Aquariums for Dummies

by Maddy Hargrove and Mic Hargrove

Book Overview

Keeping an aquarium adds beauty and grace to your life. That elegant little world in a glass box can be your respite from the cares of the day and even can lower your blood pressure. It can be a great outlet for your artistic impulses, and educational for your kids. And when it comes to pets, you can't go wrong with fish. They eat little, require minimal space, and need no training. They never stray, bay at the moon, or leave surprises on your lawn...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764551566
• ISBN13: 9780764551567
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Aquariums for Dummies

Excellent resource on aquariums and how to get started. I stiff refer back to this book when any issue comes up.

A Great Beginner's Book, Very useful information.

This is a great beginner's book...if you are a medium to expert hobbyist this book is not for you. As the cover says..this book is for people that are new into the fish keeping hobby. It will cover all the basics you need to get going. I got a lot of information from this book when i was a beginner. It covers everything from purchase/setup tanks...to fishes...to plants...to invertibrates and a whole lot more. A very fun book to read and I would recommend it to anyone new to the hobby of keeping wet pets.

Great Book!

This is a great book! Lots of great information!I found this book to be very helpful.The author is also funny and adds spice to the book.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to set up an aquarium.This book has allowed me to start and maintain several aquariums, without my fish dying!The book is easy to read and understand. I like that about the book also.The pictures are great. I am looking forward to more books from this author.

Must Have for Novice and Experienced Fish Hobbyest

This book is exceptional for step by step instructions for setting up Fresh Water, Marine, and Brackish systems. Knowing how to do it the right way from the start can be very rewarding, and save you plenty of cash. Always wondered why 2 months after starting an aquarium I was taking it down and giving up. Now the secrets are revealed. You will want this book if you have an aquarium or plan to get one.There is a 16-page color insert with everything you need to get an aquarium up and running without having to read all the fine print. You can enjoy your aquarium, while finishing the book. If you are like me, you want to see results fast, then go back and get the details. If this is the way you do things, this book will accommodate you.There are plenty of Internet references listed in the book. When authors are confident enough to list things like this, you know they are out to help you succeed, not hoard the information to release the next book. They have given you everything you need in the book, as well as valuable links to continue your education.Good books like this are hard to find. Keep it next to your aquarium, you will pick it up over and over. This book is a keeper!

My fish are not dead yet! Excellent book!!!

I would consider myself a little more advanced than a beginner, but a beginner none the less. I have had some of the "store-bought" freshwater tanks. Small tank, bag of rocks, a little pump, and a coupon for two free goldfish. My father raises saltwater fish as a "professional" hobby. Meaning that he will raise fish, coral, and plants to sell to pet stores. I wanted to do something myself, nothing like what my father does, but my own little tank, with some interesting fish. So, I bought this book...I already had a tank with a stand -- about a thirty gallon tank -- and went through this book. There are excellent steps about what to do, and how to do it. One thing that I never even thought about were the pH levels (I had figured it was just water and salt). The gentleman at the store where I bought my equipment told me about various types of fish and plants I may want to try raising. (On a side note -- he was also quite impressed with this book). I don't even know what my fish are called, but I now have a yellow, blue, and a pearl colored fish. This book would be excellent for beginners! It helped me out. My fish are not dead, in fact, they have survived longer than my "store-bought" setups!!!!!!! And they all look healthy! If you are a beginner, I would **HIGHLY** recommend this book! There was a previous review that mentioned that if you are an absolute beginner, you shouldn't even try to set-up a saltwater tank. Well, that can be true to an extent. If you are like me, and have at least had one tank before --- you should know what to do and not do. Plus, I like that the saltwater tank doesn't have that "smell" of the freshwater tanks!!! My father's aquariums have always been a little intimidating. I just wanted a simple setup. And I have successfully done that. (I also want to stress, that I NEVER contacted my dad about setting up my tank!!!) Now, I can't wait to show him what I have accomplished!I will be looking forward to more titles from this author!!! (Intermediate Aquarium Setups???) --Alex Abraham