Hi! I'm so happy that I found this forum. I am planning to build a aquarium cabinet/stand 60"L x24" W x39"H. I need the materials needed and the proper procedures when waterproofing inside of the cabinet. Also, i will be using 3/4 marine plywood and 2x4's for the framing.
Re: waterproofing wood cabinet
uh, just out of curiousity, why do you need the inside to be water proof? is your filtration system gonna be in there? anyway, you might want to coat the inside with resin -- that's what some people do to seal MDF-made stuff in some hobbies.
HTH
Safety first - always wear face/eye/ear/hand protection as a minimum.
Re: waterproofing wood cabinet
A few years ago, I was in the marine aquarium hobby. The last aquarium I built had a 100gal tank with a 75 gal sub-tank both of which were housed on a wood stand made from 3/4" plywood. The entire stand was made from 1 sheet of plywood without any framing though in retrospect I should have put some framing in (I will if I ever get back to this hobby).
To answer your question: I just used varnish. You could also paint it. There is no need to waterproof the inside of the cabinet. If you are building this yourself, make sure you use robust joinery and not just simple butt joints. Keep in mind an aquarium is VERY heavy. Avoid metal fasteners such as nails, screws, etc. to carry the load especially if this is a saltwater aquarium.
Sorry I don't have pictures but if you really want some I can take some and post them later.
Re: waterproofing wood cabinet
I had my last table (for my 100gal tank too -- but was just using the normal overhead filter) built by somebody and the only waterproofing it had was varnish. This time around, and if like incc63, I do get around to maintaining it, I might try and build one my self.
Safety first - always wear face/eye/ear/hand protection as a minimum.
