Will it hold?

[Fish Fan]

I think im going to seal the current board with polycrylic, just to be safe. I think that's the best course of action here, i wouldn't have to cut a new board to scale but I also have a crafty beaver of a dad that might want to cut a piece of plywood to size and seal it himself, so changing out the board for plywood and seal with polyurethane is seeming like the best option here. Can I seal the board with it or do i have to switch to plywood. I think the idea here is making the board waterproof to prevent catastrophic failure

I forgot to mention, but if you have a big box hardware store near you, they can cut plywood to the size you need. If you have a Home Depot specifically, they have a 4 foot x 8 foot sheet of 3/4" pine plywood for $40 (in my market), which would be more than enough to replace those shelves, and have some left over. Just an option.

If you seal the MDF, it should last longer

 

[Fish Fan]

I'll throw one more suggestion out there too, $70 at PetCo:

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-brooklyn-metal-tank-stand---for-10-gallon-aquariums-2572811?cm_mmc=PSH%7CGGL%7COMNI%7CCC%7CNA%7CNA%7C2jqyLsB9aZSXERgBnMUyri%7CENT_PSH_GGL_OMNI_CC_NA_PETCO_NA_NA_09032025_COV_PUR-OMNI_PMAX-PLA-LIA_NA_FISH%7C0%7C0%7C0&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22487748708&gbraid=0AAAAAD97F17dSGFErQcAeLWS8ouq40N8N&gclid=CjwKCAjw5ZXQBhBdEiwAI5XVWYeoefh5REU84B5nc9pcA7-d5_qEpxkkNmAyeUHsguQykKn7mpc_3hoCtdsQAvD_BwE

 

[jonelder68]

I don't know why i didnt think of that. I have an extra shelf board. Surely a double board will hold

Double the boards but seal/paint them in epoxy paint. I’d trust it.

 

[Advil_LiquiGLs]

Ive decided I'm going to seal the current boards with polycrylic and then double board the level the tank is on. Either that or the plywood route sounds good to me. Like I said my dad loves crafting things and diy so he might take it upon himself to replace the entire board if he doesnt think it's to his standard. Hes just not here at the moment and will be back later this month so for now I think im okay but i definitely want to address the "not waterproof" issue at some point later this month so i can stop babying this thing. Seriously im TOO paranoid, checking up on this thing every 10 minutes and it only 10 gallons :,D

 

[BryanM]

I think im going to seal the current board with polycrylic, just to be safe. I think that's the best course of action here, i wouldn't have to cut a new board to scale but I also have a crafty beaver of a dad that might want to cut a piece of plywood to size and seal it himself, so changing out the board for plywood and seal with polyurethane is seeming like the best option here. Can I seal the board with it or do i have to switch to plywood. I think the idea here is making the board waterproof to prevent catastrophic failure

I woud employ pops and get 3/4" plywood.

 

[Dom]

I cant tell the difference between plywood and particleboard, is there any way to test? I have a spare shelf i can potentially cut into to see if its the thing

I refuse to believe the shelf thats supposed to hold 400 lbs on one shelf came with particleboard and not plywood

Friend, you are talking about a 10 gallon tank. What you have is adequate.

If you are worried about moisture, then paint the particle board to protect it and move on with the build.