Protecting the wrap on your stand (plus a side question)

SallyWho · Jun 19, 2018

First, the side question! I've got a plywood top on my stand, and my tank is a basic Marineland with a rim/trim on top and bottom. Do I need to put a thin layer of something like yoga mat material between the tank and the plywood, just in case there's any irregularities in the surface that could damage the trim on the tank?

Okay, now for the meat! The friend of mine who helped me build the stand just showed me a shed chock full of wood slats of varying widths that I can have for free. Some of it's pallet wood, and some of it's trim but it's all nice and weathered looking, which is the direction I decided I wanted to go with skinning the stand. My question is how to protect it from inevitable spills and splashes and the possible leak. If I put clear coat on it, won't it be shiny? Which would kind of defeat the purpose of a weathered-looking wood stand. Putting a few layers of Kilz on it will also kind of ruin the effect. I was hoping to leave most of it looking old and raw(ish). Any way to make it water resistant without also making it look stupid? I do plan to put a little paint on some of the slats, so it looks like a structure that had once had color, but I'll sand most of it off. Thoughts? Thanks!

WV Reefer · Jun 20, 2018

SallyWho said:
First, the side question! I've got a plywood top on my stand, and my tank is a basic Marineland with a rim/trim on top and bottom. Do I need to put a thin layer of something like yoga mat material between the tank and the plywood, just in case there's any irregularities in the surface that could damage the trim on the tank?

Okay, now for the meat! The friend of mine who helped me build the stand just showed me a shed chock full of wood slats of varying widths that I can have for free. Some of it's pallet wood, and some of it's trim but it's all nice and weathered looking, which is the direction I decided I wanted to go with skinning the stand. My question is how to protect it from inevitable spills and splashes and the possible leak. If I put clear coat on it, won't it be shiny? Which would kind of defeat the purpose of a weathered-looking wood stand. Putting a few layers of Kilz on it will also kind of ruin the effect. I was hoping to leave most of it looking old and raw(ish). Any way to make it water resistant without also making it look stupid? I do plan to put a little paint on some of the slats, so it looks like a structure that had once had color, but I'll sand most of it off. Thoughts? Thanks!

Some people use a mat some don’t. For my 75 Gallon, I did not use a mat but my 12 Gallon long is such a weird length that I used a mat.

I see lots of barn wood type stands and I think the only trick is: don’t get it wet. lol

Scratch08 · Jun 20, 2018

SallyWho said:
First, the side question! I've got a plywood top on my stand, and my tank is a basic Marineland with a rim/trim on top and bottom. Do I need to put a thin layer of something like yoga mat material between the tank and the plywood, just in case there's any irregularities in the surface that could damage the trim on the tank?

Okay, now for the meat! The friend of mine who helped me build the stand just showed me a shed chock full of wood slats of varying widths that I can have for free. Some of it's pallet wood, and some of it's trim but it's all nice and weathered looking, which is the direction I decided I wanted to go with skinning the stand. My question is how to protect it from inevitable spills and splashes and the possible leak. If I put clear coat on it, won't it be shiny? Which would kind of defeat the purpose of a weathered-looking wood stand. Putting a few layers of Kilz on it will also kind of ruin the effect. I was hoping to leave most of it looking old and raw(ish). Any way to make it water resistant without also making it look stupid? I do plan to put a little paint on some of the slats, so it looks like a structure that had once had color, but I'll sand most of it off. Thoughts? Thanks!

1st question- with the standard tanks, ones with plastic trim, you dont have to use a mat under the tank. A mat is usually only necessary under rimless/trimless tanks in order to prevent extra stress on the tank if the stand top has any irregularities.
2nd question- You can use satin or matte poly on it. Doing that wont create too much of a sheen on the wood. Depending on how "weathered" the wood is, such as if you're leaving it with a rough texture, then you may want to consider using polyurethane in the rattle can. Will be way easier than trying to brush it on.

I used minwax satin on my stand, has a very subtle shine to it. You can kinda see it in this picture. I dont have any close ups of it on my phone and I'm not home right now.

SallyWho · Jun 21, 2018

Scratch08 said:
1st question- with the standard tanks, ones with plastic trim, you dont have to use a mat under the tank. A mat is usually only necessary under rimless/trimless tanks in order to prevent extra stress on the tank if the stand top has any irregularities.
2nd question- You can use satin or matte poly on it. Doing that wont create too much of a sheen on the wood. Depending on how "weathered" the wood is, such as if you're leaving it with a rough texture, then you may want to consider using polyurethane in the rattle can. Will be way easier than trying to brush it on.

I used minwax satin on my stand, has a very subtle shine to it. You can kinda see it in this picture. I dont have any close ups of it on my phone and I'm not home right now.

That's a good looking stand and canopy! I'll check into some spray poly- thanks for the recommendation!