Reefwise

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!

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.

The corals here were amazing! Such a good price and I can’t wait to go back.

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

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.

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.

Reefwise is by far the best LFS in the entire Chicagoland area in my book. I used to do «fish trips» where I would hit 3 – 4 stores in a loop on a saturday. That is no longer necessary and in almost 2 months I have only been to reefwise for my reefing needs.
Brian is an awesome guy and extremely knowledgable. He actually cares about how your tank is doing and will listen to his customers. I had a really nice PBT that needed a home cause it didn’t get along with my tusk and he found a home for her in an 11 foot tank. My problem was solved and the fish got a better home! DOUBLE BONUS!
He doesn’t have a lot of fish yet but will order what you want. I really wanted a yellow belly hippo and he met a guy from Michigan half way to get the fish for me, which I picked up yesterday! Got a text on Tuesday that he found the fish, and picked it up on Wednesday hours after he got the fish from Michigan. That just doesn’t happen with other LFS’s.
His corals are set up to survive and thrive… not just to make it until someone purchases them. That is really important to me as he cares about his livestock. I have close to 20 pieces from him including softies, LPS, SPS and 3 clams which are all doing well!
This is a store that you feel good about supporting because he is passionate and cares about the hobby. If you haven’t stopped by yet get ready to be amazed by the selection, health and variety in his system! Really is worth the trip from anywhere in the Chicagoland area.