Hi blowback
Currently I am in plate conditioning process of my series cell. O don't really know which is the best design, they all have their advantages and disadvantages. Many things depend on what resources and tools you have available and how much money do you want to spend. I suggest you to read through the pdf document that Readmeanie posted here:
http://www.energeticforum.com/energy...ould-have.html
This should answer majority of your questions. Also I don't really know about plate thickness, I think that there is no difference if you use 1mm or 5mm thick plates, except for weight, of course

But I am not sure

Hope this helps.