Reef Tank Owner's Manual

I have kept fresh water fish for 55 years. Have always avoided salt water. Thought it was too difficult, and expensive. Finally, I discovered the small self contained marine set ups that they have today. Have had my 24 gallon aquapod for seven months, and have been doing very well with it. Mine is a pacific reef setup: live rock, gravel, invertebrates including mushroom anemones, and simple corals, a cleaner shrimp, a pair of picasso clown fish, and one 6 line wrasse. Since it is a living ecosystem, there are surprises like starfish, copepods, etc. Even the different algae are a study in themselves. Tullock's books have been very helpful in getting started, and as part of a small reference library. Marine tanks are much more interesting that fresh water.

A few years back I had the pleasure of working at an aquarium store dealing with fresh water, marine and pond fish. In my spare time I would read the books we had for sale, this book being one of them. It inspired me to try a small reef tank at home. The information was packed with helpful advice and it wasn't so "technical" that it was hard to understand. Obviously it's a bit dated as there have been a lot of major improvements and innovations in the aquarium hobby industry, but it is still an incredible source of information for the beginner. I frequently used it as reference material for customers and recommened it often when they were interested in starting a reef aquarium themselves. The author is very knowledgeable and has written several other books on marine fish keeping. I'm only giving it 4-stars since it was written a few years back, but it's still a very good book for the information it offers.