I set it on a piece of 1/4" thick luan plywood I had laying around from our remodel, then covered it with a blue Walmart tarp, then flipped the cardboard box it came in upside down over it, then put a piece of 1/2" plywood on top of it. Should be good to go.

I will check the water after a while and see how it looks/smells/tastes. So far I'm impressed with the quality of the barrel.