Kona Reef Az - Chandler — Local services in Chandler

UPDATE: THE AMAZING STAFF (TREVOR AND LONNIE ESPECIALLY) HAVE TURNED US INTO LOYAL CUSTOMERS. Talk about turning around a customer experience...these two gentlemen have made asking questions easy and even fun. The wealth of knowledge and non-judgmental candor is an asset all customers should be priivy to experience. The store is now FULLY stocked, prices are excellent a, there is a frag of the week special and so much to look forward to when you walk in the doors. Officially our go to store in the valley. We are happily giving them all our money now!

Original Rating: 2 Stars We attended the Grand Opening of Kona Reef in Chandler this morning. This was an event I myself was really looking forward to. Having just gotten into saltwater it's been really fun visiting all the local shops and getting aquainted with what each carries and what expertise each provides.

Kona Reef was one we had yet to visit and opted to wait until the Grand Opening we were seeing advertised across social media. We pretty much expected it to be a packed house and the fish enthusiasts of the valley did not disappoint. There was already a line (in fact two confusing lines) when we arrived 15 mins prior to open. The store was scheduled to open at 11am as they were running a livestock special for the first hour only. They did not however open the doors until 20 past the hour.

Upon entering you are truly blown away by the space. It's immaculate, large, and well laid out. There is a pretty impressive waterfall in the back too.

Now taking into account this was a literal grand opening, we are trying to be objective with our input but some things struck us as seriously lacking for a grand opening....

1 - Why would all the fish prices not be be marked? The biggest question everyone needed answered was how much each item was.

2 - Trying to find someone to answer that question was impossible. To begin, the staff all blended in with the crowd. It's dark, bright neon shirts would have been an asset. They would glow in the lights. Some staff weren't even wearing staff shirts making it even hard to tell who was who.

3 - We were never actually able to get someone to assist us and after waiting quietly a few times for an employee we took the queue to exit instead of purchase. We were there for about 40 minutes.

4 - The stock for a grand opening seemed very lacking. The frag racks were less then a third full. Freshwater stock was limited to goldfish and community fish plus two tanks of Petco equivalent cichlids.

5 - Overhearing some of the customer interactions we heard things like a customer ask if they get Diamond Goby's and the response was that they are very rare and hard to get. Well if that customer is reading, other stores in the East Valley have some gorgeous ones at the writing of this review.

We're not counting this store out. It was day one but that being said the whole store feels very rushed. Tanks weren't fully stocked or even setup and planning could have been much better for a Day one event. Nothing has us really excited for a follow up visit at this point but we're definitely...

We visited all three stores on Saturday for the 8th anniversary sale event. We accumulated the necessary stamps from each to earn our 30% off livestock discount. As a part of the sale and celebration, each location had a host of food (pizza and donuts...yum) and drinks for patrons to enjoy which was a nice touch, especially for shoppers with kids. Our fish shopping pilgrimage ended at the Chandler store, which is a beautiful store with a tremendous indoor koi pond featuring a life sized hand made tree with a waterfall and LED lighting in the branches. The staff was attentive and knowledgeable at each store, and while at the Chandler store we had a chance to interact with the manager, Trevor.  He was very knowledgeable and passionate about his store, his staff, and his livestock. They had an excellent setup and selection of healthy fish and plants in clean tanks.  We have had great experiences with every plant and fish purchase from every store in the past, which speaks to the quality of sourcing and the care that goes into the livestock at every Kona Reef store. On that day we purchased plants from one location, (2 stores =20% off) and while at the Chandler store we found and purchased some beautiful fish at 30% off and received two great fire eel Kona Reef t-shirts for visiting all the stores. We will gladly return to all the Kona Reef locations for a visit in the future and recommend you pop in if you're into aquaculture or just thinking about starting a tank.  You...

I started my saltwater tank in December 2024 with a 20-gallon setup and recently decided to upgrade to a 100-gallon tank. I found this store through the Red Sea website since they’re a certified dealer.

They helped me order the new tank and gave me tons of helpful advice on how to set everything up. They also offer live rock aquascaping services, which is super helpful if you're like me and not great at stacking rocks. Their team can design and deliver everything to your door—it’s super convenient and looks great.

Ever since I found this place, I’ve been coming here almost exclusively and barely visit other fish stores now. The staff, especially Conner and Sean, are super friendly and knowledgeable. They’ve answered so many of my beginner questions and really helped me avoid making rookie mistakes that could’ve cost me a lot.

If I had to mention one downside, it’s that they don’t carry a lot of high-end Acropora. If they did, this would be the only store I’d ever shop at for my reef tank.

Overall, this is the best LFS near me. If you’re just getting into reefing, this place has everything you need....