Book Recommendations (Reefing)

Salty Lemon · Mar 21, 2019

Hi gang,
Can you folks provide me with books you have read or referenced pertaining to reefing that you feel are useful to own or read? ;Bookworm There really isn't much for recently published stuff, unless it is self-pub, and the stuff I do find really don't have professional book reviews attached to them. Thanks!

Mastiffsrule · Mar 21, 2019

Salty Lemon said:
Hi gang,
Can you folks provide me with books you have read or referenced pertaining to reefing that you feel are useful to own or read? ;Bookworm There really isn't much for recently published stuff, unless it is self-pub, and the stuff I do find really don't have professional book reviews attached to them. Thanks!

The original bible ....

Salty Lemon · Mar 21, 2019

Mastiffsrule said:
The original bible ....

Thanks @Mastiffsrule ! I appreciate it.

Medical_Reef · Mar 28, 2019

Interested as well! Forums are great, but it is nice to have a more complete story.

Jeight · Mar 28, 2019

Youtube videos are a wonderful resource..I suggest starting with Tidal Gardens the owner Than has a gift for videos

shred5 · Mar 28, 2019

I have tons of reef books.

Best is:
Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History
Book by Eric Borneman

Next I like these two series:

The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium
Book by Alf Jacob Nilsen and Svein A. Fosså
Volume 1 & 2

A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of ...
Book by J. Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung
All volumes are good.

Salty Lemon · Mar 28, 2019

Jeight said:
Youtube videos are a wonderful resource..I suggest starting with Tidal Gardens the owner Than has a gift for videos

Thanks @Jeight . I appreciate it. I've hit every YouTube video out there. I just want to have a book on my shelf to reference if I want.

Salty Lemon · Mar 28, 2019

shred5 said:
I have tons of reef books.

Best is:
Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History
Book by Eric Borneman

Next I like these two series:

The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium
Book by Alf Jacob Nilsen and Svein A. Fosså
Volume 1 & 2

A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of ...
Book by J. Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung
All volumes are good.

Thank you @shred5 ! I'm hopping on Amazon now to check and see if they have any of these.

Waters · Mar 28, 2019

The problem with printed books is they are all so outdated.....I haven't been able to find a good printed book that isn't more than ten years old. You are probably better off just using the interwebs

I have 5-6 books that I have and are considered good, but the information is so old they really even aren't worth reading anymore.

Salty Lemon · Mar 28, 2019

Waters said:
The problem with printed books is they are all so outdated.....I haven't been able to find a good printed book that isn't more than ten years old. You are probably better off just using the interwebs I have 5-6 books that I have and are considered good, but the information is so old they really even aren't worth reading anymore.

I noticed the same thing. That's why I was looking for recommendations. Even my own library doesn't have anything up-to-date. Hint...if there are any veterans out there who can write a decent sentence, you might get a book publishing deal.

ReefJake123 · Mar 28, 2019

Saltwater aquariums for dummies is my favorite although I ain’t stupid they make things easier to understand and is pretty new not outdated yet

Salty Lemon · Mar 28, 2019

ReefJake123 said:
Saltwater aquariums for dummies is my favorite although I ain’t stupid they make things easier to understand and is pretty new not outdated yet

We always order everything in the "Dummies" series at the library I work at. I always recommend them because they are well laid out and written for the average person. They are wonderful books. Thanks @ReefJake123 .

Js.Aqua.Project · Mar 28, 2019

I like the Pocket Expert guides. There are ones for Marine Fish, Reef Fish, and Marine Invertebrates.

shred5 · Mar 28, 2019

Yea some of the info in the books I listed might be out of date but there is still allot of good info in them.
Yea if you want info on led lighting they wont have it. Modern reef aquarium might be old but they have some good info on spectrum of lighting which has not changed.
Eric's book is more of marine biology book and that does not really change much at all.
Not much really has changed in this hobby other than we have some better equipment and we have a little more knowledge. Good husbandry is good husbandry.

Are there some good YouTube videos yes but I have seen just as many bad ones.

Waters · Mar 28, 2019

shred5 said:
Yea some of the info in the books I listed might be out of date but there is still allot of good info in them.
Yea if you want info on led lighting they wont have it. Modern reef aquarium might be old but they have some good info on spectrum of lighting which has not changed.
Eric's book is more of marine biology and that does not really change much at all.
Not much really has changed in this hobby other than we have some better equipment and we have a little more knowledge. Good husbandry is good husbandry.

Are there some good YouTube videos yes but I have seen just as many bad ones.

I agree....there is still some good info in the older books.....but I disagree saying nothing has changed. EVERYTHING has changed

Equipment is all different....fish and coral are cared for differently......even tanks are set up differently now in regards to cycling. You are correct, husbandry is husbandry.....but a book probably isn't needed for that anyways. I get disappointment every time I pick up a book and flip through it.......it is like a time warp back into the 80s when I started this hobby lol.

lapin · Mar 28, 2019

Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas - Rohwer

Steve's book are a good read.
https://reeffarmers.contentshelf.com/shop

shred5 · Mar 28, 2019

Waters said:
I agree....there is still some good info in the older books.....but I disagree saying nothing has changed. EVERYTHING has changed Equipment is all different....fish and coral are cared for differently......even tanks are set up differently now in regards to cycling. You are correct, husbandry is husbandry.....but a book probably isn't needed for that anyways. I get disappointment every time I pick up a book and flip through it.......it is like a time warp back into the 80s when I started this hobby lol.

Who said nothing?.. You put words in my mouth:
How much has really changed lets say last 20 years. I have been in the hobby since the mid 80's.
We still use saltwater, We still use rock, we still use sumps, some still use sand and some don't, We still use skimmers, we still use pretty much the same spectrum of light even though the tech has changed and some still use algae filters and fuges.

Most of the equipment has got better and more efficient.
Type of flow pumps have changed.
In the late 80's early 90's skimmers started to become popular. Early on they were driven by wood air stones. The Lifereef skimmer that seems to be a favorite has barely changed in 20 years. I know because I owned one and was my first venturi skimmer.

jda · Mar 28, 2019

Biology is still the same. Chemistry is still the same. The rast is small potatoes. 10-30 year old books are still good. Remember that these people got vetted by the publication process rather than just signing up to be able to post.

If you want to read online, then Wet Web Media is really good once you get used to the format.

ReefJake123 · Mar 29, 2019

Salty Lemon said:
We always order everything in the "Dummies" series at the library I work at. I always recommend them because they are well laid out and written for the average person. They are wonderful books. Thanks @ReefJake123 .

No problem I love that book I still have it a read it again every few months especially when any issues come about

ReefJake123 · Mar 29, 2019

Guys calm down things have changed we have learned more ways to keep our aquariums more of a natural environment for our fish and corals than ever and the science hasn’t changed too too much but still has! But it’s still the same way of doing it just more variety of methods/ways of doing this hobby you’re both right here[emoji28]