My steel stand w/leveling feet & 3/4" ply on top puts the bottom of my tank 42.5" above the floor. Besides the viewing height, main advantage for me was tons of space underneath. Not an issue for some but all my gear is underneath tank & having easy access was driving factor. Tank is 72x30x24 tall. I think black silicon looks cleaner but that's strictly a personal preference. If I had longer arms I would have gone with the 27" tall tank. Looks very nice.