I need your book reviews

[Brooke]

I need your review of some of the following books to be used on our book recommendation page for the new site.

Here's a list of the books I have so far. I've read most, but not all of them. So, please write a brief review for as many of these as you want and I will choose which ones go on the page. If there is a book I've missed, please let me know.

• Natural Reef Aquariums-Tullock
• Conscientious Marine Aquarist-Fenner
• TRA vol 1 and 2 -Sprung and Delbeek
• Corals-Julian Sprung (his new book)
• Corals- Borneman (the new one and the old one)
• Marine Fishes-Michael
• Giant Clams- Knop
• Coral Reef Aquarium-Shimek
• Reef Fishes- Michael
• New Marine Aquarium- Paletta
• Clownfishes- Wilkerson
• Modern Reef Aquarium vol 1, 2, 3--forgot their names
• Burgess' marine fish atlas

Thanks-
Brooke

[Blake]

Corals - Borneman (new one)
5/5

Excellent! If you want to know about a specific corals eating habits, husbantry, or just the authors take on them then this is the book. Everything is taken from a scientific viewpoint. This is a very complete book. It just doesn't cover corals, but it also covers the history of them. How coral care in the home aquarium has evolved over the past 20 years. it is definetly worth the money.

[ 03-26-2001: Message edited by: Blake ]

[Peter_]

Originally posted by Brooke:
If there is a book I've missed, please let me know.

Hey, you forgot my favorite:

Dynamic Aquaria: Building Living Ecosystems - Adey and Loveland.

[Brooke]

Thanks guys-

Peter..can you write a little review for me? It sounds like a cool book.

Thanks

[Peter_]

Originally posted by Brooke:
Peter..can you write a little review for me?

It's sort of a cross between Euthydemus and Green Eggs and Ham.

[Ray1214]

Book of Coral Propagation

Reef Gardening for Aquarists

Volume One, Version 1.0

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A Concise Guide to the Successful Care and Culture of Coral Reef Invertebrates

>>

By Anthony Calfo

>>

One of the books I consider and several other reef enthusiasts consider a “Must Have” for their collection. I will mention that I have managed to read the book from End to End, however I find that as a reference aid, it is invaluable. Had I the foresight, I would have bought two books as my autographed copy by the author is now dog eared, and has some pages that looks like fresh sweat or saltwater (or both) dribbled, dripped or splashed on it. If you are like the most of us and have a glass box filled with saltwater, sand and rocks, and you just want to have a clue on what to do next, this book has all of the basics. From setting up a standard tank, to building a lagoon system or even building a nitrate reducing philosophy using Aiptasia anemones, the author didn’t miss a trick.

But wait, there is more. Chemistry, Coral Family Overviews, Propagation Strategies and even how to build a full greenhouse operation are among the loads of information this book provides. I can’t tell you how many times I have poured through the Troubleshooting section either.

In short this publication should be in any serious hobbyists’ collection and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get two of them. The author took great care to explain his instructions in plain English and I feel that even if you just use it for reference, you find yourself going back to that book more and more.

Ray O'Connor

This is one I wrote for our Quarterly Newsletter for the Atlanta Reef Club. My favorite book. I am in the process of finishing up on on The Marine Aquarium; From Beginner to Breeder by Martin Moe, jr.

Ray

[Ray1214]

Also my other fave is by Calfo/Fenner, The Reef Invertabrates guide or something like that. I don't have it in front of me. I continously read through it.

Ray

[Minnreefer]

Thanks for the review of the book Ray, we wil try to get that book on the recomend books page located http://www.thereeftank.com/books/ I would recomend many of those books on that page to everyone.

Jon

[Ray1214]

Brooke, here is this quarter's article. The newsletter goes out in a few days so this is a preview.

The Marine Aquarium Handbook, Beginner to Breeder by Martin A. Moe, Jr.fficeffice" />>>

>>

One of my first books that I read when I first started this hobby; it is still one of the premiere reference books around. This book starts off with basic aquarium starting and guidelines and as the title suggests, there are advanced topics for the Marine Breeder.

This book is very cut and dry and has one of the comprehensive Troubleshooting and setup guides. I have referred to this tome many a time to diagnose and treat common fish ailments as well as the Physics and Chemistry section to have a clear understanding of what I am doing and why. Almost every chapter not only gives you the what, but has specifics for when and why.

I recommend this book for the beginner as well as advanced aquarist. This invaluable reference will have you going back to it more and more. Anyone that wishes to reach the plateau of breeding marine fish will absolutely need this book by the author to first commercially breed Indo-Pacific Clownfish and his 30 plus years of experience.

>>

>>

Ray O’Connor

[Phishnoob]

Marine Fishes by Scott Michael has been our biggest aid. It is also called the 500+ book and there should be a well thumbed copy at every LFS.

This book rates fish on reef compatibility, whether or not they will eat inverts and best of all gives an ease of care index from 0 to 5. Every fish we got that was a 5 has lived and the 2's have not either due to not eating or an immature tank. There are color pictures of each fish as well, and minimum tank sizes along with food choices. The minimum tank sizes seem to be spot on as well, and based on our experience really are minimums.

We have found a few fish here and there that are not listed, but you can generally get pretty close by looking at the rest of the family.

I would recommend this book first for anyone that is thinking of putting a fish in their tank.

[Fatboy]

Brooke,



There are several books out there that worth to read, but beware that there are also a lot of them that are completely outdated. Since our hobby has been evolving very fast during the last couple of years, you will have to be very careful at the time of choosing one.



Just a couple of comments of some of the books I have:



Ultimate Marine Aquariums: Written by Michael Paletta. 192 pages. Published on 2003. I must say that I was very disappointed with this book, mainly because the photograph quality is bad. He could have done a really nice book since he reviews 50 different aquariums, but the pictures are not professional at all. Very good information if you want to get some ideas and now what people have done to have such nice aquariums. Profiles of those aquariums are very complete.



Reef Notes: Written by Julian Sprung, the three (3) volumes are a revisited and revised version of his past articles in FAMA magazine. The books go from 1989 to 1994. Each book has around 170 pages and were printed on 1995 and 1996. Even that this is very old material, there are some good articles. In these books, he includes new comments and it is very interesting to see how he has changed his opinion through the years. Lots of information for beginners.



The Reef Aquarium (Volume One): Written by Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung. 545 pages. Published on 1994. Tons of good information. Even that some of it is a little bit outdated, is a good book to have in your bookshelf. Fourteen (14) chapters that cover reef lighting, aquascaping, water quality, control of nutrients and algae, and diseases among others. It is an expensive book, but I was happy when I bought it.



Marine Fishes – A Pocket Expert Guide: Written by Scott W. Michael.448 pages. Published on 2001. A must have for every hobbyist and even for LFS. Good pictures of fish and good summarized information about them. My copy is already looking crappie because of all the use.



Algae – A Problem Solver Guide: Written by Julian Sprung. 80 pages. Published on 2002. Disappointing book. Even that I don’t have algae problems, I bought to know a little bit more about them and be prepared in case of emergency. The book has good pictures and descriptions of all the species, but I was looking for some more in depth information on how to control algae. It is a good guide for beginners.



Book of Coral Propagation: Written by Anthony Calfo. 450 pages. Published on 2001. Great book even that it doesn’t include pictures. Lots of information in sixteen (16) chapters that covers coral farming in greenhouse operations, systems and hardware, husbandry, coral family overviews, shipping, quarantine, coral placement, propagation, pest and troubleshooting among others. Great information.



Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook: Written by Dr. Robert J. Goldstein. 198 pages. Published on 1997. Definitely a book for beginners. Very basic information but it can give you a good overall picture of what it takes to keep a salt water aquarium or reef. Twenty-three (23) chapters that covers basic equipment, water quality, nitrogen and carbon cycles, filters, lighting, algae, corals, diseases, mollusks and fishes among others. Good book for starters.



Coral Reef Aquarium: Written by Ron Shimek, Ph.D. 126 pages. Published on 1999. Extremely basic. I think there are better books for beginners. Four chapters were he covers understanding the coral reef, the environment, the organisms and beyond the basics. I wouldn’t buy it again.



Your First Marine Aquarium: Written by John H. Tullock. 79 pages. Published on 1998. Extremely basic but good a first approach for a beginner. It will guide you step by step on how to mount your first aquarium. Not a bad choice to start.



Corals – A Quick Reference Guide: Written by Julian Sprung. 240 pages. Published on 1999. Good book for coral identification and summarized information about placement, feeding, etc. Nice pictures. Great for a quick reference but this is not the book you are looking for if you want some more detailed information. Good book to have in bookshelf.



The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: Written by Robert M. Fenner. 432 pages. Published on 1998. Book for beginners that counts with good information about setting up an aquarium, fishes and invertebrates. Good pictures. A must have for everybody that is starting. It helped me a lot in my beginnings.



Natural Reef Aquariums: Written by John H. Tullock. 336 pages. Published on 1997. Also an excellent beginner’s book. Nice pictures and information on different habitats.



Reef Fishes – Volume 1: Written by Scott W. Michael. 624 pages. Published on 1998. Beautiful book and extensive information about some fish species. Unfortunately, in this book, he doesn’t cover the most typical aquarium species. I would still buy it again.



Invertebrates – A Quick Reference Guide: Written by Julian Sprung. 240 pages. Published on 2001. Good book for invertebrate identification and summarized information about feeding, behaviour, etc. Nice pictures. Great for a quick reference but this is not the book you are looking for if you want some more detailed information. Good book to have in bookshelf.



Aquarium Corals – Selection, Husbandry and Natural History: Written by Eric H. Borneman. 464 pages. Published on 2001. A must have. Great pictures and information. Twelve (12) chapters were he covers different types of corals, anatomy, food and feeding, taxonomy, husbandry, water chemistry and health among others. Everybody with a reef tank, must have a copy.



Algae – An introduction to Phycology: Written by C. Van den Hoek, D. G. Mann and H. M. Jahns. 624 pages. Published 1995. This is a very technical and difficult book to read, but it is great if you want to go in depth on algae. Not a book if you want to get into a lot of detail, but if you are challenged to learn more about our hobby, it could be a good book. Definitely, not for normal aquarists.

[Fatboy]

Reef Invertebrates – An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility: Written by Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner. 400 pages. Published on 2003. Beautiful book. Great pictures and information. A must have for me. What else I can say…….

Simplified Reef Keeping: Written by Robert M. Metelsky. 304 pages. Published on 1996. This is avery different book but it helped me a lot when I was starting. It is a more practical guide and it wont give you a lot of details about things. It will just tell you how to do them…….. Spanky would like this book because he recommend Bare Bottom Tanks. The book includes a CD. I still go through it some times. Some good ideas on fabricating components. Good book for beginners.



The New Marine Aquarium: Written by Michael S. Paletta. 144 pages. Published on 1999. Good beginners book even that is very basic and doesn’t’ have a lot of pictures. Very simple.



Clownfishes: Written by Joyce D. Wilkerson. 240 pages. Published on 1998. Very good book if you like clownfish and you want to trey to reproduce them.



The other books I have, I don’t have them right now with me so I would prefer to skip the review.

In two more weeks I should be receiving a bunch of books written by Bob Goemans (Live Sand Secrets - A Dialog on Living Sand Filtration, Natural Aquarium Secrets: Nature's Pathways to Success, Protein Skimming & Activated Carbon Secrets and Water Quality Guidelines for Marine Aquariums). Is not that I’m a fan of Mr. Goemans, but I bought them because of curiosity. Also coming Aquatic Systems Engineering: Devices and How They Function written by Pedro Ramon Escobal and Basslets, Dottybacks and Hawkfishes: Plus Seven More Aqarium Fish Families with Expert Captive Care Advice for the Marine Aquarist and Angelfishes & Butterflyfishes written by Scott W. Michael.

Last book to arrive is "Light and Photosynthesis in Aquatic Ecosystems" written by John O. Kirk. I want to go more in depth in lighting and that is why I bought this book.

If anybody else can recommend some more technical books, I would appreciate it. I m especially interested on water chemistry.

Hopefully this helps you.

[Ray1214]

Brooke, How is the book review section going? I too am curious about some more technical books. I ordered breeding the Orchid Dottyback by martin moe, Not that I breed them, but I have bangaiis that breed on a regular basis and I am hoping the basics are the same for most all fish. Also one of the experts on breeding shrimp (Porter) is right here in atlanta and we have been discussing the need for a book on breeding crustecians...I am a big proponant on captive bred fish and corals to one day perhaps even to replenish our disappearing reefs.

Ray

[electricbluelizzy]

Is this site up and running?

[SPC]

Originally Posted by electricbluelizzy

Is this site up and running?

Which one?

Steve