Topic: MDF as a material for a tank stand?

[AnswersinGeneSimmons]

MDF as a material for a tank stand?

OK, I am checking a bunch of web sites and I see quite a few stands that are made from MDF.  I don't understand how that can be a material that I would want to put hundreds of pounds of water on top of.  Heck but even some of the stands that say they are made of wood turn out to only be partly wood and partly MDF.

Now the thing is that MDF is not a material that should ever come into contact with water.  I know this due to a leak in my roof that destroyed my kitchen cabinets a few years ago.  Even a small amount of water in the wrong place will cause the stuff to swell up and weaken.

So are the stands that I am seeing fully covered with waterproof material?  Or am I just missing something?

[ShieldWolf]

If I'm not mistaken MDF (medium density fiber) is just a higher quality, denser particle board. For all the same reasons one would not user the latter would also apply to the MDF material. Some of those reasons you have mentioned in your post.

Just my opinion but I would stay away from those stands.

[wendyjo]

I would assume they are treated or supposedly sealed somehow, but yeah I'd personally stay away from them as well.

[Cholly]

Meh. I can see both sides, but I've got one under my 29 gallon, and it's been there ten years, no problems. Not sure I'd risk it under a much bigger tank though.

[bulrush]

Not all MDF is sealed, especially on the cut edges. Get a little water on the edge and it will expand and crumble. Now add in a 50lb tank sitting on top of a crumbling stand and you have trouble.

I used particle board (larger chips than MDF) as the top for my hobby desk which has 3 tanks on it, including a 29g. But I also made sure I gave it 2 good coats of paint, especially on the edges. Plus the area under the 29g is supported by two 4x4s.

Any water I spill on it gets wiped up right away.