How It Is Made And Grown

environmentally friendly aquarium products

Real Reef is made of 100% natural eco friendly green materials. Materials composed of the same mineral building blocks as coral skeleton live rock, without the environmental damage to the World’s Coral reefs. Real Reef is composed of several different types of mineral aggregates and sand. Some are very similar to high end media used in modern Calcium Reactor dosing systems. Real Reef is high in Calcium Carbonate, with amounts in the 82-85% range. Unlike coral skeleton which is primarily Calcium Carbonate, Real Reef contains a variety of essential trace elements and minerals. This remaining 15-18% consists of minerals and trace elements such as: Magnesium, Strontium and Iron.


It takes over 13 steps to manufacturer Real Reef Rock and every piece is unique and different, but not ugly! No two pieces are the same, just like Mother Nature! Real Reefs multiple ingredients are bonded together with natural calcium based binders; we do not use any chemical or synthetic epoxies or glue. It is through this labor intensive proprietary Patent Pending process that makes Real Reef mimic some of the best coral Live Rock shapes the aquarium industry has seen!


Real Reef’s beautiful shades of Purple, Pink and Red come from a water based non-toxic natural pigment. These proprietary pigments are injected and applied through several techniques and processes. Every piece of Real Reef is hand made by our Artisans here at our U.S. facility with pride and creativity. Real Reef is made, grown in the U.S.A and always will be!

Once the Real Reef Rocks are created, they go through a pre grow-out preparation. This pre grow-out freshwater curing process lasts for a minimum of 12 weeks. Once the rock has completed the curing process, it is then transferred to saltwater grow-out for a minimum of 12-16 weeks. Our marine grow-out facility consists of large 3,000 and 10,000 gallon fiberglass raceways in our climate controlled greenhouses. It is in these filtered closed system raceways that Real Reef becomes a biologically active aquarium rock. It is from these grow-out raceway systems that Real Reef is prepared, packed and shipped to distributors and retailers worldwide.