Pyramid_Party;4522061; said:
The actual fiberboard is coarse wood pulp (wet shredded wood - the scraps and large sawdust from sawmills) mixed with glue. That's what Gallons was talking about - Think of it as thick rough paper. ^_^ The glue that holds the fiberboard together doesn't get along with water - At All. When it gets wet, it swells up and blisters, then dries into that shape, losing strength. (over time, this wears it down)
When you break it (Anger, boredom, tearing down old shelving), it will flake apart and almost go to powder.
So long as you have a tray below it to catch water, and the shelf doesn't bow, you're well within the weight limits if it's the only thing on the shelf.
A few things that might help.
- If you have spare dividers / boards from other furniture that matches, you can cut them to make a simple brace that just wedges in under the tank. It'll be a better match to the wood finish, and help out quite a bit to support the shelf.
- You can use something as simple as a cookie sheet or tupperware lid with a placemat / synthetic cloth folded on top or around the front (to disguise it) to catch any water spilled/splashed during maintenance. If you use a dishrag/towel/etc, you can just run it through the laundry once a week/month/etc - not to mention clean the front glass with it when you change water.
- Canister Filters / Power strips / etc... You can make a small hole behind the tank so you can run cords/tubes behind the unit to use a different shelf to spread the load. IE - The mini-canister filters for turtle tanks.
Complicated as ... for a little 3 gallon tank that'll probably live there happily for years without ever bothering you, no? Wall of text for some very easy common sense fixes.Best of luck. ^_^
