Amazing Reefs Grow Here™

ph: 727.437. ACRO (2276)  fx: 888.744.6616  email: farmer@reeffarm.com

The Reef Farm will be closed in support of the local event in Wilmington.  We will reopen Sunday May 15th normal hours.  If you need to get your Reef Farm fix on Saturday please join us at the MarineQuest Labs

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TheReefTank is hosting their recommended reading contest and we were nominated as one of their top sites.  We were just nominated so we have a bit of a deficit to make up and we need your help. 

To cast your vote click the Vote for us! link here or above.   Once on that page choose a rating and leave us a comment.  That's all there is to it so we hope to see lots of responses.  Once you have done that leave a comment on this post so we can see how we’re doing. 

Update:  If you go to the topsites page directly you should find us in the list (hopefully near the top ;) )and choose the details link (either a red “S” or the word that says Details).  Once you have selected the details link then you can rate us and leave the comment. 

Being one of the pioneers in Stateside Aquaculture, two of the most common questions we get are: 

• What are aquaculture and mariculture;
• What are the differences between maricultured and aquacultured coral. 

Aquaculture is the process of cultivating or raising aquatic species in a closed environment created to match the natural environment as closely as possible.  Mariculture is the process of cultivating or raising aquatic species in a segregated or unnatural location within the natural environment.  For coral mariculture what it truly comes down to is that maricultured species are grown or raised still in the ocean (or saline lakes), but instead of growing on the reef they are harvested from the reef and transplanted into a lagoon or lake to grow.  For coral aquaculture the coral is grown in a closed facility that is not connected to the ocean and is maintained to specifications that are intended to match (or in our case exceed) those of the ocean reef. 

The differences in practices and system designs are easy to explain, but the differences in the end product are not so easily explained; especially to someone new to the aquarium hobby and coral in general.   Read More...

Our latest location Petland at the Arboretum Charlotte NC

We’ve been getting many requests by readers regarding where to find fish and coral from The Reef Farm.  We also wanted to support the stores that support us and the best way to do that is to let our readers know who has the freshest livestock.  There is a new section on the right named “Our Stores” and in that section you can find links to the stores that carry our products. 

There is lots of great new livestock delivered today, but I will let Chandler and the crew show you first hand if you visit them this weekend.  If you do visit them be sure to ask to see The Reef Farm corals and let them know we sent you. 

We have just posted a sampling of the livestock  we will be bringing to the ReefSMART Expo in Greensboro, NC on Sunday Oct 4th.  Much of it is new additions or livestock that has just come back out of growout including the much hyped Pink Gorilla Nipple Zoanthids that we are offering in the raffle.  We are also going to be debuting a new Full Reef Formula of our ReefChow™, as well as the first retail availability of the ReefStones™ frag plugs.   If you are going to be in the area or are looking for something to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon admission is free and we would love to see you.

If you are going to be at the show be sure to stop by and say Hi.  

The Reef Farm is going to be at the ReefSMART Expo and we’re bringing with us some unbelievable livestock.  We’re also going to be unveiling our new ReefSeeds™.  We have signed up with a number of vendors who will be offering our stock at the show. 

We will bring you a lineup of what they will be offering as we get nearer; but for now you can get more information and sign up for the event at the ReefSMART website or at the Greensboro Event Page.

The Reef-Farm wintergreen chalice is rather different from other chalices in a couple different ways.  For one it is a solid color chalice with the eyes matching the base, but don’t be fooled, there is nothing ordinary about it.  The most interesting part of this chalice is the iridescent  blue sheen that covers it.  The blue iridescence matched with the deep green base is what gives this beauty its wintergreen coloration.  Hit the link to see the rest of the pictures and find out the other unique aspects of this amazing specimen.

More...

Although the palythoa species appears to be closely related to the zoanthid family with their heavy mat base and similar polyp appearance, they are actually part of a completely different family of soft coral called Sphenopidae.  This family is a sibling to Zoanthidae  and Neozoanthidae.       hsvytmzweg

The palythoa species tends to be overlooked by most hobbyists due to its species sibling Protopalythoa and its well deserved perception.  However if you look only at true palythoa (chromis paly, elegant moon paly, armor of god paly, etc) you will find some of the most amazing looking polyp corals rivaling some of the most incredible zoanthids… More...