Help! Prebuild partition decision

[KenC_83]

Hi All,

I'm just dipping my feet back in the water after a long time away from the hobby.

I've decided to build a AIO system, all my tanks in the past have had a sump under and it's honestly what I would prefer but for multiple reasons an AIO is going to suit my current and foreseeable future needs better. I know all too well how this hobby works, start with a goldfish bowl and somehow end up with a 6x2x2, but been there done that, so this one needs to last me at least until I move into my forever home.

So as I'm new to the AIO's, I'm reaching out to the good people of r2r to help me make some prebuild decisions.

I've included some basics drawings of the tank I have designed, I've got more detailed dimensioned drawing but I just wanted to keep it simple here for now.

Some basic sizes:
The external size of the tank is going to be 650mm x 400mm x 350mm high (roughly 25.6" x 15.75" x 13.75")
The filter/sump will run along the back wall and be 100mm (roughly 4") wide.
8mm glass

Equipment that I already have:
Light - AI Prime 16HD Reef
Return Pump - AI Axis 40
Skimmer - Bubble Magus QQ2
AWC/ATO - AutoAqua Smart AWC (Auto water change + ATO)

A lot of rambling sorry -

HERES THE QUESTIONS (with a little bit more rambling) -
I'm having the tank custom built (I live in Bali and there's not a lot of premade options). The builder has suggested to double up on glass for the partition and sandwich black tank background in there (or something similar) to blackout the sump/equipment when viewing the display.

I'm not against the idea, however, I've put both of my brain cells to come up with what I believe to be a more elegant design. It will be a more expensive exercise, but here's the plan. Have the builder build the tank as per my design in the drawings minus the black laser cut acrylic sheet that would be affixed to the glass partition he installs.
I understand acrylic and glass don't bond the greatest. I also understand that acrylic expands under water.

Will it work? Can anyone chime in that has done this or something similar? Help me understand the complexities that I may not of thought of.

Also, feel free to make any other comments or suggestions for my design.

Cheers

 

[mann1139]

Hey couple things I thought of:

Will your arm be able to reach the bottom of the back/sump? 4"/10cm isn't very wide, and 14"/350mm is deep enough to get your elbow stuck.

I have had AIOs where the bond between the front and back broke, and it wasn't that big a deal. Sure the water mixes a little, but the filtration still seems to work fine.

You don't need all of the baffles in there, just before the return pump. The goal is to go up/down or down/up in order to remove micro-bubbles before the return pump.