Thanks for the replies. If I go forward with this, is it recommended to have target/dither fish to give the male something pay attention to. I was going to skip the dither/schooling fish just to keep the bioload down. Although I suppose I could place a dozen zebra danios in there, which wouldn't be much a additional waste load, and if they get eaten, they get eaten. Would it be better to just keep them alone or have another cichlid(big enough to get the males attention, but small enough to both get away and not be a real threat)?
For filtration I was thinking a wet/dry sump arrangement. They are efficient(a necessary quality for rifties), allow me to hide almost all the equipment, and add to the overall volume of the system which helps the parameters remain more stable.