I have been using a "miracle mud" refugium for years now, and while it's a workable method, it's not the end-all, cure-all like they advertise.
It is a good substrate for a refugium as well as for denitrification, but over time it is the same thing as a DSB in that it will accumulate nutrient and be a pain. It has however brought a high population of mysids, pods, little stars, etc into existence that I never observed before, so I guess that's a benefit.
As a result I rarely feed that tank anything, but have found that feedings of DT's phyoplankton increase food populations even more.
It's an ok method, but I still advocate using a skimmer with it.
The only thing I would try with this that I haven't is to go bare bottom in my display tank. I feel my sandbed has been an issue as far as nutrient goes and due to this I can't fully draw conclusions.
The only nuissance algae I have had is Valonia, where previously there were others.
Hope that helps.
