Any good books??

[JJshiv]

Im looking for a good basic reef aquarium care and maintenace book that maybe costs in the $20 -$30 range. Anybody know of such a book? I did a search on amazon but nothing looked like what I am looking for. Thanks for any suggestions.

[SteveC]

John H. Tullock, Natural Reef Aquariums

 

You can buy it here at Amazon.

[Dave ESPI]

Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson.

 

The Tetra Encyclopedia, The Marine Aquarium by: Dick Mills.

Book of Coral Propigation by: Anthony Calfo

 

HTH.

[printerdown01]

Just as everyone around here could have predicted that Dave would have recommended Wilkerson I am going to recommend my usual: The Reef Aquarium Vol 1 -Delbeek and Sprung.

[Dave ESPI]

For a majority of those in the hobby, its a great Fuken book. What can I say.

 

'Cept that I dont recommend ######.

[luv2jeep]

The Consciencous Marine Aquarist by Fenner. But remember whichever book you buy is about 5 years behind technology. Your best source of info is this message board and reefcentral.com.

[tinyreef]

dave,

see? ya gotta get that book out there before borneman or one of the others! X)

 

jk, do it right and do it well.

 

btw i know why you like wilkerson. she's a breeder! :woot:

[SteveC]

Remember, folks, this guy is on a budget. Is Delbeek & Sprung available in anything but hardcover? Also, frankly, both vol. 1 and vol. 2 are a bit dense for the lay reader. I'm glad I have them but I'm also glad I didn't start with them. Vol. 1 doesn't even cover softies, which is what most beginners start with.

 

Tullock's book is straightforward, clearly (and often entertainingly) written, and comprehensive. It is by no means thorough, but you can get the details later. I think a beginner book should present enough information to help a total noob like me get started without making any expensive mistakes, but not so much information that the reader is overwhelmed. It also provides nice example setups which are maybe a little dated but you certainly get a great picture of how things are supposed to work.

 

Delbeek & Sprung are extremely thorough, which is a good thing, but I really think a beginner would get lost in all that information. Like I said, I'm glad I own those books now, but I think something simpler would make a better beginner book. Tullock is what I started with, but maybe some other people could recommend similar books from other authors.

[JJshiv]

Thanks to everyone that posted their suggestions. I checked them all out and I actually liked the book by Tullock. I chose it because it looked like a book that could tell me a little about everything. I passed on the Delbeek and Sprung because it was a 2 volume set that first of all was more money than I wanted to spend and there are just too many pages for what I am looking for. As a beginner I wanted something short and concise. The book I got really isnt that but I read the excerpt from amazon.com and it looked more like what I needed than any other books. Im sure I will add to my reef aquarium library in the future but I just felt this was the book for me at this time. Thanks again to everyone who put in their suggestion.

[SteveC]

I'm still waiting for Dave's book! Especially the index, where the top of every page says "'BOUT TIME YA DID A SEARCH N00B!!"

[printerdown01]

Remember, folks, this guy is on a budget. Is Delbeek & Sprung available in anything but hardcover? Also, frankly, both vol. 1 and vol. 2 are a bit dense for the lay reader. I'm glad I have them but I'm also glad I didn't start with them. Vol. 1 doesn't even cover softies, which is what most beginners start with.

 

I apologize I did not see the $20-$30 range! Thank you for pointing that out! As for the density of the book, that is why I recommend it. It can take someone who knows nothing about reefs, and bring them up to speed. I would highly recommend it as a Christmas gift. I paid $85 for Vol 1 back in 1995. Which was REALLY high for an aquarium book back then! But I can tell you that it saved me way more than $85 over the years! -I think it goes for like $60 or something like that now. Also for those looking for books on a budget, do what the "starving college student" does buy them on Ebay.com. In fact if I don't get Vol 2 for X-mas, I'm going to buy a used copy, probably before Jan!

 

You might want to look at coral identification guides. These won't spell out exactly what corals will need in your aquarium, but they will say: found at a depth of 100-150 feet, turbid lagoons, found on the sand bottom. Thus, you can then infer bright-med lighting, high flow, and that it would prefer to be in your substrate . These are often MORE useful that aquarium books... And Dave, I wasn't knocking your book selection; in fact I got a chance the other day to thumb through that book and I just might pick it up as well! I was simply pointing out that you and I have very predictable recommendations.