Bah- I agree, you guys are working too hard.
I filled my 75-gal planted with 1.5" of flourite and then put an equal amount of substrate right on top. I put a plate on the substrate, a tea pitcher on that, put a garden hose in the pitcher, and just set the hose on dribble. I stopped the hose after about 5" to plant my plants, and then reset the hose on dribble again. A couple of hours later I had a full tank, and a day after that crystal clear water. I didn't even rinse the substrate either...