I had the opportunity to go by Reefwise, a brand new reef shop in Lisle, Illinois and they were absolutely amazing. The shop is a decent size, but very very new (only been open for 3 weeks). Right now the only have corals, but fish should be here in about 2 weeks and dry goods just after that. But let me tell you its the best coral selection I've yet seen in person. I'm a fan of Midwest Coral Farm as well but this is a much shorter drive. [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6809633613_c5e469ccca_z.jpg[/IMG] The have an 1800 gallon trough for up close and personal coral viewing. The water is crystal clear and still at the top so you don't need a viewing box. [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6809633933_8d61298843_z.jpg[/IMG] There are a ton of corals, mostly hard but a decent amount of soft as well. [IMG]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6809633739_b490ef53f4_z.jpg[/IMG] I've been to a fair number of LFS in the chicago region, but I nearly always walk away disappointed in their corals. The frags are always expensive, but worse the colors just aren't that great. Its like you have to try to imagine what the corals could be if taken care of, instead of what they are. Not so at Reefwise. I felt like I was looking at Diver's Den on LiveAquaria. This was all coral that was well colored up, and clearly happy. Most of what they had was small colony sized stuff, but there were larger colonies and frags as well. They have a good number of mother colonies that they will frag at request, as long as the coral hasn't been too recently stressed from a previous fragging. Although its disappointing not to walk away with that coral you like, I have a lot of respect for a business owner who put the safety of his coral (and of course its ability to produce frags in the future) ahead of their immediate business needs. The owner, Brian, has been in the hobby for 25 years and this shop is truly an expression of passion for him. His adult son, Eric, was also there helping him get things placed and acclimated. Oh, I almost forgot to mention his prices. He has frags ranging from - and colonies ranging from to with most of them around . He also had a good amount of ORA stuff priced at online prices. I'll update this thread with shots of what I picked up in a little bit. I stirred up some sand and need to wait for it to settle before taking any pics. UPDATE: Web link: [url]http://www.facebook.com/reefwise[/url]
