Tank Stands

[Sam1969]

I'm new to the hobbie, and have just purchased a used tank, lights, protein skimmer, filter ect. ... ect.. I believe that I have everything I need (except livestock) to get the tank going. However I would like to build a stand for it that would hide everything underneath. I have all the plumbing to do this and the tank is drilled but, I'm not sure if I have a sump with a protein skimmer do I still need to use the fluval and trickle filter ? and how high do the metal halide lights need to be off of the tank ?

Thanks

Sam..