I have 2 male RES, about 5 inches, voracious eater and one sucker fish (pleco) that's grown to a beastly size.

It's been about 1 month and my tank is still clear and odor-free, but I also gave in and used that Biomax turtle clean which helps out significantly. It all really comes down to how much work you want to put in, but really the 120 w/ xp3 has been hassle free.
As for stands, the cheapest ones that I found were either home-made ones (of course) or the iron frame kinds...Those commericial wooden stands are really high up there in price, usually more expensive than the tank.