Should I seal the piece of wood I am placing ontop of my aquarium stand?

[AlphaCasual]

I have a piece of wood I bought to go on top of my aquarium stand, beneath the tank before I setup. Should I seal this? I am reading many conflicting things about whether or not to seal the wood under a tank. If yes what should I use to seal it with ?

 

[TurboTang]

Very very likely you will get water on the wood throughout the life of your tank. And bare wood will rapidly soak it up causing at minimum discoloration - eventually rot. You can seal it with almost any paint - but I would recommend oil base paint or spar urethane.

 

[AlphaCasual]

I was reading other threads about using marine polyurethane is that overkill for this?

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I was reading other threads about using marine polyurethane is that overkill for this?

Nope. Not overkill at all. This piece Will get wet.

 

[TurboTang]

It's not overkill in my opinion. It will prevent you problems when that big water spill happens once a year

 

[moz71]

Not sure what’s the difference but I will still use it. I wish I put another coat on my wood as it still gets through. Can’t overdue it

 

[TurboTang]

Spar urethane works good for me - I use it on the top deck of wood on my outdoor koi ponds. Any of the "marine" coatings is a step up from that

 

[AlphaCasual]

Thanks guys, went and grabbed some polyurethane and will apply a few coats. I appreciate the advice!