Nitrate levels in FW setups can also get very high due to reasons of high bioload and also keeping of large predatory fishes.
My DSB thickness is about 8 to 9 inches deep. My thinking is that the due to the depth and compactness of the sand, extremely slow water flow through due to resistance of the sand media. If only water flow over the top, hydrogen sulphates may form at the bottom of the DSB which would be harmful to fishes. Also, the compartnemt prior to the DSB is full of Biohome, CC and CR where aerobic Bac will use up most of the oxygen in the water. So water reaching the DSB would be quite oxygen starved the anaerobic Bac denitrification process.