Newbish questions from a not so Newb

[Cichlid337]

Well I am new to MFK, but not new to fish keeping. I have a very old stand and tank that was passed down to me. It is a 125 gallon thats is about....I think 25 years old, it has been resealed once before and needs it again. I am looking into just getting rid of it and upgrading to a 150 since they are the same dimensions so I can reuse my old stand. It was broken down due to leaking and the stand was making ungodly sounds. So here comes my questions...
1 - I have started to reinforce my stand (Pix of the stand are below) should that help with it supporting the added weight of the 150? It creaked under the weight of my 125 but I had to much gravel, rocks, etc in the tank i found out once i broke it down...I believe this is either a solid oak or pine stand. It will be getting resprayed black to match my room, with new hinges added on the doors.
2 - I want to sump this tank...I have a friend that has a sumped 125 who is actually a member on this site, and i like the ease of of maintence. I am lookng at the predrilled tanks offered by Aqueon, do you guys have any experience with them? Would it be better just getting a normal 150 and getting the overflow things for it?

This tank is going to be a Cichlid community tank.

The Stand in question

The old tank (never saw another 125 that was wide open like mine)

The tank back in its prime

Thanx in Advance

 

[jvai]

Well there is two ways you can do this, 1. while re-enforcing is very cost effective, 150 gal of flood damage isn't. If you do re-enforce, take the time and refinish/ replace bubbled/ water damaged wood and seal it. or 2. Build a new one. Try looking into acrylic to avoid weight issues. Pre-drilled tanks are awesome... as well as expensive, just go with what you know, by looking at your fish you have had very good luck with the systems you are using now, why not stick with it?

 

[Cichlid337]

Well when that pic was taken I was running a Tetratec PF500, 2 Whisper 3's and 2 Magnum 350's and I was cleaning filters every week. The wood that the stand is made out of is real wood like pine it looks like. Not the particle stuff that chain pet stores carry. This actually looks like someone built it for my father years ago, and I like the look of the stand. I was going to place 4x4s on all 4 corners and use some old pressure treated wood I have in my garage for the sides.

 

[jvai]

If the wood is real, you have easy work ahead of you, Your on the right path, 4x4 is an excellent foundation IMHO, also I agree on the look of the stand, it really looks alot better than any particle board you could get.