Shelldwelling cichlids prefer hard, alkaline water, and as they bury their shells sand is really the best thing to keep them happy. I use empty escargot shells sold at gourmet markets, sometimes at the grocery store. If you already have hard water with a high pH then you can use regular play sand, but if not get yourself some aragonite sand or special sand for Africans, Caribsea has Sahara sand, and a few others.
You can certainly put driftwood in there - technically it will soften your water and does not adhere to the biotope for shellies but I have tons of it in various tanks and do not notice any particular dip in pH with it. If you go with N. multifasciatus, N. brevis or N. oscellatus see if you can get a male and 3 females. I think you will find this to be a fascinating species tank, and a great way to stock a small aquarium, if you go this route.