[Delphinus]

Your reasons are all good. Like I said, if you're into it, more power to you. I just can't get away from the "I just placed rock onto a smooth white surface" look. It's not that it's sterile, no reef tank is sterile, but it does have some kind of clinical feel to it.

I like AJ_77's suggestion and actually the same thought occured to me, i.e., if you could shave the bottom rocks to have a flat surface it might look a little better. I suppose with a little bit creativity, people will come up with other ideas too. The hard based sandy bottom as suggested by Stircrazy and in one of the links above looks pretty promising.

That said, I still think that there are animals that require a sandy substrate, and removing that sandbed precludes you from considering them in your reef in the future. Thus, I still maintain that, although it's a valid choice, it is a carefully measured choice.