202 of 202 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Guide to Starting a Marine Aquarium, September 4, 2002
This review is from: The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide (Paperback)
I had already looked at many marine aquarium books before I found this one. I already have a freshwater tank, but really had no idea how to go about setting up a saltwater tank. I mean, I didn't know anything!
This book misses nothing. Other books may start off well, but tend to get skimpy on the things you really need to know and then focus too much on things that, at the moment, you don't need to know, such as page after page on various species of fish. That's important, but not particulary helpful if you don't know what you are doing.
The first part of the book goes into tank selection & setup. It goes over among other things, protein skimmers, power filters, & powerheads along with the other more rudimentary stuff such as heater, thermometer, etc. It goes into instructions on how to correctly mix the salt water and put in the substrate.
After that, a considerable amount of time is spent discussing live rock, what it is, how to choose it, how to take care of it, where to place it in the tank, etc. It even gives sample layouts - very helpful! The last part regarding tank setup walks you step by step through setting up the tank and live rock. If you follow the checklists, you won't miss anything or do anything out of order.
The second half of the book is on selecting fish and taking care of them. In the section showing the various species of fish, it also tells what suitable tank mates could go with the fish. Lastly it goes into feeding and maintaining the tank along with a section on fish diseases and how to treat them.
If you are interested in starting a saltwater tank, then this is an excellent book to begin with.
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135 of 137 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE book for the beginner & experienced alike, March 19, 2004
This review is from: The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide (Paperback)
I've been keeping marine tanks with very mixed results off and on for the past thirty years. When I started out in the hobby and didn't know any better I was expert in quickly killing off all of the gorgeous occupants of my tank. "Live rock, ah you don't need it," said most of the "knowledgeable" local fish stores. Also protein skimmers were more of an afterthought - "after you've had your tank up a while and the sludge really starts to build then you may want one," they said. "Having problems," they'd ask. "You need to get a U/V sterilizer, or a cooler," or something else, though these are all potentially useful they weren't the reason that my tanks weren't surviving. Well, it's interesting to look back and see how quickly technology and common knowledge about how to successfully start and maintain a thriving marine tank (reef or fish) have evolved. Through the years I've looked at the top selling marine aquarium books that were available - some have been good at some things and most have been antiquated in not reflecting the latest technological updates, or even biological knowledge. Well, after purchasing "The New Marine Aquarium" by Paletta I have found the perfect book that truly ties most everything about success in the hobby together. This wonderful book will take you by the hand explaining what you'll need to begin with and why in order to create a successful microcosm. From what items you'll need to purchase (even on a shoestring budget), how to set up your tank, what fishes to consider, this exquisite book explains it all. The wonderful part is how clearly defined everything is by Mr. Paletta and how everything is thoroughly yet not verbosely explained as to why you'll need a certain item or why you need to set something up in a particular way. The magic of this book is how it covers the gamut of what you'll need; it's clear, eloquent, not overstated. You'll find answers as to what tank, what invertebrates, which corals, what goes best with what fish, what type of heater, powerhead, filter system; even suggestions on the exact sequence you'll need to follow for monitoring and testing your tank during its cycling period. Even for someone with a lot of experience in the hobby you'll still find little golden nuggets of information that will turn on the "ah ha" light bulb as you realize that now you understand why this works or why something hasn't worked. This book is in a class by itself; clearly superior to most of the other current marine aquarium titles. It's not overwhelming in size or scientific prose - it's just enough of what you need for the common layperson to successfully begin this wonderful hobby and it's still interesting and informative for someone who has a wealth of experience. If you are purchasing your first marine aquarium or if you know someone who has just started then this is one of the best if not the best books to help ensure your success. Its reasonable price and gorgeous photographs make it even more of a valued purchase.
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding book for the beginner marine fishkeeper, December 28, 1999
This review is from: The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide (Paperback)
This is a well-done book providing plenty of information about marine aquarium setup and maintenance. My mother's a librarian so I've read several books on this subject all of which seemed too trivial and uninformative or written for the professional reef tank hobbyist but this book seemed like the perfect fit for me. The author takes the reader step-by-step through the process of identifying and purchasing the necessary equipment to seting up the tank and equipment to choosing and introducing fish to the tank and of course, maintaining the aquarium. The book is very informative and should bolster confidence in a beginner looking to setup a small to midsize tank. The author pariticularly covers filtration methodologies very well focusing primarily on the highly regarded "Berlin" method. A must have for beginners and intermediate fishkeepers looking to setup a marine tank. I would recommend a more detailed book for specifically covering choosing and caring for different types of marine fish, corals, invertebrates, etc., but this is otherwise a great book.
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