I found a nice stand at a salvation army that I've been cleaning up to use for my 30g long. I was wondering what I should do to waterproof the stand...i dont think it has anything on it now that makes the wood waterproof.
waterproofing a stand
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Ron Reefman
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There are several products that can work. Marine varnish, actually almost any marine wood coating, Rustoleum oil based paint.
A secondary suggestion for you, if you are going to have a sump inside the stand, build a tall tray from sheet pvc as a way to catch spills, splashes and overflows. You can see how I built one for my 40g cube's sump in my build thread. There is a link to it in my signature under this post. I've done this to my last 4 builds and it's proven very useful. I even go so far as to install a bulkhead about halfway up the back and plumb it out to the back wall of the house and outside. If you have any drains around, you could plumb it to one of those as well.
A secondary suggestion for you, if you are going to have a sump inside the stand, build a tall tray from sheet pvc as a way to catch spills, splashes and overflows. You can see how I built one for my 40g cube's sump in my build thread. There is a link to it in my signature under this post. I've done this to my last 4 builds and it's proven very useful. I even go so far as to install a bulkhead about halfway up the back and plumb it out to the back wall of the house and outside. If you have any drains around, you could plumb it to one of those as well.
This also works because it's not like your soaking ur stand in water constantly and latex paint is thick!
thank you for all the suggestions!! could i just use a matt sealant and paint it over everything? the stand is already painted (was a wine cabinet) but i just want to make all the wood/part water resistant. if so, any specfic brands or types yall have had good experiences with?
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Part of it will depend whether you want to be able to see the wood or if you want a painted look. As a general rule of thumb any thing that won't clean up with water will probably seal your tank. For example, latex paint cleans up with water (it may be fine as a primer but is probably not best a top coat), where as oil-base paints, varnishes, and many sealants won't clean up with water and need mineral spirits, turpentine, or something similar. Another thing to consider is to caulk the joints. If you post pictures then we can probably be more specific. Either way, good luck!
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