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How does one choose which book to start with? Good books are everywhere but are not always suited for the absolute beginner as some are a little on the technical side. Let me make a few suggestions in each category of marine hobbyist:

Beginners:

• Martin Moe's Marine Aquarium Systems and Invertebrates
  Green Turtle Publicatons

  An excellent book for its overall look at different systems,setups and animals. It covers everything the beginner needs to know about the basics eg.the nitrogen cycle, bio filters, chemical filtration methods, lighting and protein skimming.

• The Reef Aquarium Book
  by Julian Sprung and Charles Delbeek - Ricordia Publishing

  A comphrensive book also known as the "Bible" of reef keeping hobbyists. In depth yet easy to understand due to the easy going and intuitive nature of both of the authors. Everything you need to know to set up a successful reef in one volume. Future volumes are scheduled to be released dealing more in depth with the animals we want to keep in our tanks.

• Simplified Reef Keeping
  by Robert Metelsky

  His premise is simplicity. The most successful tanks are the ones that have little that can go wrong with the system and this book is an invaluable reference for using and building the majority of equipment that is required on most tanks. It explains in simple language why a piece of equipment is necessary and how to construct it yourself. A great book for beginners and advanced aquarists alike.

Advanced Hobbyists:

• The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium Book
  by Alf J. Nilsen and Svein Fossa

  Although this book is great for beginners also it is a little more technical than the previous selection of books and hence its inclusion in this category. A wonderful book filled with great information and many colorful pictures that ilustrate the authors ideas very effeciently. They give the reader an idea of just what can be acheved with the application of modern techniques and equipment. A must have.

• The Marine Fish and Invert reef Aquarium
  by Albert J. Thiel

  An excellent technical manual on the setup of automated systems for reef tanks with discussions on the testing of the tanks and what the levels means and how to influence them. not everybody wants a fully automated sytem but the knowledge gained from knowing jsut what the redox potential number means and how to influence it are invaluable.

• Advanced Reef Keeping
  by Albert J. Thiel

  the same comments for the previous book apply here. Many of the equipment we take for granted now were first described in this series of books by this well known author.

• The Reef Tank Owners Manual
  By John Tullock

  An excellent book that could also be included in the beginners section. Practical information from an Author who is also a biologist and a great reef keeper. Reef zonation, Species tanks are all discussed with the clarity in which Mr. Tullock is famous for.

These are but a few of the excellent books that are available to the aquarist today. A few well spent dollars will save alot of potential headaches and dissapointments along the way to a beautiful reef tanks. Good advice and a willingness to learn are two requisites to successful reef keeping.

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