And how does one set up an obsidian farm that does not require redstone or the restocking of with lava? Is that even possible?
Nope, but redstone = $384 a stack in the market, whereas Obsidian sells for $1,600 a stack in the market. With a fortune pick and/or good mining skills, you can easily make up to two stacks per stack of redstone, meaning you make a $2,816 profit on each stack of redstone you process in an obsidian generator.
I think I'd be willing to give up some redstone for that, and you really only need a few buckets of lava for a big one.