A couple of things I can think of off the top of my head. Having done both glass tanks and now running tubs I've picked up a few tips along the way, almost all by making the same mistakes everyone else has.
First: Humidity in a glass tank isn't always as bad or as hard as it sounds, if your tank has a screen top the key is to cover up about 85% of it. Some will do simple cardboard wrapped in Tin foil, others have done Saran Wrap. I decided to do mine in Plexiglas held in place by velcro incase I wanted to move or remove them. If you're using substrate, Cypress mulch is the most moist and can be misted to keep it moist when things dry out. I use to mix about equal parts cypress and aspen to keep the humidity right and I though it looked nicer than just one or the other alone. If you're still having humidity issues than the use of a humid hide in the tank is the easiest way to go, do a search for examples of them. Adding more bowls of water doesn't really increase the humidity in the air spraying with a good quality mister will put molecules of water into the air a lot better.
Second: Heating. A lot of us use racks because its easier to run heat tape under the tubs or a heat panel in the back of the rack. In addition most of us keep the ambient temps in our snake rooms on the high side so that the cool spot runs in the low 80's. The trouble with a heat lamp on top of a tank is it sucks all the humidity out of the tank, but if you're insisting on the tank and you can't keep your ambient room temp around 80 or so then you will likely need it to create a basking spot. I have seen people do a large tub with a heat lamp on top but this is dangerous as these snakes can really climb and I've seen plenty of snakes with burns due to a poor setup, plus I think they look ugly. I would do a glass think with a heat lamp suspended above the screen long before ever doing a stand alone tub with a lamp.
Lastly: make sure you can measure your temps and regulate your heat properly. The biggest mistake I've seen is people going cheap on a proper thermostat or skipping it altogether and doing some serious damage to their animals. Don't use the cheap dial thermometers and hygrometers from Petco/Petsmart they are just a waste of money you could have spent elsewhere. Buy an Infrared temp gun ($25 to $35) and a digital hygrometer with a wired probe so only the probe is in the tank. As for a thermostat if you're going to do a UTH or RHP (on any type of setup) you must control it. To give you an idea on thermostats there are cheaper options from Zoo Med but the least I've ever spent is $100 on a Vivarium Electronics 100 (I have 3 of them now), up to $400 for my Herpstat 4 (which is the best thermostat out there IMHO).
I think you could easily do a glass tank set up with a mostly covered screen top and a thermostat controlled UTH for the hot spot and a small heat lamp for a basking spot (if you're not able to keep ambient temps near 80 degrees). Use cypress mulch and possibly a humid hide to keep your humidity where needed and mist the tank when the humidity drops too low. Then just be sure to provide a hiding spot over the Heat and another in a cooler part of the tank so he can thermoregulate his body temps. Keep an eye out for Petco's $1 a gallon tank sales they run them a few times a year so you could literally pick up a 40 gallon tank for only 40 bucks!
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