Question about galvanized steel?

[Lori Walker]

Hi....new to forum....my husband and I are beginning construction on our pond this weekend. We are planning a tunnel in the bottom. A friend gave us a piece of drainage pipe that is 12" in diameter and about 28" long....the perfect size we wanted...but, it turns out it is made of galvanized steel not the corrugated plastic type.....would this be safe for the tunnel? I have read that the galvanized steel could be toxic...is that true? I would love to hear from someone quickly.....I am so anxious to beging building our pond over the weekend....and need some time to find aother pipe if necessary.

thanks!
Lori

[~ jan[_2_]]

On Fri, 24 May 2013 15:38:12 +0100, Lori Walker
> wrote:

>
>Hi....new to forum....my husband and I are beginning construction on our
>pond this weekend. We are planning a tunnel in the bottom. A friend
>gave us a piece of drainage pipe that is 12" in diameter and about 28"
>long....the perfect size we wanted...but, it turns out it is made of
>galvanized steel not the corrugated plastic type.....would this be safe
>for the tunnel? I have read that the galvanized steel could be
>toxic...is that true? I would love to hear from someone quickly.....I
>am so anxious to beging building our pond over the weekend....and need
>some time to find aother pipe if necessary.
>
>thanks!
>Lori

Hi Lori,

The worry with galvanized is the zinc. If your water has a pH of 7-7.5 or
higher, it won't leach, but if you have an acidic pH then it will. You
could probably coat the inside of the pipe perhaps.

There are other worries with tunnels though, depending on your flow rate
and such, is that often that is where a fish will go to die, so be sure you
have easy access to that tunnel to clean it out if necessary. ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us