Reef Connections

Great customer service! My knowledge on nano reefs was little to none and the staff were very patient in answering all my questions. Jodi helped me get the basics that I needed to start my 5 gallon reef aquarium. One of the things I was most impressed about is that none of the staff tried to sell me anything I didn’t need. Prices were fair and are close to online deals if you count the shipping costs. Overall the staff is knowledgeable & friendly. Looking forward to returning here to buy some coral and add to my aquarium.

Thanks to Jodi, Chris and the rest of the crew, at reef connections. I started with fresh water planted and moved over to reef about a year ago, everyone has been really helpful and supportive with advice when needed. Reef livestock is good and when needing to trade livestock in, they have been willing to give a great option for trades. We are lucky to have such a great shop in our region, thanks!

I am new to the saltwater hobby (a little over a month), the first time I went into this store was to get some information and have them calibrate my salinity tester. The owner helped me, answered all my questions. I purchased some live rock and left, the experience was very pleasant.
I have been back multiple times and Chris always takes time to answer all my questions. This place is not out to just make a sale, they give great advice and will tell you if they think something won’t work with your setup
All the employees here are laid back and will let you have your space, which I personally enjoy. When you need help, just ask and you won’t be disappointed! !

I really enjoy Reef Connections. I have been a customer for 18 years now — followed Jody’s store through 3 moves. Staff is always friendly and knowledgeable. Store has a good variety and is clean. If they don’t have something you need, they can always order it for you.

I decided to start an African cichlid tank about a month aho, and it is now running beautifully largely due to the awesome people at reef connections ! They were super helpful, informative, and they even tested out a pump I had to make sure it worked. Look no where else for your aquarium needs in chico!

I’m really surprised to see so many positive reviews of this place. I was really disappointed during my visit yesterday.
When I walked in, there were two men behind the counter. Both of them were helping someone so they said hello to me and continued to help their customers. Totally fine, I just started browsing. One of the customers walked away from the counter and started browsing, so I kept browsing and thought the now free employee would come to talk to me. No such luck. I continued to wander and browse and found a couple of dirty tanks, and dead fish in 5 other tanks. I never did find what I needed and was never approached for assistance.
Unfortunately, it led me to visit a big box store instead, and not only was I assisted by two different people, I also found exactly what I needed and left a happy customer.
One more edit: This was the first reply I received from my review from ‘John D.’
«
Sara,
My name Is Jody Smith and I am the owner of Reef Connections. I take to heart all of the reviews given on the internet. I am really sorry for you negative experience at my store. I’m not sure what was going on as I was on vacation that week and I can asure you that does not happen when I am around. When you stock hundreds of fish some do die but they should defently be removed before the shop opens, as it is one of my strickest policies. There is no excuse for your experience at my shop and your review will be acknowledged and disciplinary actions will occur. My appoligies.
Jody Smith»
Too bad. I always try to give local stores an opportunity to receive my business first, but this time I was really displeased.
Edited to add: The store owner’s reply to my review is proof in and of itself that they didn’t care about my business. I wasn’t looking to be ‘pampered’ but simply ‘helped’ so if that’s not a thing to expect from customer service people anymore then I guess I’ll have to be more aggressive next time.
But there won’t be a next time, and since I made my first and last visit to this place I haven’t had to seek out help from any places except hipster spots and they’re too good to help you anyway. You kind of expect it going in. In this case, a small local business I would think would present themselves a little more professionally. Oh well.
The owners reply in case it is deleted:
«7÷9÷2015 It sounds as tho you were greeted upon entering the store. We are not ones to smother or pamper our customers. We try to let the customers choose their own shopping experience. Most of our customers just ask if they need immediate help.»

Great customer service and a wonderful selection of freshwater and saltwater fish and supplies. Love it here!

For being a person that has personally been in the industry, I know exactly how hard it is to acomplish what Jody has pulled off. I have been with his store through a few different locations and am very happy with where it currently sits. I am a person that is very involved in the hobby and it is the only store in the area where the emplyees all know what they are talking about. Occasionally there is generally a little bit of a sting when it comes to pricing, but there is definately more to choose from when it comes to selection of corals. I just wish that the livestock was priced so that I didn’t have to ask about the price of every salt water fish.

Hands down best aquarium in the area. Great staff, great selection, healthy fish and most importantly… live bloodworms! I’m going to miss this aquarium, its pretty much my standard of how fish stores should be. Don’t be shy, they’re knowledgeable and hilarious. 5 stars easily!

These guys are pretty nice and super knowledgable. I felt bad asking so many questions but the guy said he didn’t have anything better to do. So I asked away! I took so much away from this conversation and really appreciated the effort!

I came here to get an aquarium for my wife as a gift. Now, I’m not exactly an expert in this area (so you can take this with a grain of salt), but I thought that they had very reasonable prices. I had also done some research on what to look for in healthy fish before I went in and from what I could tell they have very healthy fish and the aquariums appeared well-​maintained.
Also, didn’t get any names but it was the same two guys working both times I went in and both times they were very nice and helpful. Never felt like I was being pressured to buy anything I didn’t want or need.
Now that we have the aquarium we’ll be going back here for the fishies.

There is no better store as far as I know in Northern CA. I moved from Chico to San Francisco, and have been to just about every store in the bay area and sacramento area. Jody and Joel have a true passion for the fish/​coral trade, and if it wasn’t for them I would never have gotten into reef aquaria. That said, the store has been recently expanded and has more supplies and livestock than ever. I truly believe the two reviewers before me must have come in the store on the worst day of the store’s existence, and the second worst day, because I have never had a bad experience there and always feel the store is as conscientious regarding their livestock as any other store in the North.
Their selection blows away even larger stores, and they will order anything you need on demand. If you have questions, whether they’re regarding fish, SPS, LPS, soft coral, or freshwater planted, or even goldfish, Jody or Joel WILL have an answer (and it will be accurate– I have always double checked advice, as any hobbyist should).
Unfortunately, it seems the only two people that have reviewed Reef Connections on Unilocal were unsatisfied with two people that I’ve never had to deal with. Talk to Jody or Joel, there is no way you can be disappointed. Furthermore, their prices are more than reasonable, especially compared to those outside of Chico.

Large selection of fish & tanks. The fish always come home healthy & always thrive. They also have a selection of corals. Most helpful staff in town by far.

Reef Connections is your best bet when it comes to fresh and salt-​water aquariums in Chico. The staff is very knowledgeable and can diagnose almost any issue you may have with your aquarium. The owner Jody and his employee Jason are hobbyists themselves and have been working with aquariums for many years. Most places in Chico typically carry only the basic things they know they can sell (i.e. clown fish and… well clown fish.) So hey, if your looking for some overpriced clown fish you probably want to stay away from Reef Connections and shop at Fish etc. where you will be quoted prices according to how rich the owner (Rick) thinks you are. All things aside, I give reef connections 4 out of 5 stars and I will continue to shop there as long as I live in Chico.