mud

[darkside1]

anyone try miracle mud as substrate in nano reef

[sophia101]

Never heard of it. I would still stick with your normal aragalive substrates etc. I would imagine the mud getting all over your tank-ug-he he. Good Luck. P.S If you have a link for it, i will take a look...and give you more of my ideas :)

[Jocko]

What's the motivation for doing it?

[darkside1]

I'm going to do a 10-20 gal ...reef for one small fish.....and would use a sand bed/ LR ...... min bio load, and really like my 70 gall with the miracle mud in the sump Thought of combining the two.

[darkside1]

I was assuming you guys have a lot of experiance with Miracle Mud

web site
http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/html/miracle.html
articales
http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/html/News.html

Ive been impressed............

[Aliie]

Never heard of it, I haven't seen it either. Sorry can't help. I don't even think I have a sump.

[Skulldugery]

I have the Ecosystem fuge with the recommended 3lb of Miracle Mud, in use for about 6 months. Here's my take on it...

The claim of the mud being able to release trace elements like iron into the water doesn't seem to be true. After testing for iron for months, I could never get a reading of it. Further, my Chaeto was dying, but after dosing iron, it started growing like crazy. In my opinion, further proof that the mud didn't release iron. This lends doubt that any trace elements are released IMHO. Heck, how do you test for trace elements? I tested for Magnesium, Calcium, Iodine, etc.. All would fall if I didn't add B-ionic. False claim.

I can't say that the mud is any more valuable than the mud you can get from other sources. In fact, other sources may contain more living organisms due to the fact that they are shipped 'wet', and not dry off some shelf.

I believe the usefulness of a fuge with plants is valid. Adding live rock, a sand bed or live/wet mud is valid as well. The bottom line? I don't think the mud has any miracle to it.

If you simply put a live deep sand bed, or buy mud that has living organisms already in it in your fuge, you'll pay less and get more I'm sorry to say.

[darkside1]

which would you try next time DSB, sand, mud ??

Th main reason for trying MM was these articales
http://www.ecosystemaquarium.com/html/Comparison.html
and the trace elements ....????

[Skulldugery]

which would you try next time DSB, sand, mud ??

If I had to do it all over again, I would go with a live sand bed, live rock and chaeto with 24 hour light. Maybe go with some mud from Indo-Pacific instead. (See below) I just don't see the MM doing anything as described, that any other mud would or wouldn't do as well.

If you go with the MUD from GARF (www.garf.org), you will get some living micro creatures in it. I've actually pulled 3 good sized gorilla looking crabs out of the sump after 6 months of use. They must grow fast, because it was just mud months ago. Garf GRUNGE had too much broken concrete in it for me, but with all the shells and such, that may be something to hide critters in a sump.

You can put live sand too, and let nature take its course. You should get a bunch of pods in no time, and maybe some spaghetti and bristle worms.

If you can't wait, you can buy some critters from Indo-Pacific (www.ipsf.com). I've purchased their clams, worms, stars, etc..Great company, and they will most likely send you one or two free corals with your order. I didn't buy their mud, but I would next time.

I've read the info in the link you provided when I was making my decision. There is much debate on the trace topic. For a breakdown on the contents, click this link...

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/mm_analysis.html

Other comparison info...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/aafeature

Nothing is straighforward in this hobby!