Fish Tank Stand

It is time to repaint the fish tank stand again.  We are going to use the tank not as an aquarium, but as a terrarium.  I have decided that anything that is too big for one person to shift will not be used in the yard. 
The tank is ok as far as weight goes, but at 4 x 1 x 1 1/2 it is delicate and really awkward, which is not a good combination. I have used it for fish heaps.  The first lot I had, I was not told there were fish that did not go together and I wondered why I had fish regularly jumping out of the tank.   After that, I had as many different types of Barbs as I could before settling on keeping Cyclids. 
Australian native fish tend to have really subdued colours, but these ones from the Rift Valley in Africa were very pretty.  With these, one had to be careful what went into the tank as they are very territorial.  I am told the secret is to put a pile in together at once.  I sorta could not do that.  It was one at a time for me.
I had the tank in my bedroom at one point and would often hear a mighty woosh.  One fish owned 95% of the tank and all the rest had 5% in the top corner.  The dominant fish was beautiful but he had to go back to the shop.
I actually found nut grass to be really good in the tank.  Ok it would only last a week but it looked great and because it comes up uninvited in the yard there was always a ready source.
A friend (who was also into fish) and I collected wood from a creek near Toombul.  Because I lived at Mt Gravatt East, and was not a local, I thought this creek was at like the end of the world.  However I now live near Caboolture and know how close to the city this creek really is. 
One of the fish shops I visited had a salt water fish section.  The lady owner showed me one of the fish.  It was totally cube shaped.  I will never forget her comment to me “I would not have thought of it.”  Another shop I frequented I would never visit again (I would not anyway, as it is now too far away). I bought a 6 foot tank from them and although I spent hundred’s of dollars they would not give me any discount.  My belief is that all need to feel like it is a “win, win.”  That is, the shop needs to make what they need, and the customer needs to go away feeling like it was a win also.  It was a great tank though.
The stand we have is a really sturdy one.  It is the type often found in waiting rooms.  The set up used to be in our sitting area but has a new home near our bbq.  To repaint it, I will sand it back, and then apply a metallic paint.  I am sourcing foam to go under the tank and on the stand.  We will then put some soil in and then plants.  I have done this sort of thing before with Maiden Hair ferns and it looked great.
My little “stand by” tank will go down low in the same location.
Actually, because today is a lazy day, it will probably not happen today.  Maybe tomorrow, or the next day or when ever!  One thing for sure is that we plan it to happen.
Our hope is it will look good.