Miracle Mud vs. Fiji Mud vs. Live Sand/Live Rock

[RW09903]

Ello Wamas,

 

I am currently using live sand and liverock in my refugium and was thinking about making a switch to either Miracle Mud or Fiji Mud. Anyone use those before?? If so, do you reccomend the items or feel it's not worth the extra money?

[monkiboy]

i've used both and didn't like either because of cost and didn't see any appreciable changes over the course of 1.5 years with each on their own. one was cleaner than the other, i think it was the miracle mud. having to remove a portion after six months or a year and replace was going to be a pain. i do not recommend these and do not feel it is worth any money.

 

what's the purpose of the live sand in your refugium now?

[RW09903]

I had leftover sand from my tank and didnt want it to dry so I dumped it in the fuge along with some live rock and cheato.

[Arkonen]

Never been a fan of miracle mud myself.  Here is a lab breakdown of the composition if you are interested: http://www.reefs.org/library/article/mm_analysis.html  I'd just stick with more live rock in the fuge.

[monkiboy]

I had leftover sand from my tank and didnt want it to dry so I dumped it in the fuge along with some live rock and cheato.

i find that rock and sand in a fuge unless designed specifically that way and plumbed appropriately very frequently just become collection sites of detritus that are hard to maintain. i like to avoid sand in a fuge unless for a specific purpose like for magroves to take root or for a sand-dwelling wrasse, etc. for extra bio-filtrating i like using marinepure blocks as they are super simple to remove, suck up detritus around, and replace. something perhaps worth considering if you find any of the above to be an issue in the way your system is designed.

[lutz123]

What is your reason for wanting to change?

[RW09903]

What is your reason for wanting to change?

 

I feel that it's a detritus trap just like Marcos said above. Ever since I started using filter socks though, I've noticed less waste building up. I plan on cleaning my fuge in a week or so leaving just the tonga branches and cheato. it should make cleaning a little easier.

[zygote2k]

I too had used the mud in a couple of refugiums 5+ years ago and while it was good for growing vegetative plants, it wasn't much good for anything else except collecting detritus. Maybe a dedicated mangrove system would use it, but it has no place in a true reef tank.

+1 on keeping a fuge/sump free of sand/rock.

[icsparks]

 Although this is a very heavily opinionated subject with no real hard facts to back it up, a well known hobbyist that you may have heard of still uses the mud in his systems. His name is Mike Paletta. Here is an article written by Paletta that tells about his issues and success with the mud. http://358ban29ceos4uuc3vp5yqn31.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/images/stories/PDF/The%20EcoSystem%20Aquarium_Revisited_checking_after_2_years.pdf

 

Like others, Mike has his own formula on how he sets up his systems with the mud and it works for him.  It may just be that the mud could have positive or negative effects on systems that are set up in different ways such as DSB, BB, filter socks, the list could go on and on. There truly isn't enough information out there for one to be able to conclude that the mud is  good or bad. Just remember that sometimes the best ideas are found out by accident.

 

Who ever thought that under-gravel filters would work in reverse flow until someone found out their power head had been running backwards.