This might not be super popular advice, but my experience has shown it to work.
Except Matten filters. These are new to me but they are what I will likely use in the tank I'm setting up now. My past experience has been with HOB and sumps.
Go with a deep sand bed. You can do this as your substrate, or inside your sump if you are using one. Basically, 4-6" of sand. Use play sand or 30 grit masons sand from hardware store. It is cheap, and looks nice. Just rinse it in buckets before adding to tank, to get rid of the cloudiness.
Tie some Anubis and Java fern to your rocks to help balance and filter the system.
Look into a matten or corner filter:
http://www.swisstropicals.com/filtration-shop/mattenfilter-cornerfilter-shop/
If you go with African cichlids, my favorite... Put some coral in your system somewhere. I like the get a bag of coral pieces from the saltwater section and place it in a nylon stocking. You know, the leggings women wear. Put it in your filter system or behind your matten filter.
With the above you can get away with a 10-20% water change once a month. While you're doing a water change, vacuum the front of your filter foam.
Shouldn't take more than 30min. Once a month.
Heck, with this system, my dad ran his tank without touching it except to top off the water, for over a year. But I would still suggest a monthly water change as a minimum.
Make sure you do a proper cycle before adding fish, etc.
Tip: get rocks from your local rockery or landscape supply yard. It's cheaper!