Dead zone at bottom of refugium

[RYAGE]

I get this ‘dead zone’ at the bottom of my fuge where my algae dies and breaks down once the upper layer grows too dense. For a while now I will intermittently manually mix it up and flip it when culling, but it releases a lot of detritus into my water column and generally makes a mess.

I’ve been wondering, can I just leave the lower level be? I’ve got a lot of biodiversity down there and I assume this ‘dead zone’ is just a different type of habitat for critters that like it.

Leave it or continue to mix it up?

 

[The_Paradox]

I would just get a 10 dollar power head and increase the flow.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

I’ve tried the $12 upgraded power head in a similar situation I have/had. The power head simply gets bound up with small pieces of Chaeto over time.