Book(s) recommendations for beginner

[Pantherburn]

Greetings,

I do not have a SW tank yet, though I have plans to get one in the immediate future. I've been lurking for a few days, and I must admit that this forum is extremely packed with information - almost to the point of overload ! I think I need to get a couple of books and was hoping that you could recommend your picks for a neophyte. I am leaning towards:

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

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by R Fenner

My only concern is the publishing dates, especially "the Conscientious Marine Aquarist", as it was published in 1997. It appears that this hobby is rapidly evolving and I was worried that the information may have become dated. Is this a valid concern?

Also, just a suggestion - is/would there be any way to post a glossary of all of the acronyms/shorthand that y'all use, i.e. DSB, LFS, etc... Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions - much appreciated.

Regards,

[ben72227]

get fenner's book

about 90% of of the info. in that book is still things we practice today, because he was one of the main people who really pushed the new ideas that we do use today - live rock, etc.

paletta's book is good too, but he and fenner actually worked together for fenner's book, so fenner's book has some of the stuff in paletta's book.

i would also recommend:

Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species
Author: Michael, Scott W.

he also worked with fenner; his book is the marine aquarium fish encyclopedia. lists what they eat, what p.h. they need, tank size, etc. and it had really good pictures too.

HTH = that means Hope This Helps...;)

heres some others you asked for:
DSB = deep sand bed
LFS = local fish store

[mogurnda]

Hey There. I try to keep up with the current books, and there really isn't anything that compares with Fenner's book for beginners. It is a little out of date, but less so than most other beginning books, and is a lot more thorough than most. Less misinformation, in my opinion. I also like John Tullock's Natural Reef Aquariums. Shorter books, like Paletta's and the Simple Guide will get you through, but they often sacrifice completeness for the sake of brevity.

I plagiarized the following list of acronyms from Reef Central (RC)


AC Activated carbon, chemical filtration media / alternating current
AFM Aquarium Fish Monthly, magazine
AGA All-Glass Aquarium, Aquarium manufacturer
AL Aqualink, aquarium bulletin board
ATS Algae turf scrubber, reef setup technique
BOD Biological oxygen demand
CC Counter current, type of protein skimmer
CSL Custom Sea Life, lighting manufacturer
CTA Cellulose triacetate, type of RO membrane
Cyano Cyanobacteria
DC Direct current
DD Downdraft, type of protein skimmer
DI Deionisation, type of water purification
DIY Do it yourself
DSB Deep Sand Bed
FAMA Freshwater and Marine Aquaria, magazine
FFE Flying Fish Express, Mail Order Company
FO Fish only
FOWLR Fish only with live rock
FW Freshwater
GBR Great Barrier Reef
GPH Gallons per hour
HO High output fluorescent light
HQI Mercury (Hg) Quartz Iodide, a type of metal halide lamp
IA Inland Aquatics, mail order company
IMHO In My Humble Opinion
IMO In My Opinion
IO Instant Ocean, brand of aquarium salt
IR Infrared
Kalk Kalkwasser, German for calcium hydroxide solution or limewater
LFS Local fish store
LHS Local hardware store
LPS Large polyped Scleractinian (stoney) coral
LR Live rock
LS Live sand
MACNA Marine Aquaria Conference of North America, held annually
MASNA Marine Aquarium Societies of North America
MD Marine Depot, mail order company
MH Metal halide light
MJ Maxijet, powerhead manufacturer
MM Miracle Mud, method of aquarium filtration
MO Mail order
NO Normal output fluorescent light
NSW Natural seawater
PA Premium Aquatics, mail order company
PC Power compact fluorescent light
PH Powerhead, water pump
PVC Poly vinyl chloride, used for piping / plumbing
RC Reef Central, aquarium bulletin board supreme
RC Reef Crystals, brand of aquarium salt
RDO Reefs.org ("reefs-dot-org"), aquarium bulletin board
RK Reef Keeping, on-line aquarium magazine
RO Reverse osmosis, type of water purification
RO/DI Reverse osmosis, followed by deionisation, type of water purification
RR Reef ready, aquaria with pre-drilled holes and overflows
RTN Rapid tissue necrosis, protozoal infection of corals; can be rapidly fatal if not treated
SG Specific gravity
SPS Small polyped Scleractinian (stoney) coral
SW Saltwater / seawater
TBS Tampa Bay Saltwater, Mail Order Company
TFC Thin film composite, type of RO membrane
TRT The Reef Tank, aquarium bulletin board
TWP Tap Water Purifier from Aquatic Pharmaceuticals
UGF Undergravel filter
UV Ultra violet light
VHO Very high output fluorescent light
W/D Wet-dry (a method of aquarium filtration)
WD Wet-dry (a method of aquarium filtration)

[Pantherburn]

Thank you mogurnda and ben,

I appreciate your taking the time to answer my post. Guess I'll go ahead and order Fenner's book - should be a good investment.

Once I make the plunge, I'm sure I'll have more questions. I have a co-worker, who used to be into marine aquariums. He got out of it but kept all of his equipment and stored it. He is going to catalog what he has and give me a price.

He has a 75gal. tank with I'm assuming all of the equipment. He even mentioned that he had a "chiller". What is that for? He also mentioned that he cleaned and boxed all of the equipment up about 4 years ago and took it to his father's house, who is also an aquarist. The original intention was for his father to make use of this system, though he never did. Would you be concerned that this equipment has not been in service for this length of time? I would like to save some money, but I subsribe to the adage, "buy the best first, cry once..." TIA.

Regards,

[Cearbhaill]

Chiller- cools water.
:D

[mogurnda]

It sounds like he was pretty careful when he packed the stuff away, so it will probably be fine. It's certainly worth testing everything in fresh water first.

The chiller may be very useful if you have intense lights, hot summers or both.

What stuff are you planning to put into it?

[Pantherburn]

Originally posted by mogurnda
It sounds like he was pretty careful when he packed the stuff away, so it will probably be fine. It's certainly worth testing everything in fresh water first.

The chiller may be very useful if you have intense lights, hot summers or both.

What stuff are you planning to put into it?

Not to give a short answer, but I don't have a clue ! That was the reason for my wanting to read up first.

Regards,