Stand.. What to do.

[Mussin]

Well I am in the process of building a 90G reef set-up and I am reusing my old stand that came with my 75G.  Its just a plian old marineland stand.  I have some questions..  Will it hold the extra weight of the 90?  What would you guys do to it to get it ready for the 90?  There will be a sump in there so do I need to seal it with something?  Ive seen people paint thiers white (inside).  Any ideas, tips?? 






Jeremy

[Boonjob]

It should be just fine as far as holding the weight...

You can paint the insides with a number of things...

The white is usually a form of exterior waterproof/mold resistant paint, there are plenty of brands.

Some have used fiberglass resin, spray on rubber, poly urethane...

The paint is probably the cheapest route, but IMO offers some lessened resistance over the other mentioned methods... the paint by itself may not seal the joints well enough or at all which will still allow spilt water run out of the stand... the other options if done correctly will completely seal the bottom of the stand, but usually cost more and may not be worth the added protection... The paint will atleast protect the surfaces against any spills/salt/humidity which is half the battle. You could always spray rubber/silicone the joints and paint over the larger flatter surfaces and joints.

No matter which you choose, something is better than nothing.

[Twizted1]

Because the 75 & the 90 have the same foot print most stands are universal. So weight shouldn't be a problem IMO. On my stand I stained & poppies the inside of the stand. I just didn't want to take any chances & it's easier to do when there is no tank on it. So I would protect it in some way.

[bkvreef]

For my 220 I had an identical stand (bigger but same makeup).
The trim on the top wasn't as good of shape.
I like the stand and canopy to cover my tanks trims because they don't always match.  I tore off the top trim and added a slightly larger piece of trim (to cover the tanks trim).
Sanded and then stained....etc.
It sounds like a lot of work but if I can do it (with some help) then anyone can do it!
It was well worth the extra work!

[Viggen]

like stated above it's the same stand for a 75/90g thus no worries about being able to hold the weight.... it's only 120 #'s or so more weight

Looks wise if you like the way it looks don't do a thing

OR sand/stain to your liking

[Mussin]

I am going to stain it dark cherry.  Just wondering about the humidity warping the wood with a sump being under there? 


Jeremy

[Boonjob]

Warping is from uneven drying, if the humidity is consistant and you dont have accumilation, you have nothing to fear from warping. The wood will never really rise above 20% internal humidity in room temp provided you don't have accumilation.... I would worry more about mold at that point.


If you are staining the stand... a uretane finish would be more than enough to seal the wood inside and out against humidity alone...

I would recommend Atleast using a waterproofing and mold resistant paint on the interior of the stand, for obvious reasons... no need to stain/urethane the inside if you paint it...

If you want it to hold water in the stand if it some how makes its way out of the sump than I'd use; the spray on rubber, epoxy, fiberglass resin,  or silicone/paint combo, which will allow the inside of the stand to hold water, provided its enclosed to begin with(can't see your pics atm) ...

I'd rather have a leak in my water proof stand than making a hole in my carpet under my stand.

[Mussin]

Do you know of any specific brands of white exterior paint?  Can this be purchased @ Lowes or Menards? 

My sump fits in there, its tight but Me and Lonnie are gonna modify it anyway.

Thanks

Jeremy

[Boonjob]

A specific brand that would work that they all may carry would be Killz, though all the local hardware stores will have their own variants/brands of an exterior water proof mold resistant paint, it's just what you want to spend.

They all should come with the base color of white or a variant of white, some might be light blue

Lowes has valspar and olympic
Home depot is Behr
Menards is Dutchboy,heartland, rustoleom

The paint in genral is going to provide water resistance... as long as it isnt holding water for a long time they all will provide a degree of protection... So no need to go exhorbent on the pricing, the standard cans of $14 paint will work just as well as the $30+ for this situation..

[Boonjob]

Sorry I forgot to add that you should go with whats cheaper, but if you have a choice... I personally would choose an oil based over latex, but its not critical to have one or the other...

The oil will just provided better/longer protection but will require multiple coats to provide good protection

Latex wont last as long o provide as much protection as an oil based but is usually a one and done coat.

[Mussin]

Sorry I forgot to add that you should go with whats cheaper, but if you have a choice... I personally would choose an oil based over latex, but its not critical to have one or the other...

The oil will just provided better/longer protection but will require multiple coats to provide good protection

Latex wont last as long o provide as much protection as an oil based but is usually a one and done coat.

Thanks for the info 

[Mussin]

As you can see in the pic the ele outlet is right behind the stand, should I put in a piece of wood across there to keep the outlet from coroding because of the salt spray from the sump??  Ideas?

[Twizted1]

I would see there being that much spray off the sump. If you are using both outlets & keep them plumbed in securely, then even of you had a Lil it wouldnt be a problem. I don't have anything protecting the power strips directly above my sump. Just my 2 cents.

[Mussin]

Id like to srain the stand a dark cherry. Its already stained from the factory a light oak color. Do I need to sand it down to bare wood or just knock the shine off from the old stain?

[Boonjob]

Best to sand it down... the previous stain/protectant will protect against the new stain... it wont soak in...

If the original finishi is glossy in anyway you will want to kock it down past that... you can them stain darker(if don't knock down the previous finish enough this will yield unfavorable results most likely) or use a "wiping stain"(still have to knock back the previous finish but is a little more forgiving)

[Mussin]

Well got it done and it turned out pretty good. 
Painted the inside with zinnser 1.2.3 paint/primer mold and mildew resistant paint, about 3 healthy coats.


Sanded the whloe stand down to bare wood
Then used Minwax stain (jacobean), 3 coats.


Followed it up with 3 coats of minwax poly (semi gloss)  Hard to tell but it has a slight sheen

finished product.

[Twizted1]

Looks good. You willnot regret painting the inside. Was well worth your time.