Lumber for outdoor cabinets

[Ivan Wolder]

Hi everyone.I am building some cabinets outside that will house about 300 gallons of saltwater for my reef aquarium (that is inside).I am trying to find out what type of wood I should use for the doors.Doors are going to be rather large,making them a focal point.Cabinet is going to have a flagstone counter top and some rock panels on the outside.I want the doors to be natural,as in not painted.I plan on making the doors a simple design,I think they are called shaker style.I live in Southern California where we do not have much rain but plenty of sunshine ,winter being a miserable 65 degrees. I apologize for what may be superfluous info but it gives a better idea of the cabinet use.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

[John Harden]

Mahogany would be a good choice as it holds up well to the elements and has a natural richness to it when given a clear stain. Just make sure the "mahogany" you choose is a real mahogany and has the natural resistance to weather. Most any of them do, except Philippine mahogany.

The sun will be your primary enemy, so any shade you can provide them will greatly extend the life of your finish.

Since you want a natural finish, I'd recommned a marine grade spar varnish. Any good boat supply place here in SoCal can likely steer you to a quality brand. These are formulated to withstand wind, sun and saltwater and will hold up FAR better than anything you'll find at Lowes or Home Depot.

Even with that, you'll need to repair and even re-finish them every few years. It would be wise to read the instructions on the can carefully so that you understand what is involved in repairing the finish.

Maintenance will be the key here. If you let the finish get too far gone, touching it up will no longer be an option. You'll be forced to strip all the old finish off and re-do it.

Good luck!!!!!!!

Regards,

John

[Paul Ryan]

Ivan,


There are a few woods that would work out for you. It depends what look like. Western Red cedar is a nice out door wood but very soft, it is full of knots and strong grains, it will hold up to elements but the door would have to be built very strong since this is a soft lightweight wood. White oak would be another that would hold up. It is much stronger and heavier than cedar. It can be knot free and light moderate grained if you choose that. Teak, cyprus, and redwood would be some of the other choices. Teak is beautiful but can be expensive, redwood again is very soft and very light grained, but can get expensive, may be cheaper in California though. As mentioned prior mahongany is also an excellent choice. It is light grained and some where in the middle of cedar and white oak for hardness and weight. I am sure there are more choices but those are the most common I can think of. It really comes down to how much you want to spend, and what look you like.

[Ivan Wolder]

Thanks for the info.I will investigate a little more.If any more advise it will be equally appretiated

[Van Huskey]

I have been keeping reef tanks for 22 years now, glad to see another lover of the reef.

You said the tank was inside are you using this as a refugium, resevoir or your filtration (or a mix). I ask because if the inside are gonna get any saltwater, which as you know the spray seems to get EVERYWHERE, I would suggest something like Ipe, it isn't real pretty but you could make a nice "oceany" cabinet with it and it CAN handle salt water no problem. Another choice would be Cypress which gives more of a pine look. Oh and plan to replace all your cutting surfaces after building with Ipe the stuff is HARD.