In just a short 5 years, keeping fish and invertebrates together in a marine aquarium, has made a significant amount of progress, not only technologically, but also in terms of the number of hobbyists who either already maintain such aquariums, or show a real strong interest in doing so soon. Additionally, the variety of life forms now offered for sale has greatly increased, and because shipping methods have been improved upon as well, survival rates have risen dramatically.

Books by such recognized authors as Stephen Spotte, Martin Moe, Frank de Graaf, Peter Wilkens, Guido Hueckstedt, Albert Thiel, and many others, have, and are greatly contributing to spreading the knowledge required to keep sophisticated reef aquariums that utilize the available technology to its fullest extent. Aquarists everywhere have greatly benefited from the suggestions and techniques outlined, with the overall result that reef aquarium keeping is becoming a much more professional part of the hobby.

Although trial and error methods may still be advocated in certain reefkeeping areas, overall, the ground rules are pretty well laid out and can easily be followed by hobbyists, providing they are willing to take the time to do so, and learn, mostly through reading, what kind of care and maintenance is required to run an optimum and vibrant looking reef aquarium.

Thanks to all the literature now available, the hobby has become more of a science and a desire to perfect the tank is becoming more and more apparent at the hobbyist level. This is, of course, a good trend as it will result in animals living for longer in home aquariums, resulting in less depletion of the real reefs.

Manufacturers, noticing this desire to perfect the aquarium are now, more than ever, willing to invest in producing advanced equipment in the U.S.A. and Canada. This results in the prices of many of the required items coming down, which in turn allows more hobbyists to get into the reefkeeping hobby, which is of course one of the reasons reefkeeping now has become the fastest growing segment of the hobby.

The trend to perfect the aquarium is also helped by more restrictive legislation aimed at reducing reef depletion, or geared at stopping the collection of coral altogether, at least in certain areas. When animals (for example corals and other invertebrates) become more scarce, hobbyists will tend to invest more in their systems in an effort to keep the animals they already have alive for much longer periods of time. When the supply becomes scarcer, the sophistication of the systems increases. This reinforces the perception at the manufacturing level that investing in technology is a wise decision and results in more locally made equipment becoming available. Such is a good trend, as it greatly reduces the dependency on foreign products.

Such restrictive legislation has existed in several European countries for quite some time, and is now finding a larger resonance in this country in States such as Florida, California and Hawaii. Anytime the availability of animals is restricted, hobbyists have to go to greater lengths to maintain what they have, or the limited supply they can buy. This is a very positive trend for the natural reefs.

Keeping animals alive for longer requires better technology, different equipment, and more dedication and care on the part of the hobbyist. Such is exactly what this book is all about: what equipment should you use, how should you use it, when does it become necessary, and how is it installed? Besides the information found in this book, you may also wish to read ADVANCED REEF KEEPING MADE SIMPLE (I), A. Thiel (Aardvark Press, 1989), for even more details on really advanced systems.

This book can be read from front to back, or you can read selected passages that are of more interest to you. If, at first, some of the concepts described seem esoteric, keep reading, soon you will grasp the reasons for them, and you will start seeing the holistic picture that I referred to earlier. Reefkeeping is not simple, but if you approach your tank as an ecosystem you will have much better long term results.

There is also a large section on macro-algae, completely updated, giving a great amount of detail on what should be done to keep these lovely marine "plants" looking in good shape and growing for the benefit of the water quality. And in reef tanks everything always boils down to the relative quality of the water chemistry. If the latter is good, the tank will look in good shape and you should have no problems. If the latter is not good, disease, parasites, and dying animals are just around the corner.

Obviously no book can be complete. We did not set out to teach you the basics of aquarium keeping. Many books on that subject already exist. You have probably read at least one, if not several already. If you need a refresher, we suggest that you go back to them and update your knowledge on the subjects where you feel you may need to do so. This book builds on your existing knowledge, especially to apply it to corals, invertebrates, macro-algae and fish for the reef aquarium.

Lighting is covered in the latter part of the book, and is a subject that is still open to a large amount of controversy. We will try to give you the various approaches that are advocated at the present time, together with our own recommendations, leaving you the option to go in several directions. Light is a most important part of a successful reef tank, and it should be taken very seriously.

Besides familiarizing yourself with what we have to say, you may also wish to read up on lighting some more in other books, for example in Martin Moe's THE MARINE AQUARIUM REFERENCE: SYSTEMS AND INVERTEBRATES (Green Turtle Press, Plantation FL, 1989).

Because of the increased interest in redox potential, and the fact that many hobbyists are confronted, at some point, with the decision whether or not to acquire a unit that measures it, we have covered that subject in great detail, including equipment and methods that directly affect its level, for example the use of protein skimmers and ozone.

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