Your "Must Reads" for a newbie.

S

SeaRooster

New member
Brand new here. Just setting up a 30 gallon freshwater tank. I figure i'll practice some maintanence on a freshwater tank before sinking tons of cash into a salt water tank that i'll probably figure out with trial by error. My ultimate goal is a large sized salt water reef setup, possibly an in wall unit. I was wondering if you could reccomend some great books that helped you get started. Not freshwater books but books about reef maintanence. Setups, Chemistry, Hardware, Fish and coral compatibilitys. Everything some one would need to know for setting up a large reef aquarium.

Thanks in Advance
 
i'm sure others will chime in with experienced advice and great ideas, but in my opinion, there is really no substitute for just doing it. you can read lots of stuff before, but it will slip away. however, when you are actually doing it and need to solve problems, you seek out advice and read relevant stuff. that is, in my opinion, the best way to learn.

good luck !!!
 
Thanks for the tip...but.........i don't think you grasp how much of a newbie i am. I couldn't tell you what a sump does or what type of lighting coral needs or what to feed my fish. Any advice would be great. =)
 
Here are a list of books that have helped me.


The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide Paperback by Michael S. Paletta

Ultimate Marine Aquariums: Saltwater Dream Systems and How They Are Created Hardcover by Michael S. Paletta

Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species (The Pocketexpert Guide Series for Aquarists and Underwater Naturalists, 1) Paperback by Scott W. Michael

Reef Invertebrates: An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility Paperback by anthony Calfo

A PocketExpert Guide to Marine Invertebrates: 500+ Essential-to-Know Aquarium Species Paperback by Ronald L. Shimek

Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History (Paperback)
by J. E. N. Veron


Oh yea...Welcome to the hobby and good luck. Save your money. :)
 
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

SeaRooster, I totally agree w/ you and think that's a great way to get started into this hobby.

These are a few of the books I own.

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist - Robert Fenner
Natural Reef Aquariums - John Tullock

The Reef Aquarium Volume 1 - Delbeek and Sprung
The Reef Aquarium Volume 2 - Delbeek and Sprung
(These books do get a little more technical in each subject and also get into coral care.)

If you'd like nice coffee table book and good coral care.(but just coral info).. then get this one.
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890087483/reeflink" target="_blank"><b>Aquarium Corals</b></a><br>Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History<br><i>by Eric Borneman</i><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1890087483/reeflink" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1890087483.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg"></a>


These last three are the ones I visit most often. But, as I was starting out learning about saltwater... I did enjoy reading Fenner's and Tullock's books

Good luck,
 
well, just my $.02 again, but i didn't know those things either when i started. i bet the books the other folks recommended are great. i didn't have much money for books, so i read these forums, asked questions, went to my local book store and drank some coffee while reading all their books on saltwater reefs.

honestly, i think the info on this site is worth more than any book you could buy. i wish someone would put together a book from the various articles, in-depth threads, and other stuff that is on the site. centralize everytyhing in one place.

but seriously, go at this however you feel comfortable, but don't overlook the free resource that is here.

for example, start with this thread. there's a ton of information:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239848
 
dito m3rcury! if you have a question, RC has the answer. it may not always be what you want to hear, but its true facts. "from our failures come great reefs" i think ill put that in my sig. lol! ive been into SW 16 yrs. when there was one sand, one salt, and very little knowledge to be found. live rock was $16.00-$18.00 a pound. weve come along way baby! great luck & REEF-ON!!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7330960#post7330960 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MiddletonMark
Often people consider `cycling' to be all about getting the tank to 0 Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate ... when there's a lot more going on than that. And more reasons to give the tank time, expect that in 6+ months it will do better than before.
Click to expand...

So true Mark. My 100g tank was originally bought for a FOwLR.... then I found RC and saw what "reef" tanks looked like and I was HOOKED! I had actually already put in the DSB and LR in the 100g(plus a couple of damsels).

I broke it ALL down, put all the LR in a 50g rubbermaid tub and the same w/ the DSB.... and sent the 100g tank back to the maker to be drilled and reef-ready.

I put some N.O. flourscents over the rubbermaid tubs and fed it a mix of food.

I think it was 4-5 months before I had designed and built my reef tank system and let the DSB and LR mature in the rubbermaid tubs.

Added the DSB and LR in my 100gRR. Cycled in a few days. Gave it another month before I started adding a few fish and I've never looked back.

Patience is tough to swallow.


wow, just read that Eric Borneman post. You're right Mark... that's a keeper for sure.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Last edited:
I disagree that books aren't the way to go. RC is great, but there are so many different opinions -- some of them way wacked out IMO -- that it is nice to have the expert advice in book form. There are a bunch of sticky threads at the top of the New to the Hobby forum that are very helpful as well, as those threads are more "moderated" by experts than others can be. I have found these books to be most helpful:

The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide Paperback by Michael S. Paletta

Ultimate Marine Aquariums: Saltwater Dream Systems and How They Are Created Hardcover by Michael S. Paletta

Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species (The Pocketexpert Guide Series for Aquarists and Underwater Naturalists, 1) Paperback by Scott W. Michael
Click to expand...

and

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner

Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History by Eric Borneman
Click to expand...

The books give you a lot of good information and also give you a benchmark from which to judge advice you'll get on RC.

IMO, books and RC are both are immensely valuable.

Jack
 
I think grasshoppers on his way to becoming quite the reefer he must be on the right track if he found US (RC) before seting up a tank. Patients the key. Starting fw is a good start get in to the habbit of feeding, water changes, and find out how many buckets he is short of now. lol Good luck no question is dumb but probably already asked so, b4 asking a question read back in the history of the threads more than likley the answers there just got to find it.
 
Most definitely, the above is right. reading first is the way to go. Another source you might want to consider is the phone book for the local emergency room. Good to know in case, you know, you get salt water on your electrical set-up while working on your tank. Not that it ever, uhm...happened to me...

what?
 
I'm right there w/ u rooster. I am also a saltwater virgin. I am looking to start something in a few months so researching I go.

I did pick up the following suggested above yesterday:
The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide
by Michael S. Paletta

I'd drop the ~$20 on it. I'm halfway through it and I would say it is a "must read" if your as green as I am. Sounds like it.

To me it is worth it to have a book with all the basics. Should help me sound halfway coherent when I ask something out here later.

:D
 
:D There is no substitute for experience.:D However it's good to have a basic working knowledge before you jump into it. Books can give you that. The biggest problem i have found with books is that alot of them show alot of outdated info, like undergavel filters (Uug!). The websites like this can give you the most current up-to-date data. The best book i ever bought was "Dynamic Aquaria" by Dr. Adey. It was over 15 yrs ago when it first came out. He dealt mostly with trying the mimic wild eco systems. His systems were for the most part said to not work at all by the so-called "Experts". The big names like Sprung, Delbert, others i can't remember all said his system could not work. Funny thing 15 yrs later almost all of his components are used in the modern reef system. Get that book and you'll understand more than you might want to.:rollface:

I would recommend this book to anyone. Experiinced or Newbie!
 
Hey spmedi,

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

:D

There is no question that Reef Central is loaded w/ more info than books .... maybe (hehe).

But, I remember when I first started learning and visiting website forums (mainly RC).... and was getting TOTALLY confused with all the different ways to have saltwater tanks.

Each person saying "No, don't do that. Do this" can confuse the heck outta ya.

After reading Robert Fenner, John Tullock, and Delbeek/Sprung's books... it gave me an understanding of the different types of systems out there, and... there are MANY different ways to have successful saltwater tanks. It really fined tuned my knowledge and allowed me to actually follow along and participate in RC's forum.

I chose a Modified Berlin style of reefkeeping (DSB, LR, efficient skimming, intense lighting, limewater addition and a refugium).

My 100g reef tank is 4 years old and healthy.
 
Wow, thanks for all the info. I'll definatly pick up some of these books. And of course keep reading these forums. I hope some of these books will help me out a bit with the lingo. Some of its esay to figure out, LR = Live Rock. But others i'm not so sure.
I still dont know what a Fowler is. LFS seems to be some sort of pet store. Mabey Local Fish Store? DSB ? and WHAT is a refugium.

Haha nice meeting you all. You'll be hearing from me alot.
 
FOWLR = fish only with live rock
DSB = deep sand bed
SSB = shallow sand bed
BB = Bare bottom (no sandbed, not naked).
LFS = local fish store
refugium = a place where fuana, infauna and algae can grow and reproduce undisturbed by tank occupants to help better water quality.
fuana = things living on the sand
infuana = things living in the sand
 
Ask and ye shall receive. All you need to know about our abbreviations can be found right here.

Enjoy!
(in case it doesn't open, ReefCentral, on it's homepage, has a link to an abbreviation dictionary on the left menu at the bottom.)
 
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