wow thanks for all the quick responces. it seems to have turned into a valuable dialog for many folks here. i have thought about it and have decided that this is not at all as complicated as i first thought.
the area with the bio-balls in it is the high water level of the sump (12-14 inches). the other areas are lower water level (4-7 inches) that is where i have my skimmer.
i picked up a small ball (3-4 inch dia) of chaetomorpha and placed it in the smallest of the compartment of the sump (generally where i place the trace element blocks) and placed a small dual 9w 6700k coralife light behind it. i am going to allow it to grow and then i am going to place a section of "eggcrate" over the pump feed and place all the bio-balls into the shallower area (where the skimmer is) and then place the macro-algae into the deep section and let it grow. let it grow!!!