I put the bait out there and Bill bit!

I was really fishing for Carl

Make the stand high enough so little children will hit wood not glass with their toys.

One more thing to consider.  If your tank is high and you want to be able to fully open the top of your hood.  Consider the height of the top of the hood fully extended upward.  If it won't clear the ceiling you've got a problem. 

I like the idea of opening the hood and resting it on the wall behind the tank.  My Mom's tank was designed to do this and it worked great in it's previous home, but in her basement the ceiling gets in the way.  We had to design a prop to hold it up and it makes it much harder to get into the tank.

Thanks, everyone.  I was considering 40" but I thought it might be too high.  I'll most likely build it 40" to 42" high, due to all your posts.  All of the plumbing for the sump will be heading to the basement, and so I may get creative with the stand.  The tank will probably be too high for the armpit test, so I'll use a stool.  I'll show some pictures in the future.  I'm going to use a clear alder, etc.

Now if I can just get home on %^&* I-15.  Accidents are never fun during rush hour.