicals/plasticizers.

Since it is free, why not give it a try? If there are problems, you can discard it and purchase something else. Obviously you want to avoid a toxic environment and if you are too worried or will always suspect the PVC if problems, then purchase the EPDM for peace of mind.