The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide toa Happy Healthy Fish (Happy Healthy Pet) [Hardcover]

Ron Shimek (Author)

Book Description

Series: Happy Healthy Pet | Publication Date: August 11, 1999

The number of corals imported into the U.S. rose 249 percent between 1995 and 1996, an indication the coral reef hobby is booming. Concerned hobbyists have begun growing corals domestically so that people can enjoy reef tanks without destroying natural reefs. This book combines information on setting up and maintaining a reef, as well as ecological concerns.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

At last, a book to kick-off your hobby as a marine reef aquarist. From selecting the right equipment for your mini-reef to keeping your corals healthy, The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Fish provides the answers. You'll learn how to recreate a marine reef environment with a minimum of fuss, what equipment is essential (and what is not), how to make your own seawater and how to maintain the right water chemistry simply and accurately. You'll also learn about the many types of corals, their needs and how to design your tank so that all of its inhabitants live in harmony. Written for the new hobbyist by an expert reef-keeper, The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Fish provides a wealth of information in an easy-to-read format. Full of helpful illustrations and stunning color photos, this book is a visual delight.

About the Author

Ron Shimek, Ph.D., teaches biology at Montana State University. He started keeping fish in 1960 and currently maintains three marine reef systems in his home. Dr. Shimek is a columnist for Aquarium.Net and Aquarium Frontiers.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Howell Book House; 1 edition (August 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582451176
• ISBN-13: 978-1582451176
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,154,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, facinating, and needed!, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide toa Happy Healthy Fish (Happy Healthy Pet) (Hardcover)

The Coral Reef Aquarium is a key-fact oriented primer on modern reef system dynamics. Main sections include "Understanding the Coral Reef," "The Environment," and "The Organisms." The concentration on equipping the aquarist with a conceptual framework from which to base their pursuit rather than the more typical emphasis on equipment renders the book valuable for readers at any level. I especially liked chapters on "An Artificial Ecosystem" (where life on the reef is contrasted with life in the tank) and "Material and Energy Flow" (which traces events from the food through all plant and critter life).

Dr. Ron Shimek's style is blunt, to the point, and hard hitting. Where most "beginner" books are written by well studied practitioners, Shimek's book is written for beginners by a biology instructor / scientist. The facts are behind a few unconventional recommendations that liven the well presented material further. Clearly Shimek is on a mission to remove our hobby from the erroneous recommendations earlier books for beginners served up generously. For it's brevity (only 126 pages) and low price it's a 5 star book. I'm rating it 4 stars not because the work isn't excellent, it is, but because I feel the beginner's needs are incredibly broad and it's simply impossible answer the myriad of questions and concerns in 125 pages. Then again, I have yet to see a beginner's book that does.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for those just entering the hobby, September 28, 2001

By 

Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide toa Happy Healthy Fish (Happy Healthy Pet) (Hardcover)

I fell into reef aquarium ownership almost overnight. I didn't know what I was getting into and bought an established 140 gallon tank with rocks and fish. The second hand tank had been neglected and there were only 3 surviving fish and the rock didn't look too healthy. I had no idea what I was headed into and I bought and killed a number of beautiful, expensive fish out of total ignorance.

This book would have not only saved me a lot of money, but a lot of headache, heartache and trips to the local fish store.

Dr. Shimek includes tips on inexpensive ways to equip the hardware and contents w/o spending an arm and a leg on overpriced items at the store. He tells you what animals to avoid (especially for beginners) and which ones are must-haves.

For a beginning book, it is packed w/ info in just over 125 pages and in a very affordable package. Most aquarium books are VERY expensive and you'll never read the whole thing.

I read this book in about 2 weeks (I work full time and I'm a slow reader) by taking it with me during my lunch hour and it has already saved me hundreds of dollars in items/livestock I was considering on purchasing.

My only criticism is the lack of photos of critical things the author was citing. There are tons of high quality photos in this book, but some creatures were mentioned that I would have like to have seen represented in a photo and still have no idea what the author was talking about.

The author does assume some knowledge in some areas where it seems he may have forgotten his audience. Had I not already dealt w/ some issues during my "baptism by fire" experience of learning the hard way for months before buying this book, I wouldn't have understood some of the concepts he brought up.

This book was one of the best purchases I've made in regards to aiding my hobby. Thank you, Dr. Ron!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes the confusion out of reef management!, July 18, 2000

By 

Gisele Veilleux (Deltona, Fl USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide toa Happy Healthy Fish (Happy Healthy Pet) (Hardcover)

Simplifies the level of care needed. Many tips, do's and dont's I never knew before, because Shimek's way is inexpensive. Pet store salesmen have complicated the process and are in too much of a hurry to sell you this and that. Most of the advice I've received from pet store owners have killed my animals.... and this book will explain why! Let your reef tank take care of itself..... what a concept! It makes sense, and several months after buying this book, I haven't had any problems whatsoever, and my anenomes and corals have tripled in size! Thank you, Thank you Ron Shimek!