Its hard to answer this question without actually seeing the stand and seeing how sturdy it is and what type of bracing it has but i would have to say if the
sump is 12 inches deep and your stand is below 20 inches deep i would question weather or not to cut that big of a hole. If i had to suggest something i would suggest build bracing on the side of the tank to take some of the load off (assuming it has a nice strong base) but i am a freak when it comes to stands.
lol what is the dept of the tank and the dept of the stand?
