Marine book recommendations?
Oleg Kiselev
mar...@hplpm.hpl.hp.com (Peter Marvit) writes:
>o The Marine Aquarium Handbook, M.A. Moe (1982)
> A well written and well organized...it is a bit dated...
> ...Due to its date, however, I am skeptical of the accuracy of
> the information and the completeness of the presentation.
Don't despair. Moe has a new book out, "The Marine Aquarium Reference --
Systems and Invertebartes" published last year by Green Turtle Publications,
PO Box 17925, Plantation, Florida 33318. I bought mine in a local aquarium
shop, but they are also available (cheaper) mail-order. Price: $21.95.
You can buy the book directly from the publisher, add $2 for shipping.
This book is considered a companion volume for Marine Aquarium Handbook
and has no duplicated information from the earlier book (though it references
it on a number of occasions). It's 512 pages and it covers all the latest
technology and understanding of the marine and, in particular, reef aquaria.
DISCLAIMER: I speak for myself only, unless otherwise indicated.
"No regrets, no apologies" -- R.Reagan
Oleg Kiselev lcc!ol...@seas.ucla.edu
(213)337-5230 ...!{att|ucla-se|turnkey|alphacm}!lcc!oleg
Dave Sheehy
>I've started looking and buying books on the subject, but need some
>recommendations and/or comments on accuracy. Specifically, what do folks
>think of these books. How accurate or "gospel" is their advice and
>descrptions? What other books would you recommend and why. So far:
>o Advanced Reef Keeping, A.J. Thiel (1989)
>
> By far the most comprehensive book (437 pages), as far as it goes, in
> <deleted stuff>
> ... I am also very distressed at
> the production quality of the book itself; every page has significant
> typos and ungrammatical passages which casts doubt on the accuracy of
> the substance.
> <deleted stuff>
> He references an earlier book "Marine fish and inverts" (or some such)
> as well as a newsletter and Vol II of this "Advanced Reef Keeping". ANy
> comments on these?
I read his first book on reef keeping, "Marine fish and Inverts", (or some
such). I've skimmed "Advanced Reef Keeping" in the book store and it seems
to be just an expanded version of his first book. Personally, unless you're
interested in all the "gadgets" I'd find a copy of the first book and read
it. He discusses all the same concepts in the first book without all the
detail about the actual equipment. The first book is as badly produced as
"Advanced Reef Keeping" but I do not believe that it is any reflection on the
quality of the information. I would recomend this book for the concepts
involved in reef keeping but at the same time ignore all the commercials for
his company's equipment.
>o The Marine Aquarium Handbook, M.A. Moe (1982)
>
> A well written and well organized introduction (subtitled "beginner to
> breeder"), it is a bit dated (e.g., describing undergravel filters as
> the only approach to biological filtering, no mention of live rock).
> It seems like a nice overiew, however, and covers many of the major
> points. Due to its date, however, I am skeptical of the accuracy of
> the information and the completeness of the presentation.
This is an excellent book. Even though it is not up to date as far as reef
technology goes it contains no "bad" information (as many old books do) and is
still very timely for setting up a "traditional" style marine aquarium. Moe
has a new book out about reef technology which I have skimmed. It looks like
another excellent book which is on my 'next to buy' list. A good portion of
the book is about the inverts that are kept in a reef tank. Not much depth
but what looks like a thorough overview.
>o Miniature Reef Aquarium in Your Home, C.W. EMmens (1989)
I haven't read or skimmed this book but a friend of mine has and thought it
was ok.
>o Guide to Marine Fish, ADI 42, S. Andrews (ed) (date unknown)
I don't know anything about this one.
>o Marine Aquariums, W.E. Burgess (1987)
I don't know anything about this one either. While I tend to shy away from
authors who associate themselves with Axelrod, Burgess seems to be a
reasonable fellow from what reading I have done of his work. All in all, I
suspect that he is a trustworthy author. His "Marine Atlas" is a book I'll
likely end up owning sometime or other.
Now for my own $0.02 worth. Get your hands on anything written by Stephen
Spotte but especially "Seawater Aquariums: The Captive Environment". He, IMHO
is the marine water quality guru. He doesn't talk much about the care and
maintenance of specimens in an aquarium but instead specializes in the
qualities of water and how to maintain it. I've never seen any of Spotte's
books for sale in any store. I had to order it from the publisher who is
Wiley-Interscience. I got their address out of FAMA.
>So that's it so far. Reactions? Finally, any Bay Area folks want to
>recommend local (esp SF) marine pet stores. Nippon is closest and
>appears to be quite a complete supply. Is mail order a reasonable
>approach?
Yes, I've been to Nippon (on Geary?) and it seems to be very good. I've
talked to someone there (one of the owners I think) and he seemed very
knowledgable. THiere is another shop whose name escapes me at the moment but
it's on Balboa (somewhere around 2nd or 3rd St.) within a mile or two of
Nippon that also seems very knowledgable. I've talked to the owner there and
he (I think his name was Steve) seemed very knowledgable also.
>Thanks for listening.
> -Peter "Snakes and Lizards are stil cute" Marvit
>
Dave Sheehy
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