The book that helped launch 1000 marine aquariums (and many more) is coming back in a greatly expanded five volume, ebook edition. Martin A. Moe, Jr. is releasing the second volume of The (New) Marine Aquarium Reference in July of 2014. The original Marine Aquarium Reference has been out of print since about 2000, but used copies are still available and sought after. This second ebook volume, The Physical and Biological Environment, is the second and third chapter of the original MAR and has been expanded with an additional 50 pages on the physical and biological environments of the sea and captive marine mesocosms. Volume II contains 35 topics, each an easy to find chapter in the ebook format.
The chapters include the Marine Environment, An Aquarist's Perspective, Light, Refraction, Electromagnetic Spectrum, Intensity, Light Energy, Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR), Usable Radiation (PUR), Light in the Aquarium, Photoperiod, Temperature, Water Flow, Turbulence, Depth, Substrate, Primary Productivity, Natural Cycles of Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen, etc., Marine Plants, Green, Red and Brown algae, Marine Animals, and References.
When the original Marine Aquarium Reference was published, Don Dewey, the editor and publisher of Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine commented,
“The Marine Aquarium Reference is must reading for every marine aquarist and is, in my opinion, the quintessential reference for anyone interested in miniature reef type systems. There is a lot of information here for every level of aquarist–from beginning to professional, and the style of writing makes it truly enjoyable to read. This book deserves a place in every aquarist’s library.”
Times and technology have changed greatly since Don wrote this review, and many very good and extensive marine aquarium books have been written in the ensuing years, but the Marine Aquarium Reference is a classic and is still useful and still available on the used book market. The new ebook edition builds on the foundation of the original MAR and is even more useful as a basic reference to the captive marine environment in the expanded ebook volumes. The other four volumes are Volume I, The Chemical Environment (already available), Volume III, Elements of Marine Aquarium Systems, Techniques and Technology, Volume IV, Marine Aquarium Systems, Foods and Feeding, and Volume V, Marine Invertebrates, The Organization of Life in the Sea. Volume I and Volume II are now available and the additional three volumes should be available by 2015.
