I hear ya, man. As much as I am thinking about shellies, I remain torn about it. If you ask me today, I really am considering trying a pair of rainbow cichlids and maybe a small group of praecox rainbows or something similar. But as I remain indecisive about this, I am clearly not married to this plan.
At any rate, good luck, man. I guess I'm still looking for inspiration before I go and jump into getting anything to go in the tank. Won't hijack your thread any further, but hope to see some pics as things come together for you!
-Rich