I have two Spec V and I don't think I would trust one on a stand with 3 legs.
I had a piece of glass cut that is 3 inches bigger than the tank is all the way around, and I put the tank on the glass. It sure makes it easier to have the tank on the glass then on the wood table top. Before the water would get under the tank when I would dribble a bit doing water change or cleaning... and I had no way to get it out. I worried that the wood would warp or become wet and loose it's strength under the tank. Actually, the 2nd Spec has a piece of plexiglass from Lowe's under it because it was a LOT less expensive than getting a piece of glass cut to fit. $22 for glass, $3 for plexi.
One of my tanks sits on an antique cupboard I bought at an estate auction. It is solid wood, but has a decorative veneer front that is peeling so it is not worth much. But it is really solid. The other one sits on a small chest of drawers that is not fiber board, but it's the old "unfinished" furniture with a coat of enamel paint on. Still, it is more sturdy feeling than the small aquarium stands that I was finding for 10-20 gallon tanks.
I don't use the small magnet glass cleaner in my Spec - the tank is so narrow, the magnet was tearing up the plants as I swiped the glass. If you plant the plants all an inch from the glass, you would be ok - but then that leaves a lot of the Spec without plants. I just get in there with my hand and a piece of 3m scrubby that I cut in a narrow strip (the kind without any chemical!). I have really, really hard water. The magnet cleaner was not getting the scale off from the water, but the 3m does. I am careful with it though, not to scratch to hard. I also use half RO water and that helps a lot!
I don't use the carbon bag in the filter area... I have a small Purigen that I stuffed in there in one tank. I need to order one for the other tank. In the second one, which I just set up a few weeks ago, I have a 2nd bio sphere bag.
I am having pretty good luck growing low and medium light plants in my Specs with the stock light. I put the lower light plants on the ends, and the medium light plants to the middle. I just had an Anubias Nana bloom, so it must be happy! I leave the lights on for 11 hours. I don't do CO2, and I dose Flourish Trace, Flourish Comprehensive, Flourish Potassium and 1/2 the amount of Excel every week to 10 days, with a water change every 10 days.
Plants are green and growing, so must be doing ok! I'm growing Wisteria, Pennywart, Hornwort, Cryptocoryne wendtii sp 'Green Gecko', Java Fern, Anubias Nana, Windelov Java Fern, Crypt Wendtii Bronze, Rotala rotundifolia, Lindernia Rotundafolia, nymphoides sp. Taiwan, dwarf water lettuce and Slavinia minima.
I had my heaters in with the pump, but the tank with the betta did not get warm enough (wanted it 78-80) so moved it out into the main part of the tank. The other tank has 3 pygmy cory, cherry shrimp and one Endler. The other 3 Endler's made a jump for it. :-( And, I use the lid! Oh, and one Oto temporary because I had a few diatoms in it. He's just about done cleaning them up, then he will go back in my larger tank.
I have found that the fish are happier if the pump is set on low and has a small piece of pre filter over the outlet. I make it in a strip, so it doesn't block the flow all that much - just keeps it from shooting straight out across the tank.