Powerhead in the Sump?

[EMELReef]

I am considering putting a powerhead in my sump to "push" water through my biological media blocks as i dont have a baffle section or compartment where I can guarantee water flows through the biological media rather than just passing around or washing directly over top of the bio media.

Heres my theory, water takes the path of least resistance so although saturated the biological media will be largely filled with fairly stagnant water.

One side of my brain says low, stagnant flow is better because if i want my media to process NO3 into nitrogen gas I need a low oxygen environment therefore increasing flow would also increase the oxygen level deep within the media.

Alternatively having very little water flowing directly through the media surely just limits its effectiveness overall because 99% of the water just rushes on by

Is there an obvious negative to doing this assuming i'm not just smashing my media to pieces in the process?

 

[KrisReef]

Test your theory in the tub or in a bucket and you will see what happens to the flow. Wear Rain gear, goggles are an option..

 

[PotatoPig]

I am considering putting a powerhead in my sump to "push" water through my biological media blocks as i dont have a baffle section or compartment where I can guarantee water flows through the biological media rather than just passing around or washing directly over top of the bio media.

Heres my theory, water takes the path of least resistance so although saturated the biological media will be largely filled with fairly stagnant water.

One side of my brain says low, stagnant flow is better because if i want my media to process NO3 into nitrogen gas I need a low oxygen environment therefore increasing flow would also increase the oxygen level deep within the media.

Alternatively having very little water flowing directly through the media surely just limits its effectiveness overall because 99% of the water just rushes on by

Is there an obvious negative to doing this assuming i'm not just smashing my media to pieces in the process?

Do you have a pic or diagram of your setup?

 

[Gtinnel]

If your goal is to have anaerobic bacteria to process nitrate to nitrogen gas then I would also think you wouldn’t want to force water through the media. I put one of the bio bricks in my refugium because it has a very low flow rate, and I never noticed any obvious difference in nitrate levels so maybe that way of thinking is wrong. If I remember correctly my bio bricks instructions said that you can put the brick in a plastic container with only a few holes drilled in it to reduce the “flow” through the media even more to promote anaerobic bacteria growth.

 

[EMELReef]

Do you have a pic or diagram of your setup?

Sorry for the bad MS paint work but hopefully that gives you an idea. putting a powerhead low down on either sidewall of the sump to increase the flow in this section to ensure water flow through not just around the media.