Hi everyone!
I recently purchased and assembled a heavy duty shelving system to stack aquariums 3 high. I have no doubts these shelves will perform as they hold 3,000 lbs per shelf as is, but for good measure I purchased a bunch of extra support braces for each shelf. The problem is I have no idea how to 100% waterproof the medium density particle board shelves. They are raw, not laminated.
Originally I was going to prime and paint them. Everything on the net was telling me not to as ANY moisture on/in particle board will cause irreversible swelling. Then I thought of using vinyl wallpaper or waterproof contact paper to wrap each shelf like a present (need to waterproof the underneath too so evaporation from below tanks don't affect the above shelf). My shelves are 48" x 24" and I can't seem to find wallpaper or contact paper in sizes that come even close to what I need. Then I thought about wrapping the shelves "present style" with waterproof marine grade fabric. The problem is when the shelving unit got here and was assembled, the particle board fits too snug and perfect for ANY fabric to fit between the edges and I'd never get the shelves in their resting location.
Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated. The other thing I can do is get a 48" x 24" self leveling aquarium mat. Would fit the dimensions perfectly but it doesn't take care of the sides or underneath. I'm at a loss as to what to do.
Thanks in advance for your time!
I recently purchased and assembled a heavy duty shelving system to stack aquariums 3 high. I have no doubts these shelves will perform as they hold 3,000 lbs per shelf as is, but for good measure I purchased a bunch of extra support braces for each shelf. The problem is I have no idea how to 100% waterproof the medium density particle board shelves. They are raw, not laminated.
Originally I was going to prime and paint them. Everything on the net was telling me not to as ANY moisture on/in particle board will cause irreversible swelling. Then I thought of using vinyl wallpaper or waterproof contact paper to wrap each shelf like a present (need to waterproof the underneath too so evaporation from below tanks don't affect the above shelf). My shelves are 48" x 24" and I can't seem to find wallpaper or contact paper in sizes that come even close to what I need. Then I thought about wrapping the shelves "present style" with waterproof marine grade fabric. The problem is when the shelving unit got here and was assembled, the particle board fits too snug and perfect for ANY fabric to fit between the edges and I'd never get the shelves in their resting location.
Any suggestions as to what I can do would be greatly appreciated. The other thing I can do is get a 48" x 24" self leveling aquarium mat. Would fit the dimensions perfectly but it doesn't take care of the sides or underneath. I'm at a loss as to what to do.
Thanks in advance for your time!
