Well, I'm still in the building/reasearch phase like you. What I can tell you is info that I have researched and planned on my own. I would totally avoid the barnicles, they can cover everthing in your tank over time. If you want a filter feeder, oysters would be a better choice. I don't know how much they would improve your water quality though.I plan on running a sump with macro as well, a skimmer, charcoal & phos. media, and a uv-to kill barnicle larvae
I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming that local rock would act as "live rock". I can't find any solid data on this, so it would be a matter of trying it ourselves.