Awesome shop with super patient and knowledgeable staff. Coming from high tech planted tanks I went to them to buy my first SW AIO. They were one of the only people in the area that actually had kits in stock. Apparently most shops are pulling marine kits since they sit for too long on the shelf. And they have Innovative Marine tanks with all of their official “gadgets”!The shop itself is clean and bright with lots of mid to high end products. They took the time to answer my questions and didn’t treat me like an idiot for not being in the hobby for 50 years already.Definitely going back once I’m done cycling and stabilized to start stocking coral/fish.

Beautiful place to be. Went in do some research on basic reef keeping and to the available selection. The staff were extremely helpful and the tanks were beautiful

Really nice selection, good prices, but customer service was lacking. Guy seemed knowledgeable but the lady was very rude about getting past us and didnt speak a word to us. Hoping she was just having a off day. We like their clean up crew packages, great value.

We visited Barrier reef this week. We found their staff to be extremely knowledgeable and friendly. They helped pack our newly acquired friends for a 5 hour car trip (buying saltwater anything is impossible in our rural area). The fish all arrived home safe and healthy. All are eating the next day and so beautiful. We will shop at this store every chance we can.

Fantastic place to find salt water exotic fish and corals! Staff are friendly and know what they are talking about, so if you have questions be sure to ask them! Large selection of aquarium products that will be sure to grab the attention of those looking at your aquarium! Super cool spot, a little hard to find because it is in the back of the plaza area.

Only second time Ive been there. Beautiful selection love that its a dedicated saltwater store great service. Although I didnt personally get any info because I didnt ask could over hear detailed advice being given to others. Great to be able to get help when needed

So far this is my favorite aquatic pet store in Seattle area. Display tank is great!They have good sales, just check their Facebook page for discounts.Also the store has been remodeled recently.

The staff are incredibly knowledgeable and actually care to ask you about your tank so they can know what to recommend. Definitely going back here when my tank is cycled to get some of their beautiful corals and fish.

I had a bad customer service experience here a couple weeks ago and the owner of Barrier Reef Cyrus has made it right. I was pretty upset and he contacted me and did what he could to ensure I would continue to shop here and value me as a customer. I really appreciate him doing that and he went above and beyond for me and my family. I do recommend shopping here because they are a great store with everything you could need for your aquarium and I am happy to have the bad experience reimbursed. Thank you Cyrus!

The store has everything. I had saltwater tanks years ago and decided to start a small 13.5 gallon saltwater tank, Jeff was very helpful with selecting good corals for the beginning stages.

Amazing customer service . Top quality of fish and coral. A must go to shop.

Clean, organized. Prices are reasonable. Friendly. I will return

Pretty cool store, cant wait for the freshwater fish to come.

Nice and clean fish and reef look very healthy staff are very friendly

This store is about an hour drive for us (Olympia) but its so worth the trip. They have an amazing selection of coral and fish. Staff is friendly and helpful - but they arent overbearing and let you take your time to look at everything. We have gotten some really great deals on some amazing coral at this store.

Its great for new persons

Unsafe! No masks. No social distancing. Way too many people in a small space. Pretending we arent in the midst of a pandemic. Disappointing! A great shop otherwise, just not worth dying for.10/2020. Looks like theyve changed their approach. Much better now.

Small but extremely efficient... anything your salt water aquarium could need or just whatever to make the hobby that much more enjoyable... oh yes and fish, corals, and invertebrates

Great and informative staff here. Also has a decent selection of dry goods. Hard to find initially. Entrance is located by the south exit of the parking lot.

Great store. Lots of fish and corals.

Both the owners and the workers care about their job and the livestock they sell. They are deeply invested on the success of your tank.

Decent selection. Location is odd and very small/crowded.

Great prices, great selection and they know their stuff. Thats hard to find.

A little hard to find but definitely worth finding.Friendly professional staff that is more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. A wide selection of corals and fish. I definitely will be coming back.

Best fish store in the Seattle area. Have variety, decent prices, clean. That said, they are in a slightly sketchy location. On my last mid-Saturday visit (2 wks ago), there were 3 thug looking guys with suped up luxury cars smoking marijuana and playing loud music from their car stereos in the parking spots in front of the shop door. On the shops front door, there is a sign cautioning customers about car prowls.

After I realized they were in the side/back of the building. Small but amazing store. I was very excited to see corals on display in reef tanks and frag tanks. They sell frags for $9.99.

Great fish and coral options, isnt the same once Natalia left... they seem a little more interested in the money then in helping and educating hobbyist.

Excellent selection! They have everything from testing kits and cleaner crews to seahorses and exotic fish. They also have everything in between. We always go in for one thing and leave with 4 or 5. Helpful staff!

Good selection of most thing reef related. Price is a bit higher than other shops in town. But they usually have more selections.

Our primary reef shopping location. Nice fish and frag selection, awesome service! Best display tank ever seen! Prices are also very reasonable and they have fun sale events - but you need to monitor their FB page.

The most knowledgeable staff about all things saltwater. Very friendly too! Great prices and an insane selection of fish/coral

The excellent service and quality of product is outstanding, the pricing is comparable with some online shops..

Great selection, educated staff and healthy animals.

Well maintained tanks and healthy livestock. Very knowledgeable and super helpful. Can not recommend enough for anyones saltwater needs.

Great staff and the remodel is worth seeing.

Staff is super friendly and professional. They have high quality corals and livestock.

I loved seeing all the salt water fish and soft corals, many beautiful colorful beauties.Just starting my 20 gallon saltwater small but will be lively with colors little by little with time.

Great place! Very knowledgeable

Very helpful staff, very knowledgeable...I live just outside Salem and they double bagged my purchases, packed them in a foam box, and included a heat pack to keep them warm for the 4 hour ride home. I will be back!

This is the best Fish store I know of in Western Washington. I have been to many. This store has the cleanest tanks. The live stock all look healthy and happy. They seem to only carry good stuff. The staff is always knowledgeable and if you catch them when they dont have a lot of people in the store they will spend a lot of time working with you on any issues or questions you have.I am a happy customers.

This is an honorable seller of livestock. Natalia called my company twice just to be sure I knew that the anemone I ordered was not as nice as in the photo on the website. She and I talked for a while on the phone. Ive been keeping reef aquariums for 20 years and she definitely knows the trade. She even gave me an extra frag. Its not often you get an owner that calls about product quality and then texts with shipping updates. A++

Fantastic customer service and selection. Natalia, Matt, Tim and Cy have helped me to keep and maintain an incredible tank. Well with the visit and connection. They are remarkable.

Best reef / LFS in the area. Staff is very helpful and knowledgeable. Natalia in particular gives good, straight advice and knows what shes doing. My go-to for local reefing stock and supplies.

Hands down the best saltwater store in the northwest. The selection and quality is unmatched by anyone in the state, and on top of that the prices are unbeatable for the quality. The staff is extreamly knowledgeable, friendly, and always happy to help. Kinda hard to find behind the McDonalds, but its worth finding.

This place is by far the best place to get salt water fish and corals.

One of the best saltwater aquarium shops in greater area.

Awesome place for saltwater aquariums... prices are reasonable too

I drive from Everett to go here because its one of the only decent LFS that I would actually buy from. Its a hidden gem. Staff are always helpful, corals and fish look healthy. $10 frag tank. I wanted a certain coral that he didnt have in the frag tank so he took a piece off of his display tank for me. I think its safe to say this is my go-to store.

Beautiful selection. Great little store.

This place is kind of hidden. Its on the backside of another building. Worth hunting down though.They have really good pricing. One of the best selections of saltwater fish and coral. Staff is well informed and can educate buyers on what they are picking up.If youre looking for saltwater items is this the local place to hunt down.

Best saltwater store I’ve been to hands down. I’ll make the drive down any day, it’s absolutely worth it.

Consistently has the items I need and always works on doing whats right for the customer. Awesome frag, fish, and invert selection and decent prices all around.

Favorite place to go. Knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Small but has everything and the staff is very helpful

Lovely staff that were very knowledgeable and friendly. We came down from Canada and were unsure what we could bring back so they really helped us out by doing some research with us. We picked up a green hairy mushroom and a small xenia and got it across the border properly.As a side note for anyone bringing corals back to Canada, our border guards searched for about an hour and found an article of some sort saying all non crustaceans and non mollusks invertebrates intended for home tank use are allowed across.The one con i would say is that it was fairly hard to find as it was tucked behind a dentists, however it is one of the nicest salt water shops i have been to and would highly recommend it.

This place is great! Staff is soooo knowledgeable

Always a pleasure to walk through your store. Thank you to natalia and mac and unfortunately I didnt catch the other mans name for all for your help! See you next time

Barrier reef is amazing spot to check out reef systems and supplies for your reef setupExcellent customer service and great location

Always something new to see. Best place to get saltwater fish.

Barrier reef is definitely one of the best lfs in the western wa area. I have been going there on and off for ten years now. Everything is healthy and well cared for, the store is clean and the majority of the staff is nice. They are all very knowledgeable and if they dont know the answer they will find out for you,rather then give you bad info.The coral selection is good the fish selection is good and prices are fair. They even have a 9.99 frag tank tank.Natalia is always helpful and hilarious and very knowledgeable

Always a friendly face there willing to help!

The staff is very friendly and very knowledgeable. Natalia is awesome, along with everyone else there. As a new customer, I’m very happy with the honesty and valuable input, as well as the friendly customer service.

Entrance to this place is kind of hard to find as it is tucked in the back of the building. Parking may also be a challenge as it is shared parking for other stores in the area. The place is usually packed with hobbyists, so you know they are doing good business. It can get a little crazy, with shoppers glancing around and stores personnel running back and forth to help customers. Prices are a little on the high side.There is a cheap frag tank upfront, which is kind of a joke because the ones they offer cheap look like they are dying. They have a loyalty program though so if you buy livestock regularly from them you at least get some of your money back in the form of a discount or freebie after reaching a certain spending threshold. Fish look healthy and there are some nice pieces of corals as well, which is most important anyway.

The place is a little bit hard to find but definitely worth the visit. All the livestock was very healthy and looking good.

Entrance is behind the dental office. Fair prices and great looking tanks.

The staff is helpful and they have a very good selection of corals, invertebrates and fish.

Good variety of fish, great staff

This is my go to store for stocking my tank with coral or livestock. Theyve got something great going on and have beautiful coral and fish for sale. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in maintaining a marine tank.

This place is a hidden gem of the under water world!

Love this place for coral needs! Always helpful

Extremely knowledgeable staff. Clean store. Healthy corals, fish, and inverts. Great establishment.

The very first Saltwater store ive visited when I first started. Wonderful and very knowledgeable staff. Amazing wonder and great customer service. Cy, the owner will do his best to help you out . Prices are average although they have sales through some holidays and even random sales on certain things. They will order anything that you can possibly think of when it comes of saltwater. In addition they also do maintenance, offer deals on red sea tanks, and can point you in the right direction. Their store is packed with corals and fishes, plus all the equipment needed to start your very own saltwater fish tank. They offer huge discounts during their anniversary sales in addition to coupons and raffle prizes. Although its a bit small and doesnt have their own restroom.

The only place I shop for all my reefing needs

Service sucks. Can find better corrals at other stores. Employees act as if they are the only ones selling fish.

Great shop, always friendly and helpful to us newbs! Great looking tanks too, gives me something to strive for.

Very helpful, knowledgeable staff. Worth the trip from Olympia.

Smart store with amazing stock and staff

Very clean tanks, beautiful display tank. They seemed to be well stocked with livestock and hard goods. They are very good in letting you know when new livestock is coming in and what they have coming in.

Has everything you need and the lady at counter is vary nice and knows alot about saltwater tanks

Love the fish!! Love tbe yearly sale!!

Best marine fish store in the area! Highly recommended.UPDATE: Since writing this review and having been to several other stores, that tjis store is still one of if not the best store in the area. Their selection and health of theor specimens canmot be beat.

This is a popular place and you might have to wait your turn, but the customer service is great as well as the quality of fish/corals/etc.

Great prices and very helpful staff

Excellent livestock and great service once you find them at the rear of the building

Maintained my reef aquarium for 3 years. Multiple schedule changes and poor communication. Tank looked good, but the maintenance schedule changed constantly and they rarely informed me ahead of time. It was a constant battle to get them to maintain regularity. When there were issues, they could take 1-2 days to respond as well. Not a good formula for a reef tank. Stopped their service after the 4th excuse this year on why the service tech simply didnt show up on he scheduled day. Multiple excuses.

The whole store itself is awesome. the staff are super friendly and informative. plus everything was beautiful and well taken care of!!

Had a great experience at berrier reef today. The staff and I believe it was the owner spent lots of time with me picking out corals that would be good for my tank. Prices are great and they have a great selection of SPS. Gorgeous display tanks and a cool 5-10$ frag tank. Im new to the area and this is the best saltwater fish/coral store I have been too. Its a little hard to find, but its there behind the dentist sort of in the back of the strip mall.

Best selection, great prices and super knowledgeable staff. Best salt water aquarium supply store in the region.

Great selection and well kept tanks

Easily the best marine aquarium store around. Great staff and good prices with a selection that is better than any of the other stores in Overlake, Renton, Kirkland, etc. Ive put in the time to visit many of the stores around and none of them are comparable to Barrier in their saltwater selection.

Really friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great prices as well

Staff is well-informed and there is a wide range of Aquarium products, coral, and fish.

Natalia is always very helpful! Favorite place.

Friendly, knowledgable staff. A huge resource for the saltwater community in the greater seattle area.

Best Saltwater Aquarium Store north of Seattle.

BEST PLACE EVER for ALL your saltwater tank needs...they sell almost everything, and if they dont have it they will get it

Bought a clownfish to pair with my 6 year clownfish earlier this year. Turned out it had a parasite that killed both quickly within a week, even with the help of medication. I just wanted to make her happy and not be alone any longer, but my actions ended up killing her. Watched her slowly disintegrate day by day.I thought all the good reviews would ensure that all fish would be sickness free, and would not require quarantine, but I learned a hard lesson.Please quarantine anything you buy from here, so it does not harm the others in your tank.

Barrier Reef is definitely the place to go in the area to purchase high-end corals and livestock for a Saltwater fish tank or reef, but is still worth a visit if you are looking for the saltwater basics. Keep in mind that while they have a large selection of high quality corals, many come at a steep price, especially the livestock that comes from ORA. You get what you pay for, and often it means hard to find corals and fish, and great service. Note: Barrier can be hard to find at first, but if you go behind the strip mall and the Mcdonalds you will see a few parking spots and a plain door in the wall, that is Barrier.

The Fish are great My dad got the Corals but we were hoping that there would be some Torch corals and some Scoly Corals but overall its great!

Love! Great place for saltwater fish and reef. Natalia is the best.