Beyond the Reef

Fantastic experience: Dropped in today for the first time. And man oh man. The STAFF WAS BEYONG HELPFUL. Had a forever long issue with water parameter issues. Super excited to resolve that issue and have my dream tank 30 cardinal tetras here I come

Fantastic experience: Owner is really nice and always happy to help!

Fantastic experience: I love this place! helpful, friendly, tons of freshwater fish . large Selection of plants as well

Fantastic experience: Love it! The staff does great work providing information, and it's a great place to shop.

Fantastic experience: Great service! Jim was very helpful on answering our questions and helped me get the fish I wanted.

Fantastic experience: Jim and the nice guy that I call the rock builder (I forget his name) are truly very smart people and are very helpful. I love coming to this place for all my saltwater needs. Jim’s knowledge and help with my reef issues is what keeps me coming back. Definitely a great mentor. With his help I was able to get my parameters in check. Even started a second tank.

Fantastic experience: Great aquarium store. Knowledgeable and they know how to properly care for fish. I recommend going there and NEVER buying fish from a chain store. I do think they are. Little understaffed at times, as you have to wait a while to be helped.

Negative experience: We bought three fish from this place. We bought a Jack dempsey, firemouth, and green terror. We bought them for 38 dollars, no issues yet. We notice that the fish were being extremely aggressive and the Jack dempsey was not eating. I call ahead just to make sure they offer refunds for the type of reason we had. They said yes and told us within 14 days and they would offer store credit full refund. We live 42 minutes away. We get there and we try to return it but the manager says no and would not offer us a refund. We are so disappointed. May the lord forgive this store for lying. God bless

Fantastic experience: First time stopping by on 1-18-25. I had a good experience. I didn't feel rushed nor left to figure things out alone. The staff members I did come into contact with, where very friendly and helpful! Stopping by today to take home that cool fire goby as well as another peppermint shrimp so other other one has a friend!

Fantastic experience: This is hands down my favorite fish store. I live about 30 mins away and will go out of my way to shop here. I had such a wonderful experience here. Yesterday was my first time here and will not be my last. I am new to the aquarium hobby and I was looking to expand my community tank with some new critters. I regret not getting the name of the girl that helped me, but she was so kind and knowledgable and you could tell she was an animal lover (does rescues on the side). She helped me pick out new snails and shrimps for my tank. Going to other stores, I get met with a lot of judgement and attitude from employees and don’t ever feel welcome. I felt very welcome here and staff was so friendly to all their customers. If youre looking to support a small aquarium store, this is the place!

Positive experience: Good aquarium store here. Stock varies but the place is really clean. The owner is helpful. Some items are a little pricey but the quality matches the price

Fantastic experience: These guys are the best, I’ve been going to them since they opened many many years ago. Some of my fish from them are now 8-10 years old. If you want honest and trustworthy and extremely knowledgeable go to either Jim or Vince. Tell them Steve B sent you and you won’t be disappointed.

Fantastic experience: Gorgeous place, they have both salt and freshwater fish and a very good stock of them, and the staff goes above and beyond for customers. They also have plants and plenty of supplies!

Fantastic experience: Beautiful store! It was my first time going to Beyond the Reef. I was greeted immediately after entering the store and was blown away by the two display tanks. I wish I had gotten the staff member's name, as he was super friendly and answered all of my questions as I transition from fresh to saltwater. He helped me pick out reef salt, substrate, live rock, and beneficial bacteria. The prices were very competitive and cheaper than a couple of online retailers. I will be back for some Clownfish and corals!

Fantastic experience: Much better option when it comes to pond fish. Knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Negative experience: I got one fish from them and next day I found it dead. I brought I back and I was told that my tank is cycling. My tank looks clean (I would say too clean). I have various corals and 4 fishes not to mention snails, crabs and shrimps. As for the store, it looks okay. Prices are high on some items.

Fantastic experience: Very friendly staff. Nice selection of plants, fresh water and salt water fish.

Fantastic experience: I have been to beyond the reef a few times already. Today I met Jim, the store manager. I had a few issues with the water quality on my saltwater aquarium and a ton of questions, Jim answered every single questions and thoroughly explained everything Step by step. Amazing customer service and great guy! You can tell he has a passion for his profession. highly recommend checking out Beyond The Reef and asking for Jim Pedicone!!

Fantastic experience: Cool store with a bunch of fish.

Fantastic experience: This is a beautiful store with lots to choose from and the staff is very friendly

Positive experience: Nice store and friendly people but the prices are crazy on some things compared to others and the only reason I knocked 2 stars off. If your in the area it's still worth stopping in and I'm sure some things are fairly prices more than others but the fish and coral we looked at were pretty high priced compared to others.

Negative experience: Staff was friendly to me. However, tanks were covered in duckweed and algae. Prices were awfully high. Within 48 hours of bring several fish home to add to my existent and fully cycled tank (after very carefully removing all of the duckweed from the bags) all but 1 fish died. My pre-existing fish seemed to be doing fine until noticed my clown loach is now showing discoloration, and white spots. This was a very disappointing experience. I will take my business around the corner to Aquarium adventure where I've been treated with respect and at least make it feel like they care about their customers investments in their animals. I do hope this store is able to improve their conditions for the fish as well as the customer experience, but i will not be willing to risk going back.

Negative experience: I bought 2 dwarf crayfish for them and when checking out. I asked if they did refunds and they said within the next 40 hours if anything happens. Called the next day when the male died and they said they don't do refunds so they lied about that. Sold me a fish tank with the incorrect pump. I don't know if they're trying to scam people but sure seems like it.

Fantastic experience: I love this place. Staff is friendly and very knowledgeable. They always stock something new every week. They also do military discounts. I would recommend to anyone that is into aquariums!

Fantastic experience: An absolute gem of an aquarium store. Extremely knowledgeable and friendly staff. The prices are fair and the selection is expansive. Plenty of things and fish for both salt water and fresh water tanks. I come here as often as I need supplies for my aquarium.

Fantastic experience: Very nice staff and amazing collection of fish. Its the perfect place for getting started with any aquatic projects!

Fantastic experience: Beautiful displays. Amazing knowledgeable staff. Best variety in the suburbs. Park legally. Law enforcement is vigilant and unrelenting

Negative experience: Went to this aquarium because they had these fish we were looking for. However, all the tanks were quite dirty. Soon after the fish were added we realized the fish had white spots. After further research we realized they had the "ick". We are now intensely treating them which is costing us more. Not to mention these fish were not cheap.

Negative experience: Customer service is horrible. Fish prices are high. I would go elsewhere.

Fantastic experience: Our family loves this place. We went there when we first got an aquarium. The staff are super friendly and knowledgeable. We can tell they care about fish because they are happy to answer as many questions as you want to make sure your fish are happy and healthy. We are definitely repeat customers.

Fantastic experience: Great guys great service I did ask for something not always people help with but these guys they help me a lot with it which is I ask for some media and they give me a lot of it from their tank. Thank you very much.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fantastic experience: As per the usual, great service, knowledgeable peeps to help me, and decent prices. I stocked a cleanup crew for a 225 gallon saltwater aquarium. Their selection was wonderful, and I appreciated assistance in finding some helpful additions to my tank. Everybody was healthy and well and are now established in my tank.

Fantastic experience: The staff is always very helpful. The store has a great selection of neocaridina shrimp.

Fantastic experience: I love coming here the staff takes pride in their fish and is always informative.

Negative experience: Im in need of a new tank set up. I was looking for live stock sand water equipment. I came in with a pretty hefty budget and was looking to see options for different tanks, but the employee immediately made me feel stupid for not knowing the difference between a tank and aquarium. I would Gladly take my money to Ginger bread or Reefwise and Ocean Reef's Den (ORD) Aquatics, where they have been beyond helpful to me.

Fantastic experience: Very knowledgeable staff and they take good care of the abundance of fish species, The fish are not stressed and healthy.. Priceless knowing you are getting a good fish..ask for Vince.

Fantastic experience: I drive more than an hour away to check it out. When I say it wildly exceeded my expectations I’m telling the truth. The staff are all 10/10, the owner 10/10 and the variety as well. I have found myself driving down there weekly now. I’ve found when asking questions about corals or just saltwater in general you meet a lot of uppity characters who give condescending answers at best. However, you won’t find that here! Instead all questions and concerns are answered in such great ways you feel comfortable asking whatever it is you need help with. With such a large variety of corals I found myself with a lot of questions and each different employee I’ve encountered answered them with excitement and enthusiasm. You will find yourself to be treated as a valued customer here. Well worth the drive (especially with the great prices). My only complaint is that I keep forgetting to ask if they can special order specific torches!

Positive experience: Decent place with a lot of potential. Because of all the natural light, their corals have a lot of algae (they need to cover their windows). I wish their selection of corals was better. So far, Blue Line Coral is the only shop I’ve found with a good coral selection.

Positive experience: The shop is clean and organized. But the corals don't look healthy. A lot of aiptasia everywhere. prices are on the high side.

Fantastic experience: Friendly staff, a variety of selections, and plenty of cool stuff. I can't say anything bad about this place. I wasn't here entirely too long but for the brief time I spent here, I'd definitely come back when needed. Kind of out of my way but definitely worth the trip. Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Fantastic experience: First time coming here and it was awesome. Shout out to Albert for being very attentive and super helpful with choosing some cute fish-bros and giving me some advice on my first plants! All the fish here look really happy and healthy! I want to get another tank just so I can get some more fishes from this wonderful store!

Fantastic experience: Jim and Beyond the Reef have helped me so much over the last few years. Highly recommend! Don't ever doubt getting into saltwater! T

Fantastic experience: beyond the reef was an amazing experience! everything was well-kept, and they had some very happy and healthy fish. as someone who loves invert tanks, it was great to see such big snails and shrimp. i will definitely be coming again soon for all fish and aquarium needs and purchases. thanks, beyond the reef!

Fantastic experience: Staff is Super Awesome . Especially the Manager and the lady staff.. i have had countless experience where in they took time to help me identify my difficult aquatic scenarios and gave me pointers to help resolve it. Took custom live fish orders for me many times . They DONT just Sell stuff, they provide you options, suggestions and perspective to help you choose the one of you actual need . They do not advertise but they I am not sure if anyone else in the vicinity ever sells RO water at $0.50 and Saltwater at such low rates. Comparing other aquarium maintenance stuffs, most are prices considerably lower than the Aquarium Adventure store on the other side of this building ..

Fantastic experience: There is not a better aquarium store around! The selection of salt and fresh water fish is expansive and extremely well maintained. They have a great selection of accessories, food of all different kinds, plants, water conditioners, and nutrients. It would almost be overwhelming if it wasn't for the wealth of experience and knowledge that you get from talking to the staff. Each and every employee can answer all your questions and is happy to do it. I am a customer for life!

Fantastic experience: Excellent experience. My family and I drove from Freeport area to visit and we were not disappointed. Prices were on par with others and online retailers. Selection was outstanding and the tanks are beautiful, especially the freshwater! I came for the saltwater but still spent half my time gawking at the freshwater tanks, they were on another level. Anyways, great experience, will make a point to go again!

Negative experience: I have 6 oto catfish and 1 pleco for 3 months bought from another store (I won’t say the name). I recently bought 4 gouramis and 6 yellow guppies from this store. Within 4 days 3 guppies were dead. My tank is fully cycled, no water issues, 90% planted, canister filter etc top quality stuff. Reason for the death of the 3 guppies? Hopefully genetics because if it’s disease then they killed the rest of my fish too. Every fish that I bought from the other store survived (I had serpae tetras before too). I wouldn’t recommend this store to anyone who wants freshwater stuff. Maybe it’s only good for saltwater. Also their freshwater tanks inside are brown. I don’t know how well they clean them.

Fantastic experience: Jim the manager is a good guy! They will work with you on prices and are all very knowledgeable!

Fantastic experience: love the place. quality products all around. staff is very knowledgeable. sale specials every week !

Fantastic experience: Staff is very knowledge! The younger staff was extremely professional and very willing to help. You can tell they have alot of passion in what they do! I was beyond happy with my experience and I look forward to coming back for some plants for my betta to relax in and maybe some more snails :D

Fantastic experience: Great local fish store, they're helpful, attentive, and have great selection. Most of our tanks have fish from Beyond the Reef. They have a very robust aquatic plant section, especially compared to other local shops.

Fantastic experience: Love this place staff is always friendly and helpful. I wanted to take a picture but the image was blurry blue so Vince got me pair of tinted glasses to put on camera lens and that’s how I was able to take beautiful pictures of their coral and anemones

Fantastic experience: This place is great.. the extremely helpful staff has been there for all my questions as I started up my first saltwater tank. I’ve bought all my fish there including a bunch of damsels, snails, hermit crabs, a snowflake eel, starfish, and an emperor angel and I plan on being a customer for a long time. It’s also awesome to just browse around in.

Positive experience: I am a freshwater/planted tank person, and only came to this store in the past for a few items. But I recently came here and noticed the store is starting to go more freshwater/planted. I’d say it’s almost 1/2 the store now. They do still carry salt water stuff, but it’s nice that they added this too. After seeing a few of their planted nano tanks, it got me interested in this area more. After a couple more visits and speaking with the friendly (not pushy salesman)staff, I purchased a few items to get me going. After a couple of weeks, and a couple more visits to the store, I had a nice little nano planted tank going. Again, they have staff that knows freshwater/plants. And if by chance you happen to run into a salt water only staff member, they will direct you to someone who knows, rather than guess or try to sell you something that you may not need. I’ve been in the hobby for over 15 years now and this store is a breath of fresh air from the other stores in the area. This store is small, but they make up for it in quality people, attention, and products. Worth spending my money here vs online. Use to go a few doors down to the other fish place, but they don’t know what’s going on there anymore and the quality in staff/products has gone down imho. Update: (01/10/22) While I did write a glowing review of this store two years ago, I wanted to write an update. I feel that that the service and quality of the shop has gone downhill in the last year. The staff has definitely changed, and I did like the updating and adding of the two planted tanks in front, but the upkeep in all the tanks is poor. Most of tanks appear dirty and unkept. There are more sample nano tanks on display…which I think is great to have customers “see” what can be achieved, but you guys need to keep up with them as well. Dirty tanks turn people off. Not sure if management is the same, but just a couple years ago, this place was top notch, but I feel it has dropped several notches. To be honest, your competition next door is stepping up their game and is actually getting a bit better in their selection, service, and clean tanks.

Negative experience: Nicely laid out aquarium store. Pretty decent selection of fish. That being said upon entering the store I was greeted with a "hey". And that was it. Customer service was horrible. I looked around for a couple of minutes and walked out. Was looking to spend a few hundred. I'll take my money elsewhere.

Fantastic experience: The team at Beyonde The Feef has always gone above n beyond. I make it a point to continue to support them based on their wide range of product selection. Customer service and many great fish purchase experiences. I have become a loyal costumer for obvious reasons. Go see for yourself. You won't regret it! Both freshwater n saltwater hobbyists welcome ‍‍

Positive experience: I was passing by the plaza, heading towards a coffee place nearby, and this place caught my attention. I went inside, and the place was magical. The diversity of sealife is great.

Positive experience: With the way reef stores are going these days it's hard to find a good one beyond The reef is very nice but it's not perfect I do like that they have fresh water and salt water fish though

Positive experience: Great customer service the man I brought there was a senior citizen they took care of him almost like family good people very good people very good store

Positive experience: Good place with one problem. Skinny tall dude at the store had an attitude assisting me. Which is why I give a 3 stars.

Fantastic experience: Great selection of salt and freshwater fish and supplies. If you are into saltwater reef these guys have a large selection of frags and livestock. Tanks are clean and well maintained. The fish all seem healthy and free of parasites. Several unique inverts and fish that you may not find in your typical store. The staff seems very knowledgeable and eager to help.... Even to someone that can be as chatty as me.... I'll be returning soon.

Fantastic experience: Pretty good experience shopping in the store . There is a good variety of fresh water fish and rimless tanks. Staff is knowledgeable and helpful as well.

Fantastic experience: The best saltwater fish store anywhere around here. Great selection of livestock and dry goods and a very knowledgeable and friendly staff. If you have a saltwater aquarium and haven't been, do yourself a favor and stop in.

Fantastic experience: I found this place on a Google search...so glad I did. It's clean, the variety of fish is impressive, and the staff know their stuff. Healthy lively fish and a great selection of all the extras you'll need to keep a tank going. The hours of operation are a plus for busy people such as myself.

Fantastic experience: Such a great little pet store. Lots of unique tanks and very good looking and healthy fish.

Negative experience: Strictly speaking about the fresh water selection, prices were on the high end. The prices also did not reflect higher quality, or rareness of fish, they were just high across the board. The store was nice and laid out well. Traffic was light, I was in and out in about 15 mins browsing and was not greeted, or even asked if I needed any help. Many other places selling high quality fish at better prices with better service as well. I don’t plan on patronizing.

Fantastic experience: Very knowledgeable, answered my questions, fish looked great, huge coral selection.

Fantastic experience: Jim helped me find the plant I was looking for and was just a really cool guy in general! Everyone was super helpful and I'll definitely be back in in the future.

Fantastic experience: Beyond The Reef has wonderful freshwater fish. Thank you for the haps!

Positive experience: Some selection priced kind of high. Lots of algae in store display tanks. Dead fish in some of the tanks.

Fantastic experience: Helpful and enthusiastic staff. Even though I had about 100 questions they answered them all without fuss. Seem to have everything you need for pretty much any aquarium.

Fantastic experience: Lots of fish and nice and helpful people.

Negative experience: One of the Costliest store in Illinois for saltwater fish.

Negative experience: Picked up a Royal Gramma on Sunday and it was dead on Wednesday. After I put the fish in fresh water and it was covered in what looked to be flukes. I didn't want to post picture of a dead fish but I think it's important to see what condition they come in from this store. I did call the manager and he said to come in for a replacement or store credit. I drove 1.5 hour round trip and the manger was not there. That's fine and understandable but the staff was not at all helpful.

Fantastic experience: So incredibly kind and helpful. I wish I had found this place soon! Thank you to Jim and Terry for the help.

Fantastic experience: I really enjoy this store. I've been to it several times and have always received excellent customer service. I bought some fish 7 months ago who are thriving in my tank. I discovered that they have the fish that I will be stocking my tank with soon as well. I cannot speak to any saltwater items, but their freshwater stock and plants are very diverse, healthy, and well priced. There's another fish store very close by that has some fish that are double the price of this store!! I also really like their weekly specials posted on their website! I am an hour away by car, but if I see something of interest on the specials, it is well worth making that drive!!

Positive experience: Freshwater selection looked like it was inspired by Walmart, mostly fish I can find by going to Meijer. (with a few select cichlid exceptions). Saltwater had a lot of fish notorious for dying quickly in captivity, not the end of the world I guess but definitely something I notice in less scrupulous shops (make you sure you research what you buy before you buy it). Didn't spend too long on freshwater plants, corals seemed fairly priced and healthy. Store was clean and fairly well kept up, staff was helpful and friendly

Fantastic experience: We stopped in with our son to stock his fish tank for his 7th birthday. Terry provided top notch service, he knew exactly what to suggest and guided us towards some beautiful fish. We could not be happier and the fish are doing wonderful. We will be back soon!

Fantastic experience: Knowledgeable, quiet the selection.

Fantastic experience: I have been nothing but impressed with this shop! They are extremely responsive and quick to meet your needs. I will definitely continue to shop here.

Negative experience: the beta fish were in horrible condition, one was dead and they were covered in a algae.

Positive experience: Was definitely better before all the freshwater. I miss the wall of corals. But businesses need to evolve as well.

Fantastic experience: They just upgraded their coral space and its HUGE. Awesome shop, fair pricing. Thankful to be local.

Positive experience: Picking up the phone is part of good customer service guys!

Fantastic experience: Terry was very helpful and chose the best bucephalandra that he had for me.

Fantastic experience: I found Beyond the Reef acidently, but it was the best accident I could have made. I bought some guppies, a Rubbernose Plecci and a Gourami. A different fish store last year sold me an African Dwarf Frog to go with my 20 year old goldfish and Cory. I woke up Friday to 1 dead and 4 missing guppies. Beyond the Reef called me for a different reason and I told them what happened to my guppies. I ended up sending them the picture of the frog and they immediately called me back and said this is an African Clawed Frog, not a Dwarf Frog. Clawed frogs are aggressive and a 10 gallon is to small for them when they finish growing. But Beyond the Reef went above and beyond to figure out what happend to my fish. While I now have a plan of action to deal with my Frog, I would never have known happend to the my guppies and fish that have gone missing. Thank you going above and beyond the Reef. On a side note, the people on the store dont try and pretend they know about something when they dont, which was highly appreciative. The first guy I spoke with when buying was honest and said that he knew more about Salt water than fresh water and pointed me to the guy who would know the info I needed. I will be buying from Beyond the Reef again. They are amazing and honest good loving fish folk.

Fantastic experience: Amazing marine and freshwater store with everything you'll ever need for truly unbeatable prices. Decorations are so incredibly cheap- Driftwood, dragon stone, Texas holey rock, live rock, you name it, they have it. Personally I've recently set up my first ever saltwater tank, and from the 2 visits I've taken the staff has been friendly and informative. I'll definitely be replacing the close by competitor I won't name for obvious reasons with this place, at least for saltwater. My only critique is that the amount of species is limited, but they're moving to a much larger location. Thanks to all the staff!

Fantastic experience: I came in looking for some new fish to add to my tank My experience was fantastic Very knowledgeable and friendly I highly recommend anyone to come to this store!

Fantastic experience: I learned so much from the staff, they are so knowledgeable but never condescending. Great prices as well. Beyond the Reef really earned my business! Best LFS hands down!

Positive experience: Pretty cool and trustworthy, could be cheaper

Fantastic experience: The employee (owner?) was so nice to my kids and so informative. He helped us choose a couple little fish for my son's aquarium and let the kids interact with some of the sea creatures. My kids really enjoyed going

Fantastic experience: Great place for saltwater fish and supplies.

Negative experience: Noticed that the frag tanks had aptasia and bubble algae. Hopefully they are working towards a solution. Will still stop by the next time I am in the area though.

Fantastic experience: If they ever close down(which I doubt), I’ll cry no cap. I go to beyond the reef at least once a week, even if I don’t buy anything, i just go in and look. The employees even say welcome back when I walk through the door LOL BTR- super affordable, super clean, super helpful. I love you BTR

Fantastic experience: Really great aquarium store. Prices are among the best in the area. Selection for supplies, fish, clean crew, and corals is fantastic. Freshwater selection is good too! Store is well organized and clean. Everyone here is really knowledgeable and helpful.

Negative experience: Tank were very messy, many of the fresh and salt water fish were sick, overpriced(considering quality) and the staff give false/mislead info. I always feel rushed out of here. There display tank is nice though, and as a whole the store was very clean.

Fantastic experience: Amazing store! I go here almost every weekend! The employees are very very very knowledgeable and kind! The fish and plants are very healthy, as well as the corals! The tanks are very well kept! They have amazing prices as well! If I could give this a 10 star I would!

Fantastic experience: Great service and the tanks always have tons of variety and healthy fish and coral

Fantastic experience: Clean tanks. Good selection of fish

Fantastic experience: Love this store. Great selection. Been coming here for years.