Required Reading List?

[afgoody]

I am the newbie looking to start a 75 gallon reef tank with softies and fish with the obvious possibility of anything in the future.

With this in mind, what would be your top 3 recommended books to read and keep for reference?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[liquid]

Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History
by Eric H. Borneman
Microcosm Limited; ISBN: 1890087475; (March 2001), 464 pages

Reef Fishes Volume 1
by Scott W. Michael
Publisher: TFH Publications; ISBN: 1890087211; (June 1, 2001), 624 pages

Natural Reef Aquariums : Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms
by John H. Tullock, Martin A. Moe
Publisher: Microcosm Limited; ISBN: 1890087009; (November 1997), 336 pages

or

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist : A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists
by Robert M. Fenner, Christopher Turk
Publisher: Microcosm Limited; ISBN: 1890087025; (March 1998), 432 pages

http://reefs.org/library/reading/

Shane

 

[Anonymous]

Martin Moe's book is fantastic, too. It's getting to be a bit outdated now, but it's still got lots of good info. Plus just reading the boards here and asking questions is what I've found to be the best source of info. Also be sure to read advanced aquarist online magazine.

 

[StevenPro]

Mike Paletta's "The New Marine Aquarium" is an excellent first book. It is inexpensive, easy to read, not too long, and will give a beginner the basics. I second Eric Borneman's "Aquarium Corals". This is a must have for any serious reef keepers. And lastly, Scott Michael's "Pocket Expert Guide to Marine Fishes" is a handy little reference with great photos and brief descriptions of care for the most popular fish in the trade.

 

[Anonymous]

Moe has two good books, and in my opinion they're just as practical now as they ever were. So, the book I'd most recommend to a noob is "The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder", most useful because it describes quite well the functionality of different forms of filtration, as well as how it's properly set up. I created my own first reef filtration based on the information there with terrific success.

Then there's also "The Marine Aquarium Reference".. (I think that's the title!), another excellent work.

Beyond that I'm going to push the first published book of Anthony Calfo's and Bob Fenner's "Natural Marine Aquarium" series, "Reef Invertebrates".

 

[liquid]

The only thing I really didn't like about Paletta's book The New Marine Aquarium was in the section about treating fish for disease. He recommended using copper, which is something I'm opposed to in both FO systems and reef systems.

Shane

 

[Inno]

Meh, top 6 instead...

Conscietious Marine Aquarist, by Bob Fenner

Reef Aquarium Vol. 1&2, by Delbeek & Sprung

Aquarium Corals, by Eric Borneman

Sand Bed Secrets, by Ron Shimek

Live Sand Secrets, by Bob Goemans

 

[afgoody]

Thank you all for the great advice. I ordered these books from Amazon:

Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History
by Eric H. Borneman
Microcosm Limited; ISBN: 1890087475; (March 2001), 464 pages

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist : A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists
by Robert M. Fenner, Christopher Turk
Publisher: Microcosm Limited; ISBN: 1890087025; (March 1998), 432 pages

I've already read The New Marine Aquarium and it was extremely informative and easy to understand. I can't wait to feel educated enough to start my reef system.

-Adam

 

[liquid]

Well then here's a couple more links you might find interesting:

New Reefkeepers Forum: Reefs.org's Guide to Information
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=33928

Reefs.org Library (over 200 articles!)
http://www.reefs.org/library

Advanced Aquarist Online Magazine
http://www.advancedaquarist.com
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/index

Marine Aquarist Courses Online
http://www.reefs.org/maco/index.php

hth

Shane