I have always enjoyed going to aquariums but had never considered creating my own until the author of I blog I follow began writing about the saltwater tank she was beginning. As someone who has never created any type of marine environment, it seemed to be a daunting task, yet I was nevertheless intrigued and wanted to learn more.

This site is intended to give the curious novice like myself an sense of the various sources available, and which one I found to be the most helpful for someone whose previous knowledge is limited or nonexistent.

--Katie L.

This is the Reef Aquarium belonging to David Saxby, considered one of the best private marine aquariums in the world.

Media

This Expert Village gives an brief overview of what is needed to set up a saltwater tank. It should be noted that this information pertains to a fish-only tank. Though the information he gives is correct, it lacks enough detail for the prospective hobbyist to start a tank without looking at other sources.

This video by Doctors Foster & Smith shows all the steps from building the tank to adding fish. This video is significantly more detailed. This particular video is for fish-only tanks. A similar video for fish only with live rock (or FOWLR) tanks can be found here. Doctors Foster and Smith also have videos about acclimating fish and invertebrates, testing aquarium water, and photo-acclimating coral. Doctors Foster and Smith make videos about all types of pets, so they're worth checking out for any animal lover.

This video gives the steps to setting up a reef aquarium. The video is just text over images, and sometimes the text can be difficult to read. What is nice about this video is the creator lists all the equiptment one needs. He breaks up the list into 4 categories: definately needed, potentially needed, probably wanted, and good to have. After going through the setup of the tank, he lists the tasks one must do to maintain a tank. Again, he breaks the list up into categories: daily, weekly, every two weeks, once a month, and every three to five months. He also recommends some of his favourite websites. While he gives lots of useful information, it does not have the advantage of showing how to set the tank up.

Periodicals

Axelrod, Glen S., ed. Tropical Fish. Dec. 2009.

This is easily the nicest magazine of the three I have looked at. The photography is of superior quality. In fact, the cover photo is included within the magazine without text or graphics in order that the reader could frame it. There are articles pertaining to fresh-water, salt-water, aquabotany, and reef aquariums. There are a fair amount of advertisements, but they are laid out in such a way that they usually follow a related article, so it feels like a cohesive part of the magazine, rather than a randomly interjected advertisement. Though the magazine seems as though it would be the most expensive, it is actually approximately the same as the other magazines that I looked at. It is the magazine I would most highly recommend to an established hobbyist.

Case, Russ, ed. Aquarium Fish. Dec. 2009.

This magazine claims to be the most widely read aquarium magazine in the world. Some of the notable features include separate Q&As for freshwater, saltwater, aquabotany, and reef aquariums. "Aquabits" gives fish-related news from around the world. It also has a section that highlights some of the features of its companion website, FishChannel.com. There are quite a bit of advertisements. However, because They tend to clump them together, rather than dispersing them throughout, it seems as though there are less of them, at least until the reader reaches "Livestock Section," "Online Marketplace," and "Classified Advertising" which make up for 15+ pages of pure advertising. A directory of Aquarium clubs and societies lists groups on the state, national, and international level.

Jackson, Clay, ed. Freshwater and Marine Aquarium. Jan. 2010.

As made clear in the title, this magazine is directed towards keepers of both salt- and fresh-water aquariums. The amount of space dedicated to advertisements equal to, if not greater than, the amount of article space. The magazine has a few noteworthy features. Because they are both produced by the same publisher, FAMA shares its companion website with Aquarium Fish. The section, "Now on FishChannel.com," provides information on the newest feature on the website. "Wet Vet" addresses a particular aquarium malady. "Aqua Mart" lists some of the newest products on the market. Manufacturers can also send their products in to be reviewed "In The Fish Room." Overall, I think I would recommend this magazine to be purchased only if there is an article of particular interest to the reader. Otherwise, the website is a suitable substitute.

Resources For Marine Aquariums

Websites and Blogs

Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine. Web. 8 Dec. 2009. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/.

This web magazine is updated monthly. A beginners column is occasionally featured. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be standard in every issue, but they can easily be found through the search bar. There are articles about both freshwater and saltwater aquariums. Back issues are available online, print editions can be purchased through Amazon, and PDFs can be downloaded for a small fee.

Aquarists Online Aquarium Fish Resources And Information. Web. 05 Dec. 2009. http://www.aquaristsonline.com/

This site is dedicated to saltwater aquarists. The site's greatest strength is its articles. It has articles on a range of topics, but the majority of them are about technical aspects such as lighting and equiptment. They also have a good amount of articles specifically for beginners. The layout and navigation of the side are in need of improvement. However, if the user has a specific question, there's a good chance that an insightful article can be found on this site.

Reef Builders - The Reef Aquarium Blog. Web. 06 Dec. 2009. http://www.reefbuilders.com/.

This blog-format website gives news on a range of topics including aquarium technology, coral and fish species, and world news. The site is specifically for saltwater tanks, with special focus on keepers of live coral. This main section is updated several times a day by the three main contrinuters. There is also a forum for aquarists to discuss the hobby. Of particular interest is the RB Library in the forum which lists numerous sources (largely web sources) which would be useful to a novice to saltwater aquariums. The site also has its own youtube channel. However, the last update was seven months ago.

Tips and news for aquarium owners — AquaDaily. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. http://aquadaily.com/.

This blog format website gives aquarium-related news, including product reviews and aquarium trends. They also feature a video of the week and a fish of the week. The blog isn't instructional, however anyone who has a great interest in fishkeeping would surely find this site useful.

Print

Hunt, Philip. The Marine Reef Aquarium. Danbury: Barron's Educational Series, 2008.

This work has the feel of a textbook. It has a good amount of illustrations and photographs, but is lacking in tables and charts. It is made of of four main sections. "The Aquarium System" explains the more technical aspects such as water movement and filtration. "Setting Up A Reef Aquarium" is helpful in that it explains the best way to position coral within the tank. "Solving Problems" gives information about removing pests, how to deal with algae problems, and treating diseases. Lastly is the "Conservation" section that explains the dangers facing wild reefs and steps the hobbyist can take to help conserve wild reefs. This books is written with the beginner in mind. Although I believe Tullock's Natural Reef Aquariums to be slightly stronger, this work has the advantage of being more recent and still readily available.

Lougher, Tristan. What Invertebrates? A Buyer's Guide for Marine Aquariums (What Pet? Books). Danbury: Barron's Educational Series, 2008.

For the aspiring hobbyist who favours invertebrates, this book is ideal for choosing prospective tank residents. Lougher writes with the assumption that the reader has a tank with all the technical aspects in place. Thus, this book could only be a supplement to other sources that explain the technical aspects of aquarium keeping. The book gives a profile for each species with the following information: size, food, where from, cost, how many per tank, compatibility, water flow rate, light, relationship with fish, etc. A price guide also gives the reader an approximation of cost. The types of invertebrates covered ranges from coral (sponges, anemones, etc.) to crustaceans and echinoderms. Also useful is the "Accidental Arrivals" section which provides information on the invertebrates which are famous for hitchhiking on live rock and coral. A reader could use this book to fill out Tullock's aquarium species plan (see Tullock, Natural Reef Aquariums) in order to create a plan for their aquarium.

Mills, Dick. Saltwater Aquarium: Comprehensive Coverage, From Setting Up An Aquarium To Choosing The Best Fishes. Danbury: Barron's Educational Series, 2004.

This book is geared towards the aspiring hobbyist who thinks keeping live coral seems a daunting task, and really just likes the fish. Artificial aquariums are the focus of the work. Lots of pictures, tables, and charts are included. One of the included charts showed the best and worst positions for an aquarium in a house - information that I didn't find in any other source. This books seems like it would serve best as a quick reference, but should not be used as the sole source of information.

Tullock, John H. Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications, 2001.

This work instantly catches the reader's eye with the numerous beautiful colour photographs that can be found throughout the book. Aside from the main text, Tullock includes smaller focused section of text (i.e., "The Lure (And Peril) of the Small Marine Aquarium" is included in the chapter describing the various available tanks). Of special note are the figures that Tullock has included in each chapter. Charts, models, and graphs illustrate the various topics, which a novice who is confused or overwhelmed by plumbing schemes or the nitrogen cycle, for example, would find especially helpful. Tullock includes tables which are meant to be copied by the reader in order to help him in the process of planning and building a tank. For example, he includes a table used for tracking tank conditions, and one for creating a aquarium species plan.

Tullock, John H. Successful Saltwater Aquariums: A Beginner's Guide. Harbor City, CA: Coralife, 1994.

The small size and large print of this work makes it a quick read that travels easily. It gives a quick overview of the various facets of aquariums including equipment, water chemistry, and maintenance. A section also describes the different marine fish families and various types of invertebrates. Although it covers a wide range of topics, it is so brief that its ideal use is as a starting point for the curious hobbyist who desires an overview of the hobby before deciding whether to pursue it more thoroughly.