This is a post where I'm going to keep track of the books, papers and videos that have been helpful to me to date in my reef keeping journey. When I first started researching (just a year or so ago, I'm new at this) when I asked for some helpful books, most people told me "just go on YouTube". While I did find a lot of helpful stuff there, I also found a lot of junk...and maybe because I'm older, I just like a paper book and a peer reviewed journal article over most online videos. So, below is my current list, which I will keep up to date as my library grows. Also, feel free to leave your own comments, any suggestions people have I will review and add it to the list if I find it helpful.
Books
Baldassano, P., The avent-garde marine aquarist: A 60-year history of fish (2015), Independently published.
Why I like it: While I know some of @Paul B 's opinions stir up some controversy on this board from time to time, this one is great quick read with loads of interesting ideas and I like how it makes you think about your reef tank as a system. Lot's of great ideas and low cost DIY solutions for problems most of us will run into now and then.
Calfo, A. & Fenner, R. (2003), Reef invertebrates - An essential guide to selection, care and compatibility, Reading Trees and Wet Web Media Publications
Why I like it: This reference has a HUGE amount of detail about a wide range of invertebrates with great pictures and very specific details as to how to choose a specimen and how it is likely to interact with your tank and it's other inhabitants.
Sprung, J. (2002), Algae - A problem solver guide, Ricordea Publishing
Why I like it: This is a nice compact guide that summarizes a lot of the wisdom that you'll find on this site when it comes to diagnosing and dealing with various algae/diatoms/dinos. I think this is worth having because it provides nice microscopic photographs of the various algae forms...good for those of us that like geeking out with a microscope.
Tullock, J.H. (1997), Natural Reef Aquariums - Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms, Microcosm Ltd.
Why I like it: This book is a fun snapshot of where the hobby was at in 1997. Will people build their new tanks from scratch following everything in this book? Doubtful. But in my short time in the hobby I can already see that some things are cyclical, and understanding what has worked in the past will be nice to know as we evolve things in the future.
Journal Articles
I plan to put any journal article below that I just generally found was easy to read and gave me a little bit of insight into some aspect of the ecosystem we might find in our reef tanks, I probably won't specifically call out why I like each one, it's more about building a deeper knowledge base and remembering where to find the info years later when a question comes up.
Alexandre, A. & Santos, R. (2020), High Nitrogen and Phosphorous Acquisition by Belowground Parts of Caulerpa prolifera (Chlorophyta) Contribute to the Species' Rapid Spread in Ria Formosa Lagoon, Southern Portugal. J. Phycol 2020 June;56(3):608-617. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.12988
Online Videos
BRStv - Saltwater Aquariums & Reef Tanks: Yes, these videos are produced with the intent of getting us to buy products from the site. But...the production quality is very high, and there is a lot of great information presented in there. I like to keep an eye on how many years ago the video was posted, as some things that were "conventional wisdom" 8 years ago are not really seen in the same light anymore. I've also made myself a rule that I'm not allowed to put any product in a shopping cart until 3 days after watching any of these.
BRStv Beginers Guides: This is a great place to start for brand new reefers that are planning their first tank. I think Matthew has a really good demeanor and generally tells it how it is while keeping things simple.
Reef Dork: I like these videos, as he goes into a good amount of detail in some areas that are glossed over a bit by some of the other channels out there. I appreciate that he'll tell you when things didn't work out how he'd hoped and try to dial in what went wrong.
Reef Rookies: I didn't find this channel until recently. What I appreciate about this one, is I find myself agreeing with most of the things as he presents them (Having spent a good year doing loads of research myself). If I'd known about this channel when I first started researching, I might have saved myself a lot of time going down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
Books
Baldassano, P., The avent-garde marine aquarist: A 60-year history of fish (2015), Independently published.
Why I like it: While I know some of @Paul B 's opinions stir up some controversy on this board from time to time, this one is great quick read with loads of interesting ideas and I like how it makes you think about your reef tank as a system. Lot's of great ideas and low cost DIY solutions for problems most of us will run into now and then.
Calfo, A. & Fenner, R. (2003), Reef invertebrates - An essential guide to selection, care and compatibility, Reading Trees and Wet Web Media Publications
Why I like it: This reference has a HUGE amount of detail about a wide range of invertebrates with great pictures and very specific details as to how to choose a specimen and how it is likely to interact with your tank and it's other inhabitants.
Sprung, J. (2002), Algae - A problem solver guide, Ricordea Publishing
Why I like it: This is a nice compact guide that summarizes a lot of the wisdom that you'll find on this site when it comes to diagnosing and dealing with various algae/diatoms/dinos. I think this is worth having because it provides nice microscopic photographs of the various algae forms...good for those of us that like geeking out with a microscope.
Tullock, J.H. (1997), Natural Reef Aquariums - Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms, Microcosm Ltd.
Why I like it: This book is a fun snapshot of where the hobby was at in 1997. Will people build their new tanks from scratch following everything in this book? Doubtful. But in my short time in the hobby I can already see that some things are cyclical, and understanding what has worked in the past will be nice to know as we evolve things in the future.
Journal Articles
I plan to put any journal article below that I just generally found was easy to read and gave me a little bit of insight into some aspect of the ecosystem we might find in our reef tanks, I probably won't specifically call out why I like each one, it's more about building a deeper knowledge base and remembering where to find the info years later when a question comes up.
Alexandre, A. & Santos, R. (2020), High Nitrogen and Phosphorous Acquisition by Belowground Parts of Caulerpa prolifera (Chlorophyta) Contribute to the Species' Rapid Spread in Ria Formosa Lagoon, Southern Portugal. J. Phycol 2020 June;56(3):608-617. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.12988
Online Videos
BRStv - Saltwater Aquariums & Reef Tanks: Yes, these videos are produced with the intent of getting us to buy products from the site. But...the production quality is very high, and there is a lot of great information presented in there. I like to keep an eye on how many years ago the video was posted, as some things that were "conventional wisdom" 8 years ago are not really seen in the same light anymore. I've also made myself a rule that I'm not allowed to put any product in a shopping cart until 3 days after watching any of these.
BRStv Beginers Guides: This is a great place to start for brand new reefers that are planning their first tank. I think Matthew has a really good demeanor and generally tells it how it is while keeping things simple.
Reef Dork: I like these videos, as he goes into a good amount of detail in some areas that are glossed over a bit by some of the other channels out there. I appreciate that he'll tell you when things didn't work out how he'd hoped and try to dial in what went wrong.
Reef Rookies: I didn't find this channel until recently. What I appreciate about this one, is I find myself agreeing with most of the things as he presents them (Having spent a good year doing loads of research myself). If I'd known about this channel when I first started researching, I might have saved myself a lot of time going down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
