im leaning towards building a wooden platform just due to the fact i can do it myself. i have wired and hooked up dozens of welders being that i'm an electrician but I've never used one and even if i had i wouldnt trust my work to hold up an aquarium
the stand will be skinned with a walnut veneer and baseboards to match the house along the bottom so im not too concerned about the appearance of an ugly wooden platform
Even just looking at the stand now the design bothers me. my nook area where the tank will sit is only 24" deep so i opted to go internal overflow but then the stand interferes with with the drain holes. (making the overflow 6 1/2" deep is the only way around this).. unless also modifying that aswell. I'm also curious why there is no additional bracing other than just the 4 uprights. Grizz maybe you could chime in on this as well?