I painted the stand black and hit it from the inside up. To knock the top off . I had to grind the staples off. Then cut some wood to keep the top from moving. I used tight bond 111woodglue and glued the wood to the lid. It's also waterproof glue. the lid has a nice snug fit when it's on. now I have access to build my sump! And I have really been researching this online. Found a lot of good ideas and as I go along will be looking for input. I know a guy pretty well at a glass shop. So I got all this 1/4" acrylic for $30!
I layed a piece down and flipped the stand over on it. I traced the inside edge to get a pattern. now I have the bottom of my sump pattern. just working on ideas here.