Miracle Mud - have you used it?

[ReefStash Verified Sponsor]

Have you used mud before? What’s your experience with it?

 

[Reefahholic]

I can tell you the AF Life Souce is legit. It is some thick and very sticky mud. Probably be perfect to mix into a mangrove bed.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Have you used mud before? What’s your experience with it?

What are you hoping it does?

 

[RedoubtReef]

I'm in the process of trying it now. Will be a long time before I can tell you if I think it actually has any noticeable benefit.

 

[danieyella]

I used miracle mud in one of my sumps at one point, and then random metal levels started to elevate months later. Not sure how accurate Andre was, but he suggested that this is common with it. I removed it and sure enough the levels started to drop again so I feel like he was on to something.

 

[Jase4224]

Used it around 15 years ago to grow Caulerpa in. Honestly can’t say what benefit it had if any but I liked the look and it certainly housed a LOT of micro fauna. Definitely put it in before you add water and add water SLOWLY so that it doesn’t float.. you will still get floating bits so make sure if can’t get into your pump intakes.

Personally I would mix with sand if I used it again to save cost. I remember it being extremely expensive.

 

[WVReefJunkie]

I have used it, my experience with it was better coloration in my fish, and soft corals seem to be happier with it. This was just my observation!

 

[ReefStash Verified Sponsor]

What are you hoping it does?

I don’t need it to do anything, it looks like a great option for planting my mangroves in to keep the roots compact. I’m planning to plant them in a planter inside a shallow bare bottom frag tank and I’m just doing some due diligence before using something I’ve never used.

 

[ReefStash Verified Sponsor]

Used it around 15 years ago to grow Caulerpa in. Honestly can’t say what benefit it had if any but I liked the look and it certainly housed a LOT of micro fauna. Definitely put it in before you add water and add water SLOWLY so that it doesn’t float.. you will still get floating bits so make sure if can’t get into your pump intakes.

Personally I would mix with sand if I used it again to save cost. I remember it being extremely expensive.

Thx for this info… planning to use it in a bare bottom shallow frag display tank in planters for my mangroves. Based on your feedback I might add some sand as a top layer in the planters. The planters will have a lip to help keep everything in.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don’t need it to do anything, it looks like a great option for planting my mangroves in to keep the roots compact. I’m planning to plant them in a planter inside a shallow bare bottom frag tank and I’m just doing some due diligence before using something I’ve never used.

Yes, that's exactly what I was asking. You want it to hold roots in place.

Others want other things, like trace element supplementation, etc.

It's ability to hold roots seems certain. It's ability to properly add trace elements is highly suspect.

 

[srobertb]

Have you used mud before? What’s your experience with it?

Yes. It’s rough and coarse and it’s gets every….wait.

I used it once in a refugium. I removed it quickly. It made mud storms. It did nothing else.

At this stage in my reefing career I don’t add anything to my tank without at least some ability to quantify it. “Replenishes vital nutrients and minerals your reef needs” which IIRC was the advert….sounds like “leeches stuff into my water.”

At my advanced age I have found very rarely anything with the word “miracle” in it is actually a miracle or scientifically backed. You can tell me it creates areas for anaerobic bacteria to grow and form but a, I’m not sure I want that and b, I’m sure I already have plenty of those intrinsically.

Most of the “science guys” on here will tell you there’s probably plenty of surface area for bacteria in your tank without adding messy silt and “minerals and vitamins” or whatever.

my 2 cents. It seems to be polarizing and my review isn’t exactly level-handed.

 

[Jase4224]

Yes. It’s rough and coarse and it’s gets every….wait.

I used it once in a refugium. I removed it quickly. It made mud storms. It did nothing else.

At this stage in my reefing career I don’t add anything to my tank without at least some ability to quantify it. “Replenishes vital nutrients and minerals your reef needs” which IIRC was the advert….sounds like “leeches stuff into my water.”

At my advanced age I have found very rarely anything with the word “miracle” in it is actually a miracle or scientifically backed. You can tell me it creates areas for anaerobic bacteria to grow and form but a, I’m not sure I want that and b, I’m sure I already have plenty of those intrinsically.

Most of the “science guys” on here will tell you there’s probably plenty of surface area for bacteria in your tank without adding messy silt and “minerals and vitamins” or whatever.

my 2 cents. It seems to be polarizing and my review isn’t exactly level-handed.

I totally agree with you here. I see this product as a substrate to use for the way it looks IF used in an appropriate application. In my experience it did not create a mess but that was just the design of the sump reducing turbulence.

I would use this product again if.. it looked appealing in the biome I was trying to create and if the animals required a calm setting.

 

[Waboss]

I used it back in the early 2000's on my bare bottom system. Had it in the refugium and everything seemed happy, but I never ran that tank without it so I can't speak to it's benefits. I can say that it made a nice home for critters to live though as I had a ton of life in there.

 

[ReefStash Verified Sponsor]

Appreciate all of the responses.

 

[TWYOUNG]

Yes, that's exactly what I was asking. You want it to hold roots in place.

Others want other things, like trace element supplementation, etc.

It's ability to hold roots seems certain. It's ability to properly add trace elements is highly suspect.

Randy, how do you feel about it's ability to add diversity to a young tank started with dry rock? I've been adding AF Lifesource to my display weekly along with MB7 after experiencing an outbreak of dinos. Dinos have been controlled for four months, now I have heavy growth of cyano on my sand ugh!

 

[Robinson]

There will be always multiple opinions about any product, some will be positive and others will be negative including the ones of the snake oil comments.

For me, the best tank I had have been when I have been using it. The reason I use it is for biodiversity and stability, after a few weeks in the sump your going to see how the mud area becomes alive: pods, this is one of the benefits that barely you will hear people talking about. It keeps feeding pods and they multiply like crazy when the mud is present.

I have started multiple tanks with dry clean rock, added the mud and cycle. A few weeks later you will see pods around and how the rock becomes alive. During this process I have never added pods to the tank and or feed any food to target feed their population and I always have hundreds of them in the tank. I have in my tank a mandarin that doesn’t eat frozen food or any food I feed the tank, he have been with me for 5 years now and still doing good a healthy.
Another benefit I attribute to is for the fish, I have not lost a fish in the last 6 years, and the only one that died was because of age.

So it really depends what is your intent use, it definitely adds to the biodiversity of the tank, helps with bacteria and also to mature the tank a lot faster, specially if starting with dry rock that is the way a lot of people are starting the tank these days.
Also I do perform monthly or bi-monthly ICP test and I never had a single toxic metal on the high side, on the contrary I have to dose trace elements to keep with the tank consumption and in check. Everyone experience is different, but at least that has not been my case.


To end, the chaeto in the sump never die. Another benefit as definitely it feeds the algae too, so your mangrove will be happy.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, how do you feel about it's ability to add diversity to a young tank started with dry rock? I've been adding AF Lifesource to my display weekly along with MB7 after experiencing an outbreak of dinos. Dinos have been controlled for four months, now I have heavy growth of cyano on my sand ugh!

It likely does that. Not likely as well as live rock, but likely some. Compared to bottled bacteria? I cannot say.

 

[ReefStash Verified Sponsor]

There will be always multiple opinions about any product, some will be positive and others will be negative including the ones of the snake oil comments.

For me, the best tank I had have been when I have been using it. The reason I use it is for biodiversity and stability, after a few weeks in the sump your going to see how the mud area becomes alive: pods, this is one of the benefits that barely you will hear people talking about. It keeps feeding pods and they multiply like crazy when the mud is present.

I have started multiple tanks with dry clean rock, added the mud and cycle. A few weeks later you will see pods around and how the rock becomes alive. During this process I have never added pods to the tank and or feed any food to target feed their population and I always have hundreds of them in the tank. I have in my tank a mandarin that doesn’t eat frozen food or any food I feed the tank, he have been with me for 5 years now and still doing good a healthy.
Another benefit I attribute to is for the fish, I have not lost a fish in the last 6 years, and the only one that died was because of age.

So it really depends what is your intent use, it definitely adds to the biodiversity of the tank, helps with bacteria and also to mature the tank a lot faster, specially if starting with dry rock that is the way a lot of people are starting the tank these days.
Also I do perform monthly or bi-monthly ICP test and I never had a single toxic metal on the high side, on the contrary I have to dose trace elements to keep with the tank consumption and in check. Everyone experience is different, but at least that has not been my case.


To end, the chaeto in the sump never die. Another benefit as definitely it feeds the algae too, so your mangrove will be happy.

Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I’m planning to use it as a substrate in planters within a bare bottom shallow tank for mangroves.