answer:It’s unlikely that you’ll find a paint that will adhere acceptably and durably to the melamine finish on your RTA (ready to assemble) stand. I worked for one of those manufacturers (for a brief, forgettable time in my career), and I know how hard the manufacturers work to make the finish completely stain-resistant. You might try stripping it, but the edge finishing is what would give you real problems then. The edges of MDF and particle board won’t finish well in any case, and the stripping process would probably leave entire surfaces that are lumpy or pocked, making them even more difficult to smooth. Finally, stripping the melamine surface finish paper (since that’s all it is, really) and the edge banding material would make the MDF board very susceptible to changes in humidity and water. Since you’re using this for an aquarium, it’s likely to get wet from time to time (and your paint probably won’t be as perfect a finish as the melamine and edge band on the finished / visible surfaces), so you’ll probably end up with unsightly and irregular swelling. My suggestion would be to “use as is” or replace. I never heard of a successful paint job on that type of furniture.