View Full Version : Cranners - Miracle mud system
Photos to be posted soon (check details & photo on sig)
I have been running a MM system since September. I have transferred my stock from my RSM which was almost 20 months old. The new tank is 22 x 23 x 30 and is standing on a 4ft cabinet (possible expansion plans). The main display is pumped with an OR 3500 and a Vortech gen 2 MP40w. The lighting is wait for it.....five Aquaray LEDs two blue and three white which are controlled on timer switches to produce simulated moonlight, dawn, mid day and mid afternoon light.
I have a simple tank plan of drain into sump through bioballs, then over mud and caulerpa and then into live rubble and caulerpa and then back into the main display.
Parameters have vbeen stable - Ca 425 Mg 1200 to 1300, no nitrates, a little phosphate, Ph 8.1 to 8.3 SG 1.025 to 1.026 Alk - 2.3ish and DKh 8+
I have a good mixture of corals in the tank LPS, SPS and softies with main corals being LPS.
Candy cane
Fungia plates - orange, red and green
Deep water lobo
Duncans - x 50 heads
Blastos
torch x 1
frogspawn x 3
hammer x 1
Green bubble
Favites
Acans x 3
Montipora
Acropora
Zoas
Protopalythoa
Xenia elongata
Unidentified lobo/favia type coral
gorgonian - Muricea and Pseudopterogorgia spp
Ricordea floridas
I have started growing Acropora in the tank on an egg crate shelf which I have made using a mag float and cable ties. The acropora i have is bullet proof it seems and I also have a purple tipped acro aswell which is growing slowly - fragged a small piece off today
Fragged my first acropora a few days back and the new frag is growing down onto its mount.
The algae was lit with two 24w T5 and two 55w compact T5's - I have since removed the compacts and are lighting the sump 24/7 with the 24w T5's - I am checking the growth of these - I will be getting an environlite for the sump and may move the T5's onto the new tank which will be plumbed into the system.
Fish - McCoskers Flasher Wrasse, Splendid Leopard Wrasse, pair of false percula clowns, Royal Gramma and a pair of Bangai cardinals
Due to the recent addition of the bangai male I have started using a little phosphate reactor which takes water from the return pump chamber and feeds that back into the live rubble chamber.
The algae has been growing really well and I have plenty of different types invertebrates in the sump - stomatella snails, dove snails, amphipods, copepods, flat worms etc etc
I am pretty pleased with the results so far. I have placed damaged corals from LFS and I have managed to nurse them back to health - I think I have a war coral, platys (so named at STM) and a deep water lobo from Frunkster all of which have some recession and they are coming back nicely. The lobo is my pride and joy as it is HUGE! The coral was receding from the disruption in the tank so i took her home and I can see that tissue is starting to grow back over the exposed skeleton.
A similar situation is happening with the War coral it was stung by an acan when it fell onto the coral at the LFS - the coral was starting to come back so I rescued it for a good price and I think that it is also coming back - it is feeding on the zoo plankton I feed the tank so fingers crossed.
J
That's a great run down of your system mate. Could you post up some pics or diagrams relating to your sump? Dimensions, mud depth / surface area etc. etc.
dan-the-man
26-11-08, 14:03
Sounds great fella, now where are the pics?! :D
Lets see some pics.
How are you managing Calcium and alk and are you using any other additives?
Are you target feeding your LPS esp the ones in recovery
cheers,
Leroy
Full tank shot
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/9659/fts281108wj9.jpg
Start of the filtration - around Sept 08
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9066/algaebedstart1ep8.jpg
Added further t5 lights
Algae sump - lighting
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3387/algaebed1ct4.jpg
Algae - growing like mad! - today
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/9516/algaebed2yu1.jpg
I am currently using Grotech additives in the top up water using a tunze ATP. I have quite a bit of Ca and Mg in there and it is keeping the parameters stable - I would like to go for full balling method when I get my GHL doser
Jon
Glad to see she is coming back full steam ahaead for you - told you she would ;)
Close ups? :)
I will hope to get some close up shots of the regen on the coral soon. I have changed the flow pattern on the vortech to a pulse motion with a low current and then higher. This has allowed the lobo to expand brillantly.
I have a favites war coral which I purchased from STM it was massively reduced due to damage to the coral and it is gradually growing back and it is also growing into the really dead skeleton aswell which is a result!
I hope that it comes back like this beauty!
http://www.reeffarmers.com/auctionededition_warcoral_colony.jpg
Another small report here - my clown fish have started spawning in the MM system - They were regularly spawning in the RSM and then the change over 3 months down the line they have spawned on the side glass next to the euphyllias
I have harvested a quarter of the caulerpa and have sent out bags of the stuff to people who have sent through SAE's. I am not sure whether the algae will survive so fingers crossed
Jon
More updates please... how are the different corals getting on under the LEDs?
Thanks.:)
Acropora are growing well at the moment my frag had to be trimmed for too weighty arms sending the acro over the edge of the egg crate platform. My LPS are doing really well - Eupyhllias are expanding really well around 20 inches down - note possibly due to the lower light levels they are expanding to maximise light onto the polyps.
War coral is growing back into its old skeleton and is feeding well. My deep water lobo is growing back where it was damaged - it is expanding well each day. Duncans are fully extended and large.
i am thinking that deepwater corals would be ideal for the set up. I wonder whether I could find some deep water acroporas and other SPS to try.
I will get some photos of the corals to illustrate asap
I have had some losses - my Seriatopora hystrix frags are not doing well after an algae infection on the tips - I may trim these or get some new frags from local reefer. It may be due to falling to the substrate and being exposed to air etc which caused this.
I quite like the idea of deep water corals so if anyone has any frags of such corals I would like to buy them.
Regards
Jon
Okay - what I actually mean is corals which are located in the deeper parts of shallow reef areas rather then the 'cold water' corals which are found around the UK and other deep coral reefs.
J
Hi Cranners, Merry Christmas.
Your set up is of particular interest to me as i am going to set up a MM-ecosystem with LED lighting. Very interested to see what can grow. I have witnessed a couple of LED lit aquariums although not ecosystem and they have been growing softies and some LPS successfully for 6 months or so. I think even TMC have only had a tank set up for 10 months and they have managed to grow some SPS well so far.
Interested to know what are some of the deeper water shallow reef sps corals. Still getting to grips with allese different species. Thankfully though there are quite a few nice softies around.
Have you tried the Red sea gorgonian, i think its blue, but i have read that it does not require very bright light, but likes a lot of water movement. The only think is the feeding bit, not sure how easy.
I want to get the Vortech MP40 gen 2, how have you found yours, is it very noisy? noisy at first then quiet? worth it?
Thanks again.
Hi Cranners, nice to meet you again at the LFS. Any updates on the MM, thinking of starting a new tank and going down the MM route. Any pointers would be helpful.
Cheers, Steve
Cranners,
what is the dimensions of you sump and the mud area? i dont thik it was in your intial write up, unless i didnt read properly. Thanks
right - the sump is made from a clearseal 36in x 12in x 15in- mud area is roughly 18in or 20in x 12in x 8in baffle or so. I have a small chamber of live rubble after the baffle which is around 15in wide x 6in tall x 4in depth from the return chamber.
I will check those measurements and will put up a diagram. I have kept away from any form of skimmer and it is working fine touch wood.
Jon
lovely tank mate, i'm thinking of doing something very similar
My pride and joy but what is this LPS coral?
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/P2200002.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/P2200011.jpg
Any ideas?
Some SPS growth pics here
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/P2200005.jpg
This brown and white tipped acro is literally bullet proof as it has grown in my RSM and now has put on quite a bit of growth in my MM system
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/P2200004.jpg
This is a purple or blue tipped acropora maricultured frag which has also grown in my system
The lighting remember is LED and T5!
My War coral is growing back really well over the dead skeleton
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/P2200008.jpg
PS the SPS in previous posts obviously don't look as good as they could be but they are growing lol
An update on my tank
Sorry about the coraline but i have left this to feed my long spined urchin
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00734.jpg
I have supplemented the Aquarays with two T5's
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00748_1.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00749_1.jpg
I have a pure actinic on one of these. I have two other T5's on my sump I am looking to build a luminaire mounting for the 5 LEDs and 4 T5's (do you think I will have enough light?)
more to be posted soon.....
Growth of an acropora in my system
Frag located to the far left in the background - photo taken 11/2008
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00611.jpg
Same frag photo taken today (5th March)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00715.jpg
J
Sump photos
Right hand side including ATO etc
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00728.jpg
Middle of the sump (time to harvest again!)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00729.jpg
Left hand side of the sump including timer sockets etc
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00730.jpg
New corals
After losing my red fungia to a stray mushroom bloody thing killed off the coral grrrr
I have got hold of a rather nice red blasto
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00745_1.jpg
Popped into Reefworks well Aquarium Life and I had to have this lovely pavona
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00736.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00737.jpg
And finally and not least my duncans!
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00744_1.jpg
Blimey you are only supposed to put the bloody doors on!
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/DSC00750_1.jpg
I like the look just see where I can upgrade or I have another idea
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q1/Frag tank plan.jpg
A small frag system plumbed into my miracle mud sump
What do you think?
Readings
Ca = 465ppm
Mag = 1440ppm
Alk = 2.63 or 7.4
The corals are fine but the alkalinity is rather low. What should I use to raise the alkalinity?
j
Readings
Ca = 465ppm
Mag = 1440ppm
Alk = 2.63 or 7.4
The corals are fine but the alkalinity is rather low. What should I use to raise the alkalinity?
j
Well, I see you have exactly the same ATO as me, in fact, your sump and ATO are identical to mine. I even have the same container to hold the water. Freaky. As soon as I get my camera charger back I'll take a photo to show you.
Since your calcium and mag are good, you could get some of that salifert PH/KH buffer, its powerful stuff, and will raise your KH no bother. I always keep some on hand just in case I need it, but since adding the tunze calcium (KALC) dispensor to my ATO, I need it less and less.
I'm currently doing 25 liter a day (700 liter setup) water changes as my mag was way out -- like it had dropped to 850ppm! I have it back to 1140ppm now so not too far to go. Another week and It'll be fine again.
I'm loving this miracle mud stuff. I've got three epsom salt tubs filled with miracle mud, arganite and then topped off with crushed coral in mine. Coz I'm too cheap to pay out for mud. Do you think that does the same job or what?
Hi again,
What colours are the leds? All actinic or a mix or what?
I purchased the same strip last week to see what it was like. How long is your running and hows the feeling about them?
Conor
It would be great to see your tank system. I have at the moment two reef blue and two reef white's with four T5's which are timed to come on at different intervals during the day. I have had to take one of the Reef whites off line as I have had a slight problem with one of the power pack thingy - I am going to be sending this back with the old set of lights which have now been replaced by TMC. I hope to get a replacement power pack aswell.
My feeling about them is that they are fine for lighting my tank but I have to be choosy about which corals I get for the tank. I am going to be sticking with LPS and soft corals over SPS though I still have an acropora growing slowly at the top of the rock work.
I have recently become a father for the second time so the tank is not getting my full attention at the moment. I am planning to use the balling method to control the parameters. I also suspect that the RO is not up to scratch as I have not changed the filters for a while - I will be testing the RO unit effluent today to see whether I need to replaced the membrane or DI resin.
I am also thining down the corals a bit to clean up the sand as I have lots of odds and sods on the bottom making the tank look untidy. I am planning to get into testing and maintaining the tank water this autumn and winter.
So far so good!
Thanks for the advice on the parameters aswell -
J
I'll take pics when I get the camera charger back - in a few weeks...
That post of mine should have stated mineral mud, not miracle. Miracle mud is too expensive over here and I reckon mud is mud at the end of the day.
As long as the particle sizes are small, what's the difference? I'm tempted to go down the beach and get some Dublin bay mud. :-)
davelooker
29-04-11, 19:51
Any updates ?
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