"MUD" filters

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I'll keep it simple...:) Are the mud filters worth the cost?? I've seen that amiracle has put out their own version which is a bit cheaper, so if they work, I just may get one. Also, any one got a link or two on DIY sump/refugium?? TIA

"J"
 
sry bout re-posting, but didn't really get the info I was looking for the first time, and had honestly forgot I did it.....:D
 

slipknottin

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Jan 13, 2002
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the "mud" is just iron rich soil. Nothing more, nothing less.

Iron is the crucial element for caulpera and seagrass growth, and the reason everyone has reported successes when using the mud.

You could make your own mud by mixing a fine sand and some laterlite.

But if your just asking if the mud works... well yes, it does.
 
Its not so much the mud, but the filter as a whole. The ecosystem filter claims to be a skimmer free system, but I just don't know weather or not to bank on that. I guess the whole problem I see, is that they are trying to create a nitrate lowering filter, yet they still have a bio ball chamber in them. I would think the filter would be better served by replacing the bio ball chamber with a powerful skimmer, and leave the culerpa to handle nitrates created by the LR and substrate, then again, the question becomes weather or not there would be enough nitrate to keep the culerpa going.....hhmm....conundrum.

"J"
 

slipknottin

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the bioballs are good at trapping waste and allowing it to break down to create ammonia... which feeds the macros. otherwise that uneaten food and other waste will breakdown elsewhere in the tank and cause algae.

We know very little about what skimmers export and how important they are to a tank.

There is increasing evidence that the "old tank syndrome" is not caused by heavy metals or nutrients, but by toxins released by corals. Skimmers might possibly remove some of these toxins. Its really all guessing now, but many people have setup and maintained tanks without skimmers for quite some time now. Using either miracle mud, or some other type of filtration (ATS systems, veggie filters, mangroves, etc.)
 
Thanks for the imput slip....one more question if I may... If I did chose to just build my own sump/refeugium, what size tank would I need for a 125g, and about how many watts worth of light for the culerpa?? Thanks again.


"J"
 

slipknottin

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well depending on your return pump and how the overflows are setup in the tank, youd want at least a 30 gallon tank for a sump.

Of course bigger is better, but check to see what you can fit first.

For lighting you want at least 55 watts of light over a 30 gallon tank.

I have a 20 gallon refugium and im using a LOA 65 watt fixture. (cost like $30 at home depot)
 

plantbrain

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Apr 27, 2001
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Mud filters are certainly worth the cost.
Using macro algae instead of skimmers, water changes, bacteria to reduce NO3 and add O2 is worth a good deal.
Try selling bacteria, N2 gas, of foam from a skimmer.
Hard to do that. Macro algae you can and also feed to fish etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
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