Creating a mud?

[Giga]

I need a the fiji mud by walt smith but it's crazy $$ does anyone know anyway I could make something liek it and be reef safe?

[sirreal63]

I am curious why you think you "need" this product?

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

I am curious why you think you "need" this product?

Me too.

[Reefman29]

I have seen the stuff before and looks like expenisive additives to me. Regular water changes should maintain all your levels.

[luv4paws2]

It is good stuff! It creates the low/no oxygen zone for denitrification and it houses a variety of different critters than just sand.

[sirreal63]

Placebo's work best when there is a belief they work. Surface area is too small for any real de-nitrification and and any "bugs" that have been in it are dead. It is possible that it could house critters already in your tank, provided you supply them. It is useful if you are growing a seagrass or caulerpa for root nutrients. It has never been shown to have positive or negative effects on water quality or chemistry, unless you know of something I have missed, something a little more scientific than Walt saying it is great.

I am all for doing things unconventional, especially if there are tangible results. In the years that these "miracle" products have been around, no one has been able to quantify either positive or negatives effects, except for the positive for the suppliers bank account and the negative effect on yours.

[sirreal63]

Placebo's work best when there is a belief they work. Surface area is too small for any real de-nitrification and and any "bugs" that have been in it are dead. It is possible that it could house critters already in your tank, provided you supply them. It is useful if you are growing a seagrass or caulerpa for root nutrients. It has never been shown to have positive or negative effects on water quality or chemistry, unless you know of something I have missed, something a little more scientific than Walt saying it is great.

I am all for doing things unconventional, especially if there are tangible results. In the years that these "miracle" products have been around, no one has been able to quantify either positive or negatives effects, except for the positive for the suppliers bank account and the negative effect on yours.

[mscarpena]

Originally Posted by sirreal63

Placebo's work best when there is a belief they work. Surface area is too small for any real de-nitrification and and any "bugs" that have been in it are dead. It is possible that it could house critters already in your tank, provided you supply them. It is useful if you are growing a seagrass or caulerpa for root nutrients. It has never been shown to have positive or negative effects on water quality or chemistry, unless you know of something I have missed, something a little more scientific than Walt saying it is great.

I am all for doing things unconventional, especially if there are tangible results. In the years that these "miracle" products have been around, no one has been able to quantify either positive or negatives effects, except for the positive for the suppliers bank account and the negative effect on yours.

I agree kind of like weight loss supplements. They lost 70 LBS with a great diet and exercise.

Just keep up with your routines and you will be fine. Also if your just keeping it in there for the kritters and nitrification you should not need to replace it. If it is for the Trace Minerals just buy a quality salt and add them back through water changes. I used that refugium mineral sand and saw no better results than my 75 with out it.

[uhuru]

He is trying to grow black mangroves, which like to be buried in the mud.

[wrott]

Agree w/ above statements, you don't need it to have a successful aquarium. I would hesitate before dumping something like "miracle mud" into my fuge. You will generate your own "mud" after about 6 months of reef keeping. I would venture to guess that most people on RC have never used this supplement, for good reasons.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...black+mangrove

[luv4paws2]

The op is asking about "Figi mud" not miracle mud, two completely different products. I am trying to help out the op with some first hand experience. I said that the mud houses a different variety of critters than sand, not that it provides them. As for the original question, I don't think so. To travel and collect somewhere that's pollution and contaminant free would cost more than the $5 a pound that the stuff sells for.

[Giga]

sheesh I asked a simple question and everyone goes off on a tangent-You could have just tried and answered the question. I know of to keep stable water params, this is for something completely different.
FIJI MUD GUYS not the crappy miracle mud. It's for growing black mangroves but trying to find a reef safe alternative. One of the reason I don't visit this forum much anymore

[sirreal63]

Originally Posted by Giga

I need a the fiji mud by walt smith but it's crazy $$ does anyone know anyway I could make something liek it and be reef safe?

I am sorry you feel that way...but consider this, at no point did you mention what you were going to use it for. This is "Reef Central" so you should expect that everyone will be thinking reef, not proper environment for black mangroves.

As for duplicating the mud...I am not aware of anyone actually doing a chemical analysis on the product to see what is really in it. (they did on MM) You may want to check over the the planted tank and see if anyone has come up with a formula for black mangroves. I am certain that Fiji mud in it's native environment does not grow mangroves. Walt collects it near reef environments, not coastal swamplands.

Good Luck by the way. :-)