The best bang for the buck is two GC2 6V golf cart batteries. The footprint is the same as a grp 24 battery but the case is higher. You will need one small battery cable to connect the two batteries in series. Sam's Club and Costco have the cheapest. Trojan T-105 is arguably the best wet cell 6V. Golf cart distributors and battery wholesalers sell the Trojan brand.
If you stay with 12V batteries, get two. Combining the one with unknown battery health and a new one can spell trouble. If the original battery has been used for four years without a disconnect switch, it is at the end of it's usable life.