I am a self proclaimed dumpster diver. LOL And sticking to my roots, I saw some cut up furniture dollies in the trash at work a couple weeks ago. To the window glazers they're trash. To me, they were good casters! So I brought them home and made new furniture dollies to roll the stand around on while I sand and paint. I removed two doors, but the third hinge is so rusted, Ill just have to paint it on there. I picked up a gallon of oil based white Kilz and a gallon of black oil based paint. I'm going to do the inside of the stand white and obviously the outside black. There is considerable water damage on one side of the inside, but I'm pretty sure I can sand that back smooth. I have both a belt and palm sander. I chipped away at it with a flat head and a chisel to get all the big bubbles out. It would be ideal to just build a new stand. I'm good at a lot of things, but woodworking isn't very high on that list. Maybe a solid panel across the back? More places to hang things, but less ventilation than the way it is.
Also, the sump isn't a 75 gallon tank. I's a 55. Once I got it out of the stand I could see it. Not sure what to do now about the skimmer. It's a monster. possibly have a sump built that would fit the stand and skimmer better. Along with things I have on my list to buy for this project, a better bigger generator is a must!! The little one I got yesterday was perfect for keeping things aerated and alive, but I'm about to add 130 more gallons to my system. I'm afraid the little tailgater couldn't handle a bigger tank. Yesterday was stressful and scary and aggravating.
It's not the fastest build in history, but one day we will get there!!