Plywood and water?

[Notsolostfish]

I have a 3/4 of plywood under my tank for leveling, as my badement have carpet. Sometimes when working on the tank. I get drops on the plywood. How screwed i am? My friend said 1 cup of water can definitely wrap the plywood. And i honesty dont remember if i ever dropped on water on the plywood without dying it. How big of an issue that is?

 

[StatelineReefer]

I have a 3/4 of plywood under my tank for leveling, as my badement have carpet. Sometimes when working on the tank. I get drops on the plywood. How screwed i am? My friend said 1 cup of water can definitely wrap the plywood. And i honesty dont remember if i ever dropped on water on the plywood without dying it. How big of an issue that is?

Enough that I would seal the wood with a thin coat of deck sealant.

 

[Jekyl]

Mine is untreated plywood and is about 5 years old now. Haven't even had a concerning event happen.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Out of all the choices of wood laminates, plywood is arguably the best choice.

MDF, OSB is probably the worst. If it is in fact layered plywood, I would rest easy. However the edges would be the biggest concern. And as mentioned, it's definitely advisable to put a sealer on the wood to protect it from water penetration.

 

[Gtinnel]

I wouldn’t be concerned about it. If it was often wet and left wet it would be an issue but just the occasional water being spilled on it and then dried isn’t a big deal IMO.
I would guess that many people have their tanks sitting on plywood albeit usually under their finished floor.

 

[StatelineReefer]

The worst issue you'd have with getting modern plywood wet, and it would have to get wet repeatedly, is splitting and delamination.

That said if the grain gets wet it can start to splinter, and that's uncomfortable for my feet to think about. Buy a 4oz urethane sealant and never have to think about it again.

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

Wouldn't worry about it.

I had ply under my tank with some foam on top of it.

Would really need to get a lot of water on there to cause an issue.

 

[mike550]

I’m wit everyone else. I have my mixing station sitting on unfinished plywood (built it in the winter) and I just wipe it down when it gets wet. So far so good!

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

I’m wit everyone else. I have my mixing station sitting on unfinished plywood (built it in the winter) and I just wipe it down when it gets wet. So far so good!

Our brewpub had two large metal stands made for it that were topped with unfished plywood. We had tons of kegs on them and spills were common. The wood did fine until the day we sold