Hey Matt!
Glad to hear you're moving forward on this! Happy to help!
I'll address your system point by point, but I first wanted to commend you on the "mission statement" that you have created for yourself for this project. Much like in other areas of the hobby, aquascaping and system design is so much easier when you have a clear concept in your head, and it sounds like you've really got a good handle on your concept!
Both of the tanks/aquascapes that you mention are excellent examples of systems that break the conventional stereotype for reef tank aquascaping, and I am pretty familiar with each. Either 'scape will work very well in your tank's "footprint". In fact, both would work almost perfectly! It really boils down to which one you feel suits your aesthetic.
I love the fact that you are embracing the concept of "negative space" (ie; NOT cramming rock into every square inch of the tank. Having the open areas of sand will not only increase the dramatic impact of your rockwork, but it will create better flow patterns, allow for easier maintenance, and provide your fishes with a more comfortable environment.
Having a completely corraline-free background is most unusual in the hobyy today, but not at all unusual in public aquaria. I distinctly recall noneother than Charles Delbeek commenting on this concept in a CORAL Magazine areticle not all that long ago. He noted that both the Waikiki and Steinhart Aquariums have pretty high standards for coralline-free displays. I would tend to agree that the lack of coralline on walls, etc. would increase the dramatic effect of the rockwork that you are so carefully crafting. It would truly be unusual in the hobby to keep a system nearly devoid of coralline encrusted walls for the long term. Kudos to you! Also, if you are considering the "Top Heavy Pillar" created by my friend John Ciotti, I'd think you'd havea very easy time both hiding the overflow AND having good access to the walls of the tank for coralline maintenance!
Good point about the minimal intrusion of filter returns, etc. Yes, some FW aquariums have the filtration hardware removed before photography, but others simply employ excellent disguise of the hardware. In the case of either of the designs you contemplate, I would reccoment two possible approaches:
1) Water return can be plumbed through the back of the tank with Lockline fittings coming out of a bulkhead, and the return carefully hidden through the main "trunk" of the rockwork. Easier said than done, but absulutely not impossible to do. You simply need to be selective about the rock pieces that you will be using to create the "main structure", and allow sufficient space either within the rockwork, or between the rockwork, to direct the return with minimal, if any, visual impact.
2) Use of easily disguised internal pumps. I have become a huge fan of Vortechs for several reasons. One of the biggest is that they have a minimally-intrusive footprint within the aquarium itself. In my new 40x40x20 inch cube, I will be employing them in a "vertical" configuration. In other words, I will be orienting them from the bottom of the aquarium, directing flow straight up towards the surface. In this manner, the dry side of the pump is placed on the bottom glass (outside), and the wet side on the inside of the bottom glass, carefully hidden within the rockwork, yet easily accessible for maintenance. To employ the pumps in this fashion, you'd need to drill a hole in the topf of your stand of the appropriate diameter of the dry side. The wet side could be contained ina piece of PVC of slightly wider diameter than the pump itself, hidden in the rockwork. Usin ga "cradle" like this will avoid the potential for sand and ock debris to be drawn into the wetside of the pump. What you end up with when using Vortechs in this manneri s massive water mocement with no visual intruision in the tank. Despite my earlier reservations about using Vortechs vs Tunzes, I am now completely sold on them for their ease in disguising! Not cheap by any means, but a real ally in both aesthetics and function!
As far as material to use: The beauty of these designs is that they can be accomplished simply with good rock selection and the use of either acrylic rods, PVC, and/or heavy duty cable ties. Use of acrylic or nylong rods is a great way to go. Using a masonry bit of appropriate diameter, you'd carefully drill through the rocks you've selected and "shish kebab" them, sucring them with heavy duty cable ties, which, when cinched up, can really help you defy gravity! My suggestion is to consider building the entire rock structure OUTSIDE of the tank in this manner, then carefully placing it in the tank, adding substrate once it's securely nestled into the desired position.
As far as resources are concerned- there are a number I would suggest: For information on the use of rock and design concept, turn to our friends in the freshwater world! Each year, the Aquatic Gardener's Association has a planted tank contest, with hundreds of entries from all over the world:
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2009.cgi You can get really cool ideas from looking at the entries! Yes, they use different rocks than we do, but the design concepts can be employed in our "medium", too. Do a google search for the contest, and you'll be thrilled. Another interesting resource with a few good pics is my friend Marc Tetrault's page on aquascaping on his "Marco Rock" wbsite (btw- this stuff is great for making unique aquascapes, and is a sustainable product!):
http://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp...ategory=49 Do also read up on the many freshwater articles you can find about Takashi Amano-inspired rockwork on sites like Aquascaing World> Another freshwater site, but packed with useful crossover information.:
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/ I think it's about time we check out the stuff our freshwater friends are doing...They have really cool thoughts on use of rock, etc. Hopefully, we'll be getting a marine site like this up in the not too distant future! Keep an eye peeled!
Anyways, I hope these resources can give you some inspiration. I look forward to seeing your project come to fruition. Feel free to contact me any time if you need to bounce any more stuff off of me! Best of luck with this and your other projects!
Regards,
Scott