Thanks again for all of the compliments! I forgot to show off the removable panel, the whole center section lifts away so I can store all of my junk under there. I bought some super strong magnets for this, but I didn't end up needing them because the fit was pretty tight already.
Actually, only sort of. I had a 90 gallon that I skinned in Beetle Kill Pine that was tongue and groove. So that one all I did was cut the pieces to fit the height of the old stand and nailed them in place.....covered the nail holes....and applied a satin finish in place (wife not too happy with the smell that lingered for days). It looked nice, I even contemplated doing the same thing with this stand but ultimately we have all dark furniture around it so I wanted it to match a little better.
Somebody with a good eye for craftsmanship would find a ton of faults upon a close inspection. I already see some things I am trying to ignore....we'll see if I can live with it after some more people see it in person.
Bob Villa probably wouldn't have drilled into his finger while drilling a pilot hole! Although I was pretty proud of my quick decision making with that....I quickly got my sander and sanded off the blood so that it wouldn't stain the wood!