So, 200g later I finally said it's time to just put water in gently and see what results I get, and it's mostly clear. Filter should be able to handle things from here. Anyway, boxxer, here are the substrate pics you wanted.
Also, my gf and I are rethinking the hardscape. We'll probably put the rocks in the back corner. Putting them in the middle and working everything around them would probably be a lot trickier than putting them in a place where they have glass to lean on and in the back.