Hi thanks:) i'm thinking of using ur idea of skinning the entire construction with ply... but i'm still scratching my head over how to make it nice from the top, because i'll be able to see the metal stand, the gold knob (yucks) and the plywood. Dont think i'll build a new cabinet stand as we dont intend to drain the water to transfer the glass tank to another stand...

yup the tank is abit small for the arowarna. its a hospital tank! :) whenever the fishes fall sick, or get whacked by the other aros in the main tank, we will move him out to this small tank for temporary accomodation.

The first step to beatifying a fish tank is getting it on a more attractive stand.  My recomendation in this case is to build a stand out of .75" plywood.  You need to maintain 6" of solid support around the rim of the tank to support everything.  Conversely, you can use 2*4s and skin the entire construction with quarter inch ply.  Step two is building a hood to surround the light fixture and top of tank.  This is easily done with a piano hinge and some mdf.  Paint everything to match the walls and it will start to blend in.

A second tactic would be to beautify the inside of the tank.  Since you're housing an arrowana (in a tank that's too small I might add) Your options are limited but some java fern, a piece of driftwood and a thin layer of sand or gravel will go a long way.