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I bought this book and The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide by Michael S. Paletta in order to plan my new saltwater aquarium. The Paletta book is fantastic, up to date and is everything a beginner could want. The dummies book still pushes the undergravel filter as the best method for filtration. About a dozen websites that I checked dissagree. That’s my major problem with this book. Having read both books over the course of two nights, I was astounded by how little information you actually get from this book. No subject is given in enough detail, even for a beginner’s book. You will see my copy on ebay soon.

Review by Karen L. White:

I was very excited to start my aquarium and used this book to start, within a few weeks I found out by visiting stores that I was basically doing everything wrong. I went to buy an underwater filter and they laughed at me and told me that they haven’t sold any since the 70′s. They also fail to mention how important and easy to maintain live rock is. I didn’t even get any until a very knowledgeable sales person mentioned it. This book mentions very little about it and even less of it’s importance. Overall the book is terrible, I am shopping for something new.

Review by Lorenzo F. Gonzalez:

This is far and away the best book about hobbyist fishkeeping I have EVER read – that includes everything for freshwater, as well. Probably little here for the very experienced marine aquarist, but for the beginner, there is NO BETTER BOOK. It’s worth every penny I spent on it. The author even points out silly errors and terrible misinformation present in OTHER books I also own! It is the ultimate reference, with enough information to take the complete newbie from a simple fish-only setup to a reasonably advanced reef system, avoiding the many, MANY possible pitfalls in between, from equipment and feeding, to which fish will eat your invertebrates (and vice-versa). Highly opinionated, and incredibly experienced, the author also demonstrates a rare talent in this typically dry genre: His prose is actually FUN to read, and his points are highly memorable because of it.I might repeat the cliche’ “If you read only one book about marine fishkeeping…” But the fact is, until you get to really exotic reefs and invertebrates, you only NEED to read one book – This one.
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The above review was written quite some time ago, and I’m making this addendum because I now have a relationship with Mr. Fenner (I work on his website(s)) and I think it’s important to disclose that – also because Amazon finally added this ‘edit’ feature! Also important though, I now believe that “The New Marine Aquarium” by Michael Paletta is possibly a better beginner’s book. I still think Bob’s CMA (as it is called by insiders) is the “One Book”. But if you plan on having -more- than one, and you’re looking for your first, you might check out Paletta’s, it’s a shade easier to digest than the all-powerful CMA. [grin]

Review by Too Cold in Madison:

Thinking of getting into the saltwater aquarium hobby? Do not buy anything until you have read this book cover to cover! You will be sorry if you don’t. By applying the principles in this book, you will have much greater success at the venture. You will save a lot of money and spare the lives of many fish.But first, buy and read The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. It’s a great starting point. Then read this one and give this great hobby a go.Being a marine aquarist is a great responsibility. Most marine aquarium fish are wild-caught. We have a responsibility to choose only those can thrive in captivity and are not endangered. Beyond that, we have an obligation to properly care for the animals we have assumed stewarship for. This book makes that clear and it will welp you achieve this.

Review by Very Disappointed:

This was not exactly what I was looking for but does have some good information. It gives a number of examples of how one would set up an aquarium using fish and rock or corals, etc. Nice pics of some amazing fish as well.

Review by Sharylee:

This is a very informative and helpful book for any beginner who wants to set up a saltwater aquarium!

Review by Nicole M. Tsoukalas:

We just purchased this biocube as a Christmas gift for my son and set it up as a tropical freshwater. The tank seems to be superior for an all in one. The only problem, which is really a big one, is that the fish can jump out of the tank into the filter area. It’s okay if the fish jump in to the area that has water, but my son lost one of his fish this morning because it jumped into an area that didn’t have water. We haven’t had the tank a week yet and this is the third time a fish has jumped out, first fatality though. Now I have to figure a way to rig something up to prevent the fish from harming themselves, and preventing the heartbreak it caused my son.

Review by Mike:

I own the 15 gallon tank w/ stand model and I couldn’t be happier. This was my first attempt at keeping saltwater fish. Although, the tank isn’t very big, it is enough to put quite enough of live rock, cleaning crew, and a fish or two. In my tank, I have live rock, an anemone, 1 clownfish, 5 hermit crabs, 3 snails, a yellow watchman goby, the goby’s buddy the Pistol Shrimp, sand-sifter starfish, and a fighting conch. The filter that is built in the back of the tank, is more than capable in handling the amount of life in the tank. The current is nice and strong as well. The end of the pipe on the left side of the tank that gives the tank a nice current can be moved. The middle compartment of the filter is filled with biocubes. I replaced them with small crushed rock and a sand substrate in a bag. Also, the carbon filter in the right compartment was replaced with filter pads. When the tank was first set up, I added the biological agent. When your tank is initially set up, it has to be kept going for at least a month. In the aquarium store that I go to, they have ready made water. I find it so much easier to keep my tank in an equilibrium. It also reduces any stress that might be caused if you are adding salt or other chemicals to match what your tank was when you replace some water. I find this tank also, very easy to take care of. I replace about 2 gallons of water every 2 months. I test the water monthly (sometimes every 2-3 random weeks) to make sure everything is ok. If you keep enough of the “clean team” in this tank, the tank pretty much cleans itself. The clean team can include; snails, hermit crabs, and starfish. My goby also gobbles up sand but it exits through his gills. It keeps the sand from clumping up. If you have a pistol shrimp; even better. But I caution you with a pistol shrimp. If you like your sand flat and equal, HE WILL DESTROY THAT! Think of a small bulldozer. This tank and its inhabitants keep it so clean, my anemone has grown from the size of a oreo cookie to about the size of putting your right and left hands side by side. Again, this tank is very easy to maintain. For beginners, it’s perfect. For experts, they will find this tank too small but if you like reef set ups, it’s the perfect size.

The stand, is nice. It blends in with the tank and is pretty sturdy. The inside has enough room to keep your fish supplies in it with some extra room. I have my fish supplies and my hamster supplies in the cabinet.

The lights; one white and one violet are nice. This tank also has 2 LED lights but after 5 months, they died. They did leave a nice little “hue” when they were on mimicking sun rays that penetrate the ocean. The tank light also can be left on for several hours and the water won’t heat up. This tank is equipped with fans when the white light is on. This makes sure the temperature in the tank is constant and doesn’t skyrocket. Replacement lights are available on the company website and some can be replaced at your local aquarium.

All and all, this is a great starter tank and for those who love saltwater fish but don’t want a huge tank. It’s easy to setup and maintain. It’s also very quiet. If you have an idea about what you want to put in the tank, Oceanic Systems has several models. I saw a 32 gallon tank and if I’m not mistaken, a 64 gallon tank is available.

Finally, I’ve never had any problem with fish, crabs, or snails from going into the filter compartments.

Review by Nadine Langlois:

I had already looked at many marine aquarium books before I found this one. I already have a freshwater tank, but really had no idea how to go about setting up a saltwater tank. I mean, I didn’t know anything!This book misses nothing. Other books may start off well, but tend to get skimpy on the things you really need to know and then focus too much on things that, at the moment, you don’t need to know, such as page after page on various species of fish. That’s important, but not particulary helpful if you don’t know what you are doing.The first part of the book goes into tank selection & setup. It goes over among other things, protein skimmers, power filters, & powerheads along with the other more rudimentary stuff such as heater, thermometer, etc. It goes into instructions on how to correctly mix the salt water and put in the substrate. After that, a considerable amount of time is spent discussing live rock, what it is, how to choose it, how to take care of it, where to place it in the tank, etc. It even gives sample layouts – very helpful! The last part regarding tank setup walks you step by step through setting up the tank and live rock. If you follow the checklists, you won’t miss anything or do anything out of order.The second half of the book is on selecting fish and taking care of them. In the section showing the various species of fish, it also tells what suitable tank mates could go with the fish. Lastly it goes into feeding and maintaining the tank along with a section on fish diseases and how to treat them.If you are interested in starting a saltwater tank, then this is an excellent book to begin with.

Review by J. Gutwirth:

I’ve been keeping marine tanks with very mixed results off and on for the past thirty years. When I started out in the hobby and didn’t know any better I was expert in quickly killing off all of the gorgeous occupants of my tank. “Live rock, ah you don’t need it,” said most of the “knowledgeable” local fish stores. Also protein skimmers were more of an afterthought – “after you’ve had your tank up a while and the sludge really starts to build then you may want one,” they said. “Having problems,” they’d ask. “You need to get a U/V sterilizer, or a cooler,” or something else, though these are all potentially useful they weren’t the reason that my tanks weren’t surviving. Well, it’s interesting to look back and see how quickly technology and common knowledge about how to successfully start and maintain a thriving marine tank (reef or fish) have evolved. Through the years I’ve looked at the top selling marine aquarium books that were available – some have been good at some things and most have been antiquated in not reflecting the latest technological updates, or even biological knowledge. Well, after purchasing “The New Marine Aquarium” by Paletta I have found the perfect book that truly ties most everything about success in the hobby together. This wonderful book will take you by the hand explaining what you’ll need to begin with and why in order to create a successful microcosm. From what items you’ll need to purchase (even on a shoestring budget), how to set up your tank, what fishes to consider, this exquisite book explains it all. The wonderful part is how clearly defined everything is by Mr. Paletta and how everything is thoroughly yet not verbosely explained as to why you’ll need a certain item or why you need to set something up in a particular way. The magic of this book is how it covers the gamut of what you’ll need; it’s clear, eloquent, not overstated. You’ll find answers as to what tank, what invertebrates, which corals, what goes best with what fish, what type of heater, powerhead, filter system; even suggestions on the exact sequence you’ll need to follow for monitoring and testing your tank during its cycling period. Even for someone with a lot of experience in the hobby you’ll still find little golden nuggets of information that will turn on the “ah ha” light bulb as you realize that now you understand why this works or why something hasn’t worked. This book is in a class by itself; clearly superior to most of the other current marine aquarium titles. It’s not overwhelming in size or scientific prose – it’s just enough of what you need for the common layperson to successfully begin this wonderful hobby and it’s still interesting and informative for someone who has a wealth of experience. If you are purchasing your first marine aquarium or if you know someone who has just started then this is one of the best if not the best books to help ensure your success. Its reasonable price and gorgeous photographs make it even more of a valued purchase.