water damage on wood canopy

[Nimboli12]

Do any of you have wood canopies for your tanks & how do you keep the ceiling and the inside wood from water damage? Ive had mine for 2 yrs & the lining around inside is coming off. We're going to remove anything that is peeling or damaged , sand it & start anew. What can we line the inside with to prevent water damage.

I would assume any sealer would be harmful to fish.

I see these tanks w/wood canopies @ LFS all the time. Wood and water don't go well together. Wonder why they sell them.

 

[Steveg229]

I built a custom all oak canopy for someone last year. I stained and then used 3 coats of minwax satin quick dry polyurethane to seal. I let it dry for a few days to let the fumes dissipate before installing. The other option would be to thin down some epoxy and use that to seal the inside, or any water based paint will work too.

 

[Aquarian]

Do any of you have wood canopies for your tanks & how do you keep the ceiling and the inside wood from water damage? Ive had mine for 2 yrs & the lining around inside is coming off. We're going to remove anything that is peeling or damaged , sand it & start anew. What can we line the inside with to prevent water damage.

I would assume any sealer would be harmful to fish.

I see these tanks w/wood canopies @ LFS all the time. Wood and water don't go well together. Wonder why they sell them.

They sell them because it's the cheapest way to fabricate them, and they are made from junk particle board.

As long as your not putting it back on the tank until it's fully cured you can seal the wood with any kind of treatment you like. Personally I would use a rubberized paint. But a good quality water sealer should work fine.
If you are going to rebuild the hood I would get a marine grade plywood or PVC sheet stock.
I built mine from PVC.

 

[Nimboli12]

Thanks so much.