Staff at Sea Schor is very nice and friendly. Please support this store with any business. Their owner lost his battle with COVID and now it is a tribute to the wonderful impact he had on the hobby and so many in the hobby. Please enjoy and shop at Sea Schor -- limited hours, Keith knows everything and can help with all when he is there. read more

I save businesses lots of money so they can spend it on really cool stuff like those awesome saltwater tanks. They all went to Sea Schor, because they provide the best service, expertise, tanks, fish, coral, and supplies. read more

My boyfriend and I have been highly interested in getting a salt water aquarium for some years now. Based on google+ reviews, we decided to go to this store first. While both of us are newbie aquarists, we both knew after spending some time in this store that we should shop around and explore our options. This store is located in a small strip small off of a man drag. It was easy to find and we were excited to see a large tank in the front window. Aside from all of our smiles and ooggling at the tanks we did notice some things. There were kids EVERYWHERE! And while we recognized that this is not the store owners fault, we were traumatized by their actions. Please people, keep your children near you. I don't think it's safe for children to be running around open tanks and banging on glass! It's a safety hazard for both children and fish! . . Phew. Sorry about that, but I was startled by the one who squirmed in between my legs while I was looking at a display. There was no customer service. The one guy in the front did not attempt to greet us, help us or acknowledge us. I don't think he spoke English as a first language. It was intimidating. Many of the tanks were empty. (?) I'm not sure if they were waiting for stock or what, but it was highly suspicious to me. There was water on the floor too. Not exactly safe or clean in my mind. The tanks themselves were dirty. I'm not sure if it was algae or what, but you couldn't see through the glass sides. The sand or gravel on the bottoms was all pushed around and sparse too. The exposed pipes throughout the store were dirty and old looking. Being new to salt water aquariums we couldn't tell what the average price for supplies was. But after visiting another location we realized that this place is overpriced. They had a used 30 gallon tank + stand for sale at $700? What? Crazy. The saddest thing of all was a lone bird cage shoved against a wall, surrounded by tanks. It was large, but shabbily covered with a disgusting looking old blanket. The large green parrot feigned sleeping, (but later woke to look at us) while kids tried to shove their fingers inside and poke at it. The birds cage had dirty water, no food and was covered in feces and feathers. Poor thing probably over preened itself from stress and hunger. We left feeling deflated. I was upset about the stores conditions and my boyfriend was trying to stay positive. . . We later went to a different store in Deerfield where our excitement did a 180! While the store may have nice looking fish, I would rather pay more for ones that I know where well taken care of. Sorry Sea Schor, but I wouldn't recommend you to anyone. read more

The other reviewer couldn't be more wrong. First of all most of the complaints were about kids in the store?! What's the owner supposed to do? Ban kids? Second you must have caught the store on an off day. Every time I've been in there it has been quiet and peaceful. Further this store has arguably one of the nicest selection of coral in the area. The tanks were sparkling and the fish were fat and happy. Third the staff were attentive and friendly. Moreover, $700 ,depending on the equipment included, is about market rate for a 29 gallon system. Visit any online forum on reef keeping and ask how much people have invested; it can be thousands but suffice to say this is not a cheap hobby. Comparison shop for saltwater aquariums on craigslist and you'll find the same. That being said Sea Schor does a great job off offering corals at a variety of price points, as low as $10 for some frags. Concerning the parrot, if you'd stopped long enough to talk with Steve, the owner, you'd know he loved that bird, which is why he takes it to work with him everyday! You don't know that bird is in the cage all day, maybe you just assumed that. Kinda like maybe you assumed bringing exotic saltwater fish half way around the world and keeping them alive would be cheap...or easy. If you are an avid saltwater aquarist do yourself a favor and check out this store! They have friendly knowledgable staff, great corals, and good prices. read more

I decided to give this store a shot and I had high hopes. I went to browse some fish and I selected two. As I was waiting for the fish to be taken from the tanks, an employee started to chat and that turned into an interrogation in how he wanted to test my water before he sold me the fish. I was highly insulted and therefore I left never to return again. Not a people friendly store. read more

This is probably the one place I wish I went to , way before , without holding myself back reading somebody's review on Yelp regarding the bad location ,lack of aesthetic appearance of the outside of the store and straightforward nature of the staff. It saddened me to realise that Yelp instead of being used for offering help , is used as a platform by few to trash people with shallow irrelevant stuff and mislead others. Sea Schor is the one place that made me realise how much time energy and fuel I wasted on my "trips" to the so called highly rated "clean " fancy pet stores like aquarium adventure , with "safe dry floors " where , I got to accidentally reveal my lack of knowledge and innocent apprehensions about something they pretended to "know" better than I did . In no time I was one of Aquarium Adventure's prestigious customers who was welcomed pampered reassured and convinced with fake promises until they got me to swipe my credit card! And I got dropped like a hot potato right after the receipt popped out ! My 30 gallon nano cube with all its inevitable accessories as per the advice of mister "knowledgable " guy in aquarium adventure costed me somewhere around 2000 bucks ! Let it be.. As per expert advice by a "knowledgable " guy there, I bought water from them ( $1 per gallon.. Discounted price !! coz I was by then their so called " precious "member aka the foolish victim ) and poured it into my tank to see that it looked like Chicago river on st. Patrick's day but for the foul smell ! When asked I was mocked At by the "knowledgable " guy at Aquarium adventure for my lack of knowledge about the ocean depths. My bad . In a month's time my marine aquarium became a scary nauseating worm breeding glass box . The number of queries i put forwarded to aquarium adventure came back in the form of expensive adventurous difficult to spell stuff they made me purchase for I still don't know why . I got to know about Sea Schor from the Nino's pizza place in buffalo grove . There was this breathtaking beautiful slice of paradise in the form of a salt water tank with crystal clear water and the prettiest of corals . Sea Schor is by the Dundee road and doesnot have huge fake catchy hoardings or two acres of parking space. The place is real where people know what they are saying and doing . And nothing they do or say is for the sake of it and these people have a surprisingly good memory when it comes to their customers . The customers get treated with equal priority , their tank be a 30 gallon or a 300 gallon one. The magnificent Reef tank in the front of the store is an eye candy . You can tell how genuine these guys are if you think about the effort they put to maintain that tank in such good condition. There is an amazingly wide collection of corals ,frags and fish . They don't jam pack the small tanks with fish so as to impress customers. They value the importance of the basic ethics of marine life concepts and they put it into practice rather than preaching . They DONOT try to sell you fish or coral by yapping and bragging .instead they do a free water test and make sure our tanks are suitable enough to welcome new livestock or advise us accordingly about what needs to be done . Kudos to their honesty .!This place is meant for people who care about their hard earned money and value honest dealing . It's not meant for people who have a strong aversion and poor tolerance for happy kids who by their normal Tendency happen to get excited in a pet store seeing Nemos , Dorys , the store owner's 45 year old healthy friendly parrot Sunny the 10 year old puffer hootie.. And all that colorful stuff ! They may squiggle and wiggle through in between your legs even ! I think That's what a happy childhood is about . And the store owner doesnot look like a man who might keep a "no kid zone" board there . The owner of the place Steve and his associates Menard , Bob , Et al are polite straight forward sensible extremely helpful people with excellent communication skills and zero drama . They don't waste time sugar coating False stuff and try confusing you . Business for them or with them was not a one time loot like my previous horrible cheated adventure at aquarium adventure. They advised me properly once they saw my pathetic tank . They told me what to buy and what not to . It took a week for Steve to build the tank from scratch and make it look neat . Now They come to my place twice a month to service the tank. It includes complete water testing for all minerals and water Change . All for such a decent reasonable cost ! They give us a clear picture of the Eco system and Even if we try to rush and buy more stuff to make the tank look pretty in a jiffy , they will remind us not to rush Mother Nature instead of taking advantage of our enthusiasm ! In my living room hence stands clear and bright , my dream that finally came true ! Can't thank these guys enough ! read more

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Steve is very knowledgeable when it comes to reef tanks, they have a good selection of fish and corals with fair prices. I had them move a tank for me and a week later Steve wanted to come over and aqua scape it for me NO CHARGE, I only wish they had better hours of operation. Closed on my day off, Wednesday! read more

Steve and the folks at Sea Schor are awesome! We have been thinking about a salt water aquarium for quite some time, but only have experience with fresh water fish. Steve not only guided us to an aquarium that would fit in the space we had, but educated us (and continues to educate us) on care of the aquarium and fish. He helped us select live rock and had his employees set up the aquarium in our home about a month ago. He will be coming to do maintenance this Friday, and I expect that the service will also be outstanding. He helped us select the proper fish and coral to start the aquarium, and even told us that the aquarium might look a bit algae-ish in 3 -4 weeks.....and it did just when he said it might. I would have freaked out without the anticipatory guidance! Dana mentioned that there were disruptive kids in the store -- but that is a problem with the parents and not the store or store owner. There is water on the floor at times, but with taking live rock out of tanks, you can expect to have drips. The floor is cleaned promptly, and there are fans to help dry the floor. Some of the smaller tanks are empty, but that is because the fish are isolated prior to being put in the floor tanks. All of the tanks appear well maintained, and the fish/shrimp/snails, etc. all appear healthy. Steve also has all of the supplies that are needed to maintain the tank, feed the fish and test the water. A great family-run business. Don't pass this one up if you want to start a salt water aquarium! Addendum: We just had the first in home maintenance service for our new salt water tank. The tank was cleaned, salt water replaced, filters cleaned, and the live rock, sand, corals and fish were checked over for well being. The appropriate chemicals were brought to us, saving us a trip to the store, and we got detailed instructions for how to use them to keep the tank healthy. I am sorry, but I think that Dana must have gone to a different store, because what she describes just is not what I see at Sea Schor. This is THE place to go for a salt water aquarium for your home or business. read more

Great coral selection and awesome SPS frags. I always find at least one coral I like every time I visit Sea Schor. I have a long drive, so I like to check out their facebook page before I go, so I know what to expect to find. read more

I'm fairly new to the saltwater hobby - going on 2 years now. My first year things were going along pretty good I thought until Bam! - my tank crashed. Apparently, I had a lot left to learn. I turned to Steve and the guys at Sea Schor. They were very very helpful and talked to me day after day after day - I kept coming in and they kept answering my questions. They never made me feel I was an annoyance to any of them - and believe me, I probably was. I became very comfortable and built a great relationship with both Steve and Menard. They are great and very knowledgeable. There's never been a question they didn't know the answer to. They helped me every step of the way, doing whatever they could to help me get my tank back up and running. Steve, the owner, went as far as taking in my remaining fish and corals for over a month and placing them in one of his tanks so that they would survive. I never imagined there was a store out there that would do that. He also gave me some of his water out of his main display tank to help with my tanks healing process. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my tank back up and thriving, and could not have done it without them. I recently moved up to a bigger tank that I purchased from Steve. He gave me a great deal as well as came twice to my house to help with the set up of it. It's great to go and talk to him and Menard about my tank and actually have them know what I have and get advice about compatible future fish and corals. Because Steve cares about my tanks success, he's even denied selling me certain fish & corals because they would not be compatible. He obviously isn't all about just making a buck. I feel their prices are comparable to other stores in the area. I like how I can go in and dispense my own salt/freshwater instead of waiting for someone to do it for me. They also sell water cards so you can purchase a large quantity of water and they just subtract however many gallons you get that day from the card. No need to pay every time. Very convenient. The store mascot is a 40 year old parrot who I always say hi to when I come in. He's well cared for and doesn't cause any ruckus. He's a bonus when you think you are just coming in to look at fish and corals. In the many times that I have gone in to the store, I have seen them constantly maintaining their tanks - water changes, feedings and cleaning up the detritus. At first, if I could have changed anything, it would have been their store hours. I'm a morning person and they open later in the day during the week. However that really hasn't been an issue because though they aren't around most mornings during the week, they are open on the weekends, so I have adjusted my schedule to work with theirs and it's been perfectly fine. Not an issue at all. I would definitely recommend Sea Schor and will continue to do business with them for as long as I'm in the saltwater hobby. read more

These guys are awesome! The staff is very knowledgeable and friendly! The livestock selection is great and well priced. The best is by far their incredible 300 gallon SPS reef tank in the front of the store; It is stunning! And sometimes they will even frag you a piece from it! read more

The store is a fantastic place to get salt water fish and corals. They are very careful to make sure you get fish that are compatible with what you already have. They don't just sell you anything to make the sale. Always a nice afternoon at the Schor! read more

I found the owner to be extremely helpful and knowledgable. We had them install a 65 gallon salt water reef tank. They service it twice a month and it looks great. We compared prices all over town and found Sea Schor to be the most reasonable. read more

Great products and great staff! Steve, the owner, is a great guy to work with and is hands on within the business. He really cares and his passion shows. read more

Hello, my name is Kevin and I am brand new to the world of saltwater life. I bought a tank from a friend and went into sea schor to begin building my tank. I read the reviews on here and couldn't disagree more. I spoke with Steve the owner and like you Todd was told I couldn't have certain fish/coral in my specific tank setup. I was really impressed with Steve's knowledge and happy he didn't just sell me anything that could possibly die immediately in my tank. As I have learned, changes in the water can cause serious issues for the expensive items I'm putting in. Sea schor is a great place for beginers like myself and I plan to go back for my next purchase!!!! read more

Just stopped by last Saturday to pick up some new corals and I couldn't be happier. Recently purchased some frags and a SPS colony from Sea Schor and they opened up instantly! I found out about the new corals from Facebook which is a great way to reach out to customers that don't live right around the block. I haven't been in there for a while but I gotta say it's looking really clean; I love the LED lighting over the fish and corals system. They have more of a selection which made my buying decision harder but that's okay! I'll be back next weekend for sure. I would recommend this place for either new or advanced hobbyist. read more