Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder

Before  The Reef Aquarium  (the New Testament) and  The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium  (the European New Testament), the  Marine Aquarium Handbook  was the go to book, well regarded by marine aquarists. It is subtitled: From Beginner to Breeder. This is an accurate assessment as it contains all the information needed to take a person from complete novice to experienced breeder.I bought my tank used, originally planning to keep freshwater fish. The seller encouraged me to try saltwater and threw in a copy of this book. It really opened my eyes and I quickly progressed from saltwater tank to full reef tank. Along the way a pair of fish spawned and I raised their offspring to maturity and even sold some. From there I spawned several other fishes and was really into the hobby, even going to the local coastline and collecting wild plankton. This book was the main reference for anything fish related. I did refer more to the two other series for coral and invertebrates information.What is updated? There is information about live rock, live sand beds, and macroalgae. The fish selection section has been enhanced, especially about compatibility. He includes Scott Michael's recommended fishes for small, medium, and large aquariums. And his marine fish breeding section has been expanded and updated significantly. He kept the undergravel filter chapter. I like this for two reasons: it is useful to have this information even if for background only and these filters are still applicable for breeding systems. The troubleshooting charts have also been kept intact (even the floating cookie) but many full color pictures have been included throughout the text. The ones in the breeding section are particularly informative and impressive. For saltwater fish, this is still the best book.

One of the best available books on Marine Aquaria. It loses a star because it's nearly out of date already, and would have to be three times as big to cover the real heart of the matter. That said, I doubt anyone will write a real 5 star book until the hobby slows down for a few years. My one serious objection is lack of any substance in principles of filtration, lighting, supplements, or anything else critical to meaningful understanding. Mr. Moe gets a good review because it is the best currently (still?) out there.

I bought this book with hesitation bud now im glad i have it in my library,,its very easty to read and give u a weatlh of into on maintaince, setup, paramaters of water quailty, and brief descriptionsof some fish species,, its a very good beginner book to have on hand for reference,, I def wulnt buy this book new for what some are asking for it, chek for used copies,, my book was used and was in fair condition but im satisfied with it,, when starting a reef/fish aquarium, alwasy research yur items intersted in ,, are they compatable, venemious,, carnivor,, community, etc etc, always prorvid the best for yur marine fish, take care of gods creatures and you will have years of enjoyment off ot thme,,

Great information for maintaining a fish tank

The book came much faster than I had expected. It's also in great condition. I was happy to get it so quickly because I am going away tomorrow and I was going to ask our pet sitter to keep an eye out for it - no need now. The book is exactly what I need. I studied salt water fish keeping many years ago and I need this book to bring me up to speed on what's happened in the last 20 years. Even though it's a bit outdated already, I've heard from several people that it's the bible for reef keeping.

I read the book cover to cover. Almost couldn't put it down, which is unusual for me. The author was very detailed, and also very easy to understand. It sure if this is fair to the author, but I gave it 4 stars because my book had a bunch of upside-down and backwards pages in it. Almost annoying enough to return it. I might still.

Although this book covers a decent spectrum of information, a lot of information is outdated and to today's standards considered wrong or bad for your aquarium. You can honestly learn more about salt water aquariums by reading through and joining forums. That way you can ask questions and get answers from other peoples experiences and opinions. There are also a ton of online articles and magazines that provide a ton of more (and up to date) information. just want to point out 2 things that the author seemed to press in this book that are IMO wrong. undergravel filters are horrible for saltwater applications. And please don't start out a saltwater hobby with a 20 gallon tank. when it comes to saltwater aquariums THE BIGGER THE BETTER. you have more room for error in a larger aquarium and can keep the water more stable. So start with that big tank you've always wanted instead of wasting a ton of time and money on a 20 gallon.

I bought this book back in the early 1990s, and I used it constantly as a resource for my first saltwater aquarium. I left the hobby for many years, and I noticed that this book was updated. I had lost my original text, so I bought this one to replace it. The new, updated version is great. Good photos and illustrations, and of course, the information is still relevant today. Highly recommended.

This book is required reading for new and existing aquarists for the amount of valuable information it offers. I would heartily recommend it for any new aquarist planning on starting up with a marine tank prior to purchasing any equipment as it explains in great details the different tank arrangements, sump design and application, equipment requirements and their uses, types of fish and how they interact with one another, problems and diagnosis. I unfortunately came across this book some time after starting up in the hobby, had I had this from the onset I am sure I would not have had half of the issues I did or the loss of livestock.

Although a little dated, very good read. Well written and comprehensive. US centric as many of these books are but this one actually makes sense. Its a book you can simply read or use as an occasional reference guide. This is one ill keep coming back to as i setup my tank.

A really good read, I read the original version a few years ago, but this has been update. You forget how much you have previously read, would recommend

This book is invaluable for the new marine hobbiest

A brilliant book by a real expert in marine keeping. A great reference book.