Disclaimer

This disclaimer is an annex to the Conditions of Use and forms part of them.

1. What Reef Network is for

Everything on Reef Network is published for general information and education. It is written for hobbyists, and it describes what is generally understood about keeping marine animals. It is not advice about your tank, your water or your animals.

2. Not professional advice

Reef Network does not provide veterinary, medical, chemical, electrical or legal advice, and nothing here is a substitute for it. If an animal is sick, consult a veterinarian with experience in aquatic species. If you are unsure about electrical work near water, consult a qualified electrician.

3. Livestock is living, and outcomes vary

Marine animals respond differently to the same conditions. Two aquariums with identical readings can produce different results. Nothing on this site is a guarantee that an animal will survive, thrive, grow, colour up or behave as described.

Compatibility information describes tendencies, not certainties. Animals described as reef safe have been observed to behave in ways that are not.

4. Water chemistry, dosing and calculators

Our calculators return estimates from the values you enter. They cannot know your actual tank volume after rock and sand displacement, the accuracy of your test kit, or the concentration of the product you are using.

Before you dose anything:

• Confirm the concentration stated by the manufacturer of your product
• Confirm your parameters with a test kit you trust
• Change one variable at a time, and change it slowly

Overdosing can kill an entire system within hours. Where our figure and the manufacturer’s instructions differ, follow the manufacturer.

5. Species identification

Species entries are compiled from published sources and from the observations of experienced keepers. Identification in the marine hobby is imperfect. Trade names cover several species, and closely related species are routinely confused. Do not rely on an entry on this site as proof of what an animal is for any legal, customs or permit purpose.

6. Your legal responsibilities

Whether you may keep, buy, sell, import, export or transport a given animal depends on where you are. International trade in many marine species is regulated under CITES. In the United States, additional restrictions apply under the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act, and individual states have their own rules.

Checking and complying with the law that applies to you is your responsibility, not ours. Where an entry mentions a legal status, treat it as a starting point for your own enquiry and confirm it with the competent authority.

7. Third-party content and links

We link to manufacturers, retailers, research and other websites. We do not control them and we are not responsible for their content, their products or their practices. A link is not an endorsement. Where a link is commercial, we disclose it, see the Advertising and Affiliate Disclosure.

8. Contributions from users

Comments, reviews, photographs and any future forum posts express the views of the people who wrote them. They are not reviewed for accuracy before publication in every case, and they are not our advice.

9. No warranty

Reef Network is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement.

The limitations on our liability are set out in the Conditions of Use. Nothing in this disclaimer excludes liability that cannot be excluded under the law that applies to you, and some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions.