Best wood for wooden Lid?

HI Guys

Im looking to build a wooden lid for a tank, but i like the natural look and thus not intrested in supawood or any wood that doesnt look natural, also not intrested in plastic/glass.

What wood works best with a aqueriam? also im looking for one that doesnt require 50 layers of sealent on the inside...

 

there i cant help you sorry,mine came all built and sealed up still dont know what wood it is just that its heavy as hell

 

marine plywood would work , or you can use normal wood and treat the underside that will be exposed to water with a good quality waterproofing paint. hope that helps

 

lready tried a pine lid that i painted with 3 coats of white enamel after the undercoat to seal it with, and it warped, so im out of ideas at this point....

 

Is there noways you can put a glass panels ontop of the tank? And than the canopy ontop of that? You wont be able to see the glass panels ontop of the tank if the canopy is on?

 

Get yourself Venier covered pressed woot sheet. Cheaper than pine or equivalent.

Once you have built the lid do the following.

1 Seal the corers with white silicon.
2 Paint the inside white enamel paint.
3 Apply Marine Varnish over and let dry.
4 Get some PC fans and mount somewhere to extract air/ blow air in. This will keep your lid dry and cool the temps of the lights.

Here is the link to my DIY Lid.
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?13021-My-5-foot-tank-from-start-to-finish

I have no issues whatsoever. HTH

 

Aluminium is an option?

 

@SloMo.00. I allrady have the fans, im into it so they are easy to get, the venier wood i dont like much and im no expert with wood work and i tend to mess up those soft woods easily.

Im looking for something solid like pine, but just something that can handel water and heat well, im not keen on having a 700l tank burst cause of a lid that buckled...

 

Well unfortunately Pine is very expensive. Supawood is also a cheap alternative, but very heavy. You'll either need to have it built or use Aluminium as mentioned. Either way this will not be a cheap option. If you seal any wood well enough it won't have problems. So start your options there and decide what wood you want to use.

 

How about commercial ply. Cheaqper than marine. Looks also natural outside.

 

Don't mess around - use Oak - is is a beautifuk grained wood. It is a great semi hard wood and you need a semi hard wood so that it does NOT warp, once sealed with a clear varnish it lasts forever. You can also stain it darker if you want a dark finish. It is a fantastic wood to work with. Admittedly is is not a cheap wood - but it has ALL the qualities that you need.
Leave a gap at the back of the lid between the top of the glass and the bottom of the lid so that moisture can escape.
Also use heavy SOLID BRASS hinges that wont rust.

 

You can also consider sealing the inside with fibreglass resin. I agree with @eros111 on the brass hinges, but you can also consider sliding doors.

 

The problem is, why i dont want a glass lid is because of the DIY PVC overflow, and also i have extractor fans i can install into the lid, and i love the look of oak, but the price tag is hefty lol

 

With the beauty and properties of Oak...... you will forget the price soooooon after you have got the result you want is all I can say !!!! and besides - look at it this way - you DESERVE to give YOURSELF a Christmas present - I mean to say dammit man - you have worked hard all year and now it's time for that pay-back - so you can justify the price of Oak.
JFDI !!!!!!!!

 

So just ball park range (I have no idea what wood prices are), what is oaks cost and how thick is it?

 

you could try this product for under the wood if the other products have failed http://www.liquidrubbersa.com/products/highbuild_s200

 

@eros111 I already got myslef a gift, the 700l tank lol

 

I have warping on my canopy lid due to the heat of the T5's. Mine is made from pine shelving. I intend to fix the problem with metal bracing. Will post pics when I've sorted it out.

 

the only problem with metal bracing is the wieght it will put on the glass, and my pine warped without me even using a light

 

What did you use? Normal pine? What did you paint it with?

You've seen my canopy thread. I used normal, good quality pine and painted it with enamel. Hopefully the frame won't warp. I am going to make a frame from flat bar (probably something like 30mm wide x 5mm thick) I don't think it will add too much weight. How thick is the glass of this tank?