Your First Marine Aquarium (Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals) [Paperback]

John Tullock (Author)

Book Description

Series: Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals

Biologist and author, John Tullock, shares the secrets of his more than 20 years experience in marine aquarium keeping. He shows that by mastering a few simple techniques, and paying attention to the ecology of the aquarium's inhabitants, even a novice can create a beautiful coral reef in miniature. The book's emphasis is on proper design and careful selection of saltwater species, rather than reliance on costly equipment.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

(back cover)
Information and advice to help you maintain an optimal environment for marine life . . .

Your marine aquarium: correct water chemistry, temperature, and more
Expert advice: all important aspects of saltwater aquarium maintenance explained
Appreciating marine life: populating your tank with fish, shellfish, corals, and more

Step-by-step directions for daily care

Informative checklists and sidebars

Filled with handsome full-color photos

(picture caption)
Setting up a marine aquarium is a challenging task, but the rewards will justify your efforts. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764104470
• ISBN-13: 978-0764104473
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 6.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,762,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 1st Marine Aquarium Book for the beginner., January 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Your First Marine Aquarium (Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals) (Paperback)

This is a great first book for someone interested in starting a marine aquarium (or mini-reef). It's also a great book for the experienced marine aquarist to have around to loan out. At this price you can have a couple on hand to loan to people who ask how to get started.

The book is easy to read, concise, and covers most areas of the hobby with 'Tried & True' methods. It has great photographs and illustrations to support the text. There are several tables making it easy for the beginner to understand and choose the correct information. It would have been nice to see a paragraph or two covering some of the more advanced ideas currently being tried in the hobby such as Live Sand filtration and plenums as a reference.

Whatever facet of the hobby you enjoy, this book is a good starter. Experienced hobbists may disagree with J. Tullocks stocking, metodology, etc. but they need to remember this book is aimed at beginners not the Bleeding Edge. The methods employed are pretty much the Proven 'State of the Art' for beginners to start their first marine aquarium.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great starter book for the beginner, February 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Your First Marine Aquarium (Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals) (Paperback)

I thought this book was execellent. I learned alot and have set two tanks up with the directions. I have re-read a couple of times for info that I needed down the line and didn't understand at the time. Great book!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good beginner's guide, October 2, 2003

By 

Hy D. Tran "hdtran" (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your First Marine Aquarium (Barron's Complete Pet Owner's Manuals) (Paperback)

Strengths: Good beginners' guide, including a 30 gallon tank setup, start-to-finish. Reasonable "fish compatibility" guide.
Weaknesses: Brief; the description of fishes/invertebrates for stocking your tank is pretty short. The salinity calculation is more complex than it needs to be, and lighting advice is dated.

John Tullock advocates a setup with lots of live rock, and with a protein skimmer. This is the preferred saltwater setup nowadays, as it sets up a mini-environment for your fish. He closes the book with a walk-through of a 30 gallon "mini-reef" setup, including curing live rock yourself (if you don't live where a local fish store stocks pre-cured live rock), which also includes fish recommendations.