Saltwater Aquariums For Dummies

Front Cover
John Wiley & Sons, 2011 M02 25 - 368 pages
Demystifies aquarium setup and maintenance

Combine and care for a wide variety of marine fish and invertebrates

Dive into the colorful world of saltwater fish! This fun, friendly guide gives you easy step-by-step instructions for choosing and caring for these amazing animals. You get the latest on feeding, tank upkeep, filtering systems, maintaining live rock, and preventing algae build-up, as well as what not to include in your aquarium.

Discover how to

  • Choose the best fish and equipment
  • Get your tank up and running
  • Maintain proper water conditions
  • Keep your fish happy and healthy
  • Avoid tank pitfalls
  • Keep a brackish aquarium
 

Contents

Introduction
1
Getting to Know Your Fish and Invertebrates
7
Some Things Fishy
19
Choosing the Best Fish for You
43
About Invertebrates
67
From the Dealer to Your Home
93
Setting Up Your Aquarium
99
Figuring Out Filters
111
More Chemistry Salt Acidity and Gases
207
All About Algae
217
Keeping Your Aquarium Clean
227
Taking Proper Care of Your Fish
241
Preventing Stress
257
Diseases and Treatments
267
Observing Your Fish
277
Ten Fish to Avoid
287

Heating and Lighting Your Aquarium
135
Fishy Furnishings and Finishing Touches
153
Partial to Salt The Brackish Aquarium
179
Getting Your Aquarium Up and Running
187
Taking Proper Care of Your Aquarium
197
Taking Proper Care of Your Aquarium 197 Chapter 12 The Nitrogen Cycle
199
Ten Invertebrates to Avoid
291
Five Simple Metric Conversions
295
Resources
305
Glossary
311
Index
317
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2011)

Dr. Gregory Skomal is an accomplished marine biologist, underwater explorer, photographer, aquarist, and author. He has been a fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries since 1987 and currently heads up the Massachusetts Shark Research Program. Greg holds a master’s degree in marine biology from the University of Rhode Island and a PhD from the Boston University Marine Program in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His research has spanned multiple fish habitats around the globe, taking him from the frigid waters of the Arctic Circle to coral reefs in the tropical Central Pacific. He has written numerous scientific research papers and has appeared in a number of film and television documentaries, including programs for the National Geographic Channel, Discovery Channel, ESPN, and CBS.
Although his research passion for the last 23 years has been sharks, he has been an avid aquarist for more than 30 years and has written nine books on aquarium keeping. His home and laboratory are on the island of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts.

Bibliographic information