Which way should I place my tank?

So I've just gotten a second hand tank. It's 36" wide, by 12" deep, by 18" high. Given the dimensions, it's roughly 33 gallons. Now, it seems to me to be oddly narrow. It's the same deepness as my corn's tank, but it's just awkwardly high to me. It also came with a beautiful wooden stand. The thing is, should I place it on its side so it's not as tall, but it has a much larger bottom surface area, and then it opens from the front? That would give my (soon to come) bp lots more 'slithering' room. But it cuts down on height.

The other thing is, if I do this, it obviously won't fit nicely in the stand. Should I care this much?

What should I do?

I would just place it in the stand normally