Costco of corals and fish!!! Ok so that may not be justice enough. In the southwest suburbs, maybe even Chicagoland area, this is the place to go! Fish look great, corals look amazing and Brian is top notch! Once we get our tank back up and running (unfortunately crashed a while back due to power outage) shortly, we will be definitely stocking from here! Just hAve to control the budget this time To much stuff here! read more

An incredible selection of healthy corals run by people who love aquatic culture! Every tank has something interesting and colorful. I felt like a kid in a candy store. read more

Great store big selection and under new ownership!one of the coolest coral displays in the area over 20' long!!! Def a shop to check out if you are a saltwater enthusiast. Just picked up a torch , favia and a bristletooth tang a week ago both doing excellent. read more

Reefwise - Torch coral and favia - Aquariums Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

This store has the livestock and prices to be awesome. Unfortunately, it's completely undependable. Learned the hard way that calling ahead to make sure they are actually open during posted business hours is a must. Ok, fine. Latest experience, I verified on the phone they were open. Only to find the doors completely locked and no one there 20 minutes later. Real bummer too, as LFS in this area are all but extinct. read more

I am starting a new nano tank and have visited over 5 LFS in the Chicagoland area. Disappointed at the quality and price of city stores, I headed over to Reefwise. Their selection of both coral and fish is phenomenal. Prices are cheapest I have seen anywhere, even beating out online vendors. Unlike traditional stores with lots of small tanks of corals, they run several HUGE look down tanks stocked to the brim with LPS, SPS, and softies. They cater to all types of reefers. They carry lots of frags for beginners like me and lots of matured, healthy colonies for experienced folks. Best part is the the knowledge of everyone working there. Unlike other LFS that just wants to sell you stuff, they will talk shop with you and seem very honest and sincere. They know their stuff and willing to educate. Only problem for me is not having a matured tank yet so I can buy more stuff from them. read more

Reefwise - Neon yellow / green frogspawn frag 5 mins after putting into my tank. Healthy, vibrant, opened right away. - Aquariums Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

I stopped going because it opens at 2 and I would stay 15 minutes then leave. Today I went at opening and it could of just been today but didn't open until 2:15. I would of bought more but just got RO water only instead. Saltwater stores are far and in between but I will not go back here read more

My little family and I came here today. And wow, just wow! This place had such beautiful and lively fish! Not to mention, all looked 100% healthy. You can definitely tell they are all about the care and health of their fish! I honestly only came for fish food but I cannot help but leave this review after walking in, Reefwise. read more

Reefwise has become exceedingly disappointing over time, but it may be in a state of transition. I got into the hobby about 7 years ago. When I started to get serious about reefing, Chicago reefers commonly mentioned Reefwise as the Chicago area store to visit for hard to find and well-kept specimens. The store's hype and reality firmly intersected on my first few visits. The store's owner (or former owner, see below), Brian, while prickly at times, was passionate about the hobby and providing well cared for coral and fish to the community. I visited the store about every six months, as living in Chicago proper means it's a bit of hike to get out to the store's location in Lisle. I would say over the last 10 visits or so, something has been increasingly amiss. With each visit, I often asked the staff for an explanation and would get varying stories in return - it's the offseason, Brian has a focus on another project, etc. My last visit (yesterday) was so displeasing I've made the decision not to return. On yesterday's visit, the coral runs were all dark and about have the fish displays had livestock. Even if they illuminated the coral runs, 90% were void of any livestock and the coral in the runs were not healthy. I again inquired with the staff as to the state of the store. The response was that Brian was selling the store and a current staff member would be a co-owner in the future. The store is not anywhere near what it was at it's prime, and it looks like it needs a good 6 to 9 months of solid care and work to get in back in a decent state. I don't plan on returning until I hear others in the community talking about the store in the same terms as they did 7 years ago, but I have little hope of that happening. read more

Awesome place with a huge selection of frags. There are two problems with place however. Which is why they don't get 5 stars. 1. The staff like to hover and watch you. We stopped in a couple weeks ago for the first time. When we were looking at all the beautiful frags one of the guys tailed us and got in our way the whole time. We'd move and he'd move ahead of us. All the while leaning over the tank playing on his phone. He acted like we were attempting to put frags in our pockets and steal. Annoying! Let us look and get the F out of the way. 2. The look down tanks make sense for how things are set up. However it makes viewing the corals almost impossible. Every time you want to see something you have to ask them to turn off the pumps. Even then you really can't see things as good as if you were looking through glass. To remedy this they need to get clear plastic viewing containers that you can put on the surface of the water to see the coral. Make them float so you don't have to worry about people dropping them onto the corals. No more asking to turn off pumps as you look. Aside from those issues this is an awesome place with a huge selection of coral. Worth the trip if you can handle a little bit of hassle. read more

Very cool place. Quality fish and coral. They know their stuff and will help you stock your tank. Jim is a great guy and I will continue to buy from him. read more

Spectacular store. Very well designed layout and all the staff was very professional and dressed well. Everything was very clean and nice looking. Fish looked extremely healthy, corals as well. I was visiting my hometown and decided to stop by. Even though I couldn't buy anything, the owner (Brian?) still talked to me. If every state had stores like this one, the reef hobby would be thriving much more than it is now. So do what you can to help the few stand-up stores that are out there, like Reefwise, and buy local. read more

Wow!! What a great saltwater store - awesome selection of some really great looking fish. Not to mention some very cool corals. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. Prices were reasonable or great pricing. read more

On my second visit to reefwise, as soon as i walked in, i had realize that i'm the only customer on a friday evening. The two gentlemen "i believe who owned this business" greeted me fairly but the taller man who looks kinda like "James Rebhorn, from meet the parents" was following me like a hawk asking and being pushy about what i'm looking for. The other gentlemen provided me with excellent customer service and he gave me the benefit of doubt and actually a good deal for a coral i bought today. When i was deciding what size coral to get, the taller man had asked me what coral are you interested in? It was challenging for me to tell him the coral i had my eye on from the other gentlemen and I had discussed over. Rather than the "taller man" keep asking me over and over again on what coral i wanted, i decided to put my finger slightly over the coral and had accidentally dipped my hand in the water.....this guy said with a "angry tone" DON'T PUT YOUR HAND IN THE WATER!!!" I was like........geez you where having a hard time looking for what i had my eye on. Here is a suggestion for you fellas at reefwise. Why not provide your customers a long 12-18" glass rod to use as a pointer to the coral of their choice to better assist sales instead of guessing what corals your customers want. I was very angry about how this fella treated me. I have experience in sales and I know when people push sale on me and this taller man definitely rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know if i would come back to this place because of this experience. Customers please share your experience if this happened to you before. read more

They where selling two hydra 52 used I called in ask where they hydra hd . I was told yes so purchased the light to relize they where hydra sol upgraded.. had all kind of problems getting the controller to use lights because they do not sell the controller anymore because they do not sale units anymore. I was told that they where original hydra 52. But you can clearly see that the ai box where not shape the same .. anyway I tried to give them a chance by saying anything can happen when you buy used things ... so I purchased a used classic Neptune apex to reliize two weeks after the energy bar didn't work ... 500$ for the lights that wasn't original but upgraded & 350$ for a classic that didn't work or come with all the probs read more

They have a wonderful selection of quality fish and coral, however, their customer service is pretty subpar.

Very rude staff and over priced go to reef plus in aurora way better corals and fish at a cheaper price

I've yet to make it into this store, but I've been wanting to ever since I looked at their facebook page. The variety and quantity of rare livestock they bring in is arguably the best in the area for saltwater. Their facebook page is filled with gorgeous photos worth checking out. Kudos to the social media manager. I've talked with several of their customers, and I've heard nothing but good things about the quality of their livestock and the quality of the service. I've also heard the prices are fairly reasonable. I personally love the more "wholesale" look to their holding systems. It's generally much easier to keep these kind of setups clean and disease-free. When I see a store has taken this approach, and not focused solely on making their tanks look pretty, I have a greater trust that the owners truly know what they're doing. Full disclosure, I worked for years at one of the better aquarium shops in the city. From what I've seen, this is the best shop around for saltwater. Keep up the good work guys. I would recommend your store to anyone looking for a serious reef tank. read more

Awesome selection. Quality livestock bought most of our stock here. Brian is always helpful and friendly. Its worth the drive for quality and service. read more

ton of corals. sales process is sketchy. almost like they're forced to do some sale to bring foot traffic, but don't wan't to publicly advertise it. prices on Facebook/website doesn't line up with indoor prices. infact, indoor has no mention of such sale and employees will not mention unless you specifically asked for it. sales people are hired to harass customers into buying corals to earn their commission. my son just tagged along with me, he knows nothing about aquariums!! stop asking him to purchase this and that. customer service is poor. no communication skills, attitudes if you reply 'just looking'. Sounds like they are in business to get that one sucker that wants to spend $1500 on a single specimen. Even basic corals are priced substantially higher than all the nearby Chicago stores. read more

Amazing store. Staff is professional and well versed in what they sell. I have had great luck with both fish and coral purchased here. This truly is a gem and a must see for fish and coral lovers! They have a wide selection and tell you honestly what works well in your tank. I highly recommend this place! read more

Reefwise is pearl awaitng discovery. Brian the owner is very knowledgable and passionate about marine life. He was friendly and quick to answer questions without being pushy or giving a high pressure sales pitch. Coral and live rock selection is awesome with dozens of pieces at every price level from $5 to $50+. Fish and invertibtie selection is small but he's still building inventory and gets new arrivals every day. All the sealife looked great and were active, no sick or unhappy fish here! Prices were very reasonable compared to the big box pet stores. As good as it gets with the trident of service, price and expert help. read more

Nice store. Very good selection and decent pricing. The only complaint I have is that one particular salesperson always follows me around pointing out corals HE thinks are nice. VERY ANNOYING!! He comes across as the stereotypical used car salesman. I almost walked out once. read more

This place was great a year ago. Now dont bother. Everything is so expensive. Plus if your new to the hobby they will take advantage of you. I was in there the other day and they tried to sell me a green stag 1-2" for 100.00. Said it was super rare. Then they said acro's are easy to keep. I know better but how many other people do not. Run from this place. There are a ton of stores in the chicago area that are priced much more reasonably. read more