The Coral Reef Aquarium: An Owner's Guide toa Happy ...

A must-have for those just entering the hobby:
I fell into reef aquarium ownership almost overnight. I didn't know what I was getting into and bought an established 140 gallon tank with rocks and fish. The second hand tank had been neglected and there were only 3 surviving fish and the rock didn't look too healthy. I had no idea what I was headed into and I bought and killed a number of beautiful, expensive fish out of total ignorance. This book would have not only saved me a lot of money, but a lot of headache, heartache and trips to the local fish store. Dr. Shimek includes tips on inexpensive ways to equip the hardware and contents w/o spending an arm and a leg on overpriced items at the store. He tells you what animals to avoid (especially for beginners) and which ones are must-haves. For a beginning book, it is packed w/ info in just over 125 pages and in a very affordable package. Most aquarium books are VERY expensive and you'll never read the whole thing. I read this book in about 2 weeks (I work full time and I'm a slow reader) by taking it with me during my lunch hour and it has already saved me hundreds of dollars in items/livestock I was considering on purchasing. My only criticism is the lack of photos of critical things the author was citing. There are tons of high quality photos in this book, but some creatures were mentioned that I would have like to have seen represented in a photo and still have no idea what the author was talking about. The author does assume some knowledge in some areas where it seems he may have forgotten his audience. Had I not already dealt w/ some issues during my "baptism by fire" experience of learning the hard way for months before buying this book, I wouldn't have understood some of the concepts he brought up. This book was one of the best purchases I've made in regards to aiding my hobby. Thank you, Dr. Ron!

Too Simplistic:
I was disappointed by this book. For one thing, this is a very small book. It has only about 100 pages on a 4 X 8 size paper. And most of it is occupied by photos. But I also have to accept the fact that this book is much cheaper pricewise than the other comprehensive books out there such as the one by John Tullock. So in view of its shortness, the subject of coral reef keeping is not covered comprehensively. There is very little in depth explanation of the equipment and the biology of the hobby. As a rough comparison, most of the other coral keeping guides are more than 400 pages long. Coral reef keeping is an advanced subject (as opposed to marine fish keeping), and the equipment are varied, from lights, filtration, skimmers, chemical additives, chillers, etc. Each of these subjects is covered in a couple of paragraphs, as opposed to pages. A beginner will not have enough advice to start a new tank error-free, while a more advanced hobbiest will not be satisfied with its simple explanations. There are much better books out there.

Great Book if you want a great start!:
This was the first book I've purchased as I was recommended by various hobbyist whom I have lots of respect for. When I started reading this book, first thing I told myself "Wow, how little I knew". I would highly recommend anybody who is getting started with Reef Hobby. Dr Ron is not only an experienced (PhD) Marine Biologist, but an active participant/contributor in various related Forum, Magazine and so on. On a different note, I would like to respond to the reader from Kingston, MA. Bristle Worms are your friend :p . They are mostly scavengers and will be a great member of your cleanup crew. There are some cases where aquarist found bristle worm gorging on their favorite fish, but the truth behind that almost always is, your fish died of other reason and Bristle Worm really doing its job, cleaning it up for you. If you have a super huge Bristle Worm, you may or may not choose to relocate it. Happy Reefing.

Brief and easy to understand but very well explained:
I first bought this book because of the author. When I recived it and thumbed through the pages I concluded that it was a book for beginners. In any case, since I had already spent 11 bucks I thought what the heck, if I could get at least one good idea out of it it will be worth the time and money. I was delighted to find the clearest explanations I've ever read on aquariun systems. I have a much better understanding now. I also picked up some very useful tips. Fantastic book. Very clear, easy to understand but detailed explantions of complex systems.

Excellent Beginning Reef Starter Book:
This is a great book to ease your way into learning about the reef. It uses simple and scientific verbage to teach the basics about the coral reef. I love it, read it twice, and will read it again. :)