Miracle Mud

[pmkappy]

I am in the process of building a 29g sump/refugium for the 90g predrilled tank I purchased. I have been reading threads for the last 3 weeks and Miracle Mud is getting mixed reviews. The Miracle Mud would be planted with Water Sprite. Love to hear from y'all on what you think. Thanks, Paul K.

[Ryan925]

I am in the process of building a 29g sump/refugium for the 90g predrilled tank I purchased. I have been reading threads for the last 3 weeks and Miracle Mud is getting mixed reviews. The Miracle Mud would be planted with Water Sprite. Love to hear from y'all on what you think. Thanks, Paul K.

Hopefully those using it will chime in.

I've read a lot about it also. Seems to be very gimmicky. There are many planted substrates you can use that are a fraction of the cost of that sruff imo

Not to mention water sprite can so float correct?

[Leland F.]

You don't need miracle mud. For freshwater, just put 1" of organic topsoil down and cap it with 1" of fine gravel.

[Filip]

In my opinion having a fully planted rich soil mini tank for a filtration defeats the purpose of having BB or a squicky clean sand bottom discus display tank .
If somebody think that discus will benefit from a rich nutrient substrate full with plants , why not just make his display tank this way instead of only part of the filtration.

IMO, mud , or soil or substrate is not good for the water quallity no matter where it is put , the sump filter or the display tank . This is just my opinion.

[Neptune]

I'm a dirted planted tank guy.

I would never put any kind of soil substrate, etc in my sump for discus. I've seen hydrogen sulfide build up, anaerobic pockets, gas bubbles, you name it....

If you really want plants in your sump to help remove nutrients I'd throw in mini water lettuce or big water lettuce and let it float around in one of the chambers.
Or do an algae scrubber.

BUTTTT as Filip mentions....

with discus you are constantly trying to drive down the organic substances in the water to the lowest levels you can get. ie. nitrate...this is counterproductive for plants.
Of course you can add salts like KNO3 back into the water, but you will just keep going around and around...WC to dilute nitrate....add dry chemicals back in to raise nitrogen...rinse and repeat as often as you do WC's!(daily)

[Jenene]

I have it and I would not use it again. After posting that filtration thread I am re-thinking my sump. The plants I put in there didn't really take off and there are way better ways to use that compartment. I have been lucky and have not had any issues yet but it will be coming out very carefully and very soon. Thumbs down on the mud.

[Neptune]

I have it and I would not use it again. After posting that filtration thread I am re-thinking my sump. The plants I put in there didn't really take off and there are way better ways to use that compartment. I have been lucky and have not had any issues yet but it will be coming out very carefully and very soon. Thumbs down on the mud.

Get a buckethead vacuum and it will make your job TONS easier!

[allwet]

water sprite ( ceratopteris) in a refugium is a good idea , it's a low cost plant , reproduce very easily and grows very well floating .
i would suggest to forget about the mud or other substrate for that matter .you may get the best of both world , nitrate absorption
and cleanliness .

[Jenene]

Get a buckethead vacuum and it will make your job TONS easier!

Yup! Got it thanks!Not sure who it was on this Forum that recommended it when I had a water issue and wanted to clean it out. Those are awesome! Thanks!

[Pompadour Discus]

Ah man I wish I read this post yesterday :( I drew out a plan for my sump that I was going to add on the forum once complete, that included miracle mud. And I drew it in pencil first then went over it in marker when I read on here that a few people liked it.

[kris2341]

i had it once, was pretty underwhelming... seems to be practically playsand, nothing special about it. might work decently for a community planted tank, but isnt a key factor for anything.

dont expect it to perform any miracles or help you grow out discus without water changes etc. A nice well planned sump however, would be great for keeping adult discus if one wants to keep water changes to a minimum (not recommended, but doable) as it makes it much easier to keep the tank clean.

[Pices]

I have it and my experience is that there's nothing remotely miraculous about it. I have it in my sump and the particles are so fine that putting my hands in the sump for maintenance results in a dusting over everything in my tank. It turns into a dust cloud that coats everything when you turn the pump back on. If there was some visible benefit in say plant growth, I might keep it. The plants live, but they don't thrive...At least the fine dust cloud hasn't hurt my clean up crew, but having your fish live through it isn't really much of an upshot imo.
Patty

[Jenene]

I have it and my experience is that there's nothing remotely miraculous about it. I have it in my sump and the particles are so fine that putting my hands in the sump for maintenance results in a dusting over everything in my tank. It turns into a dust cloud that coats everything when you turn the pump back on. If there was some visible benefit in say plant growth, I might keep it. The plants live, but they don't thrive...At least the fine dust cloud hasn't hurt my clean up crew, but having your fish live through it isn't really much of an upshot imo.
Patty

+1 x infinity (-: but Patty you know how I feel about mud....

[pmkappy]

Thanks for the info. I am going to take your advise and forget the miracle mud. I have not started the build on the sump so I can reconfigure the compartments. I saw a media that looked good for the sump called Bio Home Ultimate. Anyone using it and what do you think? Thanks, Paul K.

[Neptune]

You don't need all these expensive bio media stuff in your sump.
I use plastic kitchen scrubbies and polyester pillow stuffing in a lot of my chambers.

If you want to add some nice foam to your sump look at the poret swedish foam.
I recently adde it to a couple chambers and so far I like it. Should be super easy to rinse/clean.

[Filip]

Thanks for the info. I am going to take your advise and forget the miracle mud. I have not started the build on the sump so I can reconfigure the compartments. I saw a media that looked good for the sump called Bio Home Ultimate. Anyone using it and what do you think? Thanks, Paul K.

Haven't used them my self , but from the net reviews and declared surface area they should be fairly efficient bio media IMO.

[kris2341]

i personally have used poret foam but would not use it for anything other than biofiltration as its more of a burden to clean than a filter sock.

as far as biohome ultimate, it seems to be good media, though i have not used it myself. I would think that media from Brightwell Aquatics or Marinepure is even better than the biohome lines because it is even more porous and does wick up water like what was is often a demonstration for biohome medias.

http://www.cermedia.com/marinepure.php

http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/xport_bio_plate.php

cleaner as well because large chunks of debris can't easily get stuck on the plate.

[Jenene]

You don't need all these expensive bio media stuff in your sump.
I use plastic kitchen scrubbies and polyester pillow stuffing in a lot of my chambers.

If you want to add some nice foam to your sump look at the poret swedish foam.
I recently adde it to a couple chambers and so far I like it. Should be super easy to rinse/clean.

I do use poly-fil for a polisher it is the last thing the water hits before it goes into the bio media to keep the media as clean an unclogged as possible. It takes out really small particles so the water is crystal clear and is so cheap. You can get a big roll at Walmart or a craft store. Just make sure it is 100% polyester with nothing else in there. When it looks the slightest bit dirty I don't feel bad about tossing it. I have a stack pre-cut for easy replacements as well. The King of DIY Aquarium guy uses this as well.

[Filip]

I do use poly-fil for a polisher it is the last thing the water hits before it goes into the bio media to keep the media as clean an unclogged as possible. It takes out really small particles so the water is crystal clear and is so cheap. You can get a big roll at Walmart or a craft store. Just make sure it is 100% polyester with nothing else in there. When it looks the slightest bit dirty I don't feel bad about tossing it. I have a stack pre-cut for easy replacements as well. The King of DIY Aquarium guy uses this as well.

I use those as a prefilter for my canister Jenene . I do the same as you . Just cut a piece and replace the old one every 3 days and toss the old one away .
Great stuff for micron mechanical filtration and keeping your main biofilters clean .

[Jenene]

I use those as a prefilter for my canister Jenene . I do the same as you . Just cut a piece and replace the old one every 3 days and toss the old one away .
Great stuff for micron mechanical filtration and keeping your main biofilters clean .

Good to know I am on the right track and in good company. Thanks Filip!

[Filip]

Good to know I am on the right track and in good company. Thanks Filip!

I wouldnt go so far to call my way of doing things '' the right track'' Jenene :) . Lets just call it ''our track and our company'' :)

[Jenene]

I wouldnt go so far to call my way of doing things '' the right track'' Jenene :) . Lets just call it ''our track and our company'' :)

Good enough for me!