# aquarium-safe wood sealant?



## hbeth82 (Jul 1, 2009)

I'm going to be building a lid/box to fit over part of my aquarium (tank is 48" long, the box is 36" long) but need to stain the wood to protect it from water splashing. I'm using pine. What stain would be best or should I use something else?


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## hbeth82 (Jul 1, 2009)

Would a water-based Polyurethane stain be okay?


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

i think any stain would be fine for the canopy as it is not soaking and leeching water. add some glass tops to the tank in junction with the top and your good to go.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Use stain to color the wood the way you want it to look. Then seal it with clear polyurethane. Paint the inside gloss white.


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## hbeth82 (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks, it shouldn't get wet much, other than for a small splashes during water changes.


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

yep i have thought about using that metalic spray paint for the insude of my next hood. Maybe this would help with reflecting light back down into the tank.....


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

You may consider using Dry Lock or a similar mold resistant paint for the inside of the canopy...


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## Maxima308 (Jun 6, 2009)

Oil based paint works well to seal out moisture. I would paint the inside white to help reflect light.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Toby_H said:


> You may consider using Dry Lock or a similar mold resistant paint for the inside of the canopy...


 Drylok is for making concrete surfaces resist water, like if you have a concrete cistern that is leaking. It easily chips off of wood, and is a bit more like mortar or stucco in appearance than like paint. The metallic paint would not work as well as white to reflect light. However much of it will simply bounce around since it will not enter the water from just any angle.


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

thanks for the coment on the metalic paint


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

ben1988 said:


> thanks for the coment on the metalic paint


 You are welcome. The metallic seems like a good idea, but turns out it doesn't reflect as much back in the tank as plain white paint. Now a German polished aluminum reflector with computed angles to maximize reflection at a steep (high penetration) angle, can't beat that. You can still start out with white paint and add the reflector later when you win the lotto.


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