Best Wood?

[Joshsmit56001]

What is the best would to use for a canopy? I built one with pine but it warped a lot. What is the best would that will with stand this humid environment?

TIA,
Josh

 

[BONESTOCK]

pressure treatedwood...is my guess.

 

[TheMadNucleus]

Hi Josh,

It's probably not so much the wood you choose to use as it is how well you finish the enclosure prior to using it. The critical thing is to ensure that after the basic canopy is built that you completely seal it with a high quality paint or plastic-based, clear coat like Polyurethane.

But I would agree that Pine is probably the least suitable for canopies for a few reasons: 1.) It is usually sold slightly 'green' i.e. it is likely to warp regardless of it's esposure to humidity. 2.) It is too soft for my prefernces in terms of holding fixtures etc. securely. 3.) it least likely to handle the heat generated by fixtures.

Some suggestions would be high quality hardwood veneered Plywood such as Luan, Oak, or Birch 3/4 ply or perhaps a standard plywood 3/4 inch but both sides finished to C or better.

If you'd prefer dimension lumber because you do not have enough tools then I wood suggets Poplar - it is medium hard, does not warp over time, is resonably priced for a good quality wood, and is available cut to a large variety of dimensions.

HTH

Tom

 

[yaksplat]

NEVER NEVER NEVER use pressure treated lumber. The treatment in the lumber is copper, chromium and arsenic (CCA). This very easliy leeches out of the wood as well. Stuff that fish dont like will end up int your water and most likely kill them.

A very good wood to use that is extremely resistant is ipe. It's a south american wood that is more dense that water and therefor sinks, but at the same time, since it is so dense, it will not rot. The harder and heavier the wood, the better.

Jim

 

[skys]

Hey Jim
i wanna know where can you find that wood your talking about?
any stores like homedepot?

 

[yaksplat]

Well it may be tough for you to find. I get it from a local distributor, http://www.ipedepot.com. Do a search on google...

wait, where in ontario are you? The place that i get it from is just outside of buffalo.

www.advantagelumber.com


Jim

 

[TheMadNucleus]

IPE (Tabebuia serratifolia)

Makes great Decking!

Watch out for the lapachol it contains - shown to cause excessive bleeding.

Not legal to import into some countries.

Hmmmm Interesting stuff.

 

[Pain Devine]

I do a lot of woodworking.

Preasure treated wood does not Leach unless it comes into contact with the water. Even then, it depends on what kind of treatment it has. The store you buy it at should be able to provide the specs. I wouldn't bother getting treated wood anyway. Just use a good finish like Tung oil.

I suggest Oak. It's cheap and will last forever with a good finish.

 

[TheMadNucleus]

Agreed, Pressure Treated wood is not a problem if properly cured, treated and final coated. Also, by being on the top of the aqaurium and isolated by the glass/acrylic tops it is a far stretch that anything is going to leach into the Aquarium water. So that leaves the case of it inadvertantly dropping into the tank - even then I think if you removed it quickly enough and it was properly coated nothing would leach. Besides if the thing falls in the water I think one would have much greater problems - zap, zap, double zap. Still PTW would not be my choice.

As the Pain said, Yep - I like Oak as well, built plenty of stuff with it. Also still like Poplar - cheaper still, very true, resistant to warping, medium density, easy to work with and readily available. Still like High quality plys as well.

All good choices.

Tom

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I thought they changed the PT ingreadiantes to take out the arsenic. AS2, something like that? It is brown instead of green. I noticed the difference this summer when we were building decks.

 

[BillyZ]

(shifting to DIY forum)