Terms of Service

Effective Date: April 30, 2026 (2026-04-30)

Last Updated: April 30, 2026

Welcome to ARC Reef (https://arcreef.com), operated by ARC Reef (Atlantic Reef Conservation), operating as Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“ARC Reef,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of our website, products, biological materials, customer support, and any related services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, placing an order, completing checkout, or otherwise utilizing our Service, you (“you,” “user,” or “customer”) acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. These Terms apply to all users, including browsers, vendors, B2C customers, and B2B institutional researchers.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

1. Biological & Pharmacological Disclaimer

ARC Reef operates a state and federally licensed aquaculture facility and marine research laboratory under NOAA Federal Permit AQU-069, FWC Wholesale Dealer License WD-190448, and FDOA Aquaculture Product Certificate AQ0223588. The products sold on this domain—including but not limited to Coralline Algae spores, nitrifying bacteria, marine aquascaping rock, and related chemical supplements—are strictly for use in marine aquariums, aquaculture environments, and controlled laboratory research.

  • Non-Human Consumption: Under no circumstances are any ARC Reef biological or chemical products intended for human or domestic animal consumption. Products have not been evaluated by the FDA and make no therapeutic or nutritional claims.
  • Closed-System Liability: Marine aquariums are complex, highly volatile chemical ecosystems. While our products are extensively tested and verified for efficacy, ARC Reef assumes no liability for the loss of livestock, coral mortality, or system crashes resulting from the introduction of our products into your specific biological baseline. The end-user assumes all risk associated with altering their water chemistry and biological filtration.
  • Acclimation Responsibility: Customers are responsible for following all published acclimation, drip, and quarantine protocols provided with each shipment. Failure to follow biological transit and acclimation guidance voids associated guarantees.

2. Institutional Research & B2B Engagements

ARC Reef provides specialized biological payloads, single-species isolates, and custom physical infrastructure to universities, government agencies, and independent laboratories. Engagements of this nature are subject to the following strict operational constraints:

  • Intellectual Property of Strains: All living biological isolates, coralline spores, and bacterial matrices supplied by ARC Reef remain the intellectual property of ARC Reef. Institutional buyers are expressly prohibited from reverse-engineering, commercially propagating, sequencing for redistribution, or reselling ARC Reef biological strains without a formalized, written licensing agreement.
  • Research Confidentiality: As outlined in our Privacy Policy, ARC Reef maintains absolute confidentiality regarding the nature of our clients’ academic studies and custom payload requests, functioning strictly as a secure biological supplier.
  • Compliance & Containment: Institutions purchasing native-only or quarantined species for settlement studies assume total legal responsibility for adhering to their local environmental regulations, EEZ restrictions, CITES requirements where applicable, and bio-security containment protocols.

3. Intellectual Property & Copyright

The ARC Reef brand, the physical designs of our proprietary products (such as the Reef Stacker system), our customized methodologies, and all site content are legally protected assets.

  • Site Content: All text, graphics, logos, high-resolution underwater imagery, scientific documentation, and proprietary methodologies on this domain are the exclusive property of ARC Reef and are protected by United States and international copyright laws.
  • Usage Restrictions: You may not systematically extract, reproduce, scrape, mirror, or harvest data, product descriptions, scientific documentation, or imagery from this website for commercial use, AI training datasets, or competitor analysis. Limited fair-use educational citation is permitted with attribution to ARC Reef and a link to the source page.
  • DMCA Takedown Procedure: If you believe content on this site infringes your copyright, submit a notice compliant with 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) to our designated agent at info@arcreef.com with subject line “DMCA Takedown Request.”

4. E-Commerce Parameters & Refusal of Service

We reserve the right to refuse, cancel, or terminate service to anyone, at any time, for any lawful reason, particularly if we detect or reasonably suspect fraudulent activity, chargeback abuse, false D.O.A. claims, intent to reverse-engineer our products, address or identity spoofing, or violation of aquaculture transport regulations.

  • Pricing & Modifications: Prices for our physical and biological products are subject to change without notice. We shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, price change, suspension, or discontinuance of a product line. Pricing errors will be honored at our discretion.
  • Logistical Policies: By executing a purchase, you legally bind yourself to the constraints outlined in our Shipping Policy and our Return Policy & Biological Transit Guarantee, both incorporated herein by reference.
  • Order Acceptance: Receipt of an order confirmation email does not constitute acceptance of your order. ARC Reef reserves the right to verify and validate orders prior to fulfillment.

5. User-Generated Content & Media Submissions

If you voluntarily submit materials (e.g., product reviews, photographs of your aquascape, D.O.A. claim imagery, testimonials, or correspondence) via email, site upload, social media tagging, or any other channel, you grant ARC Reef a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, and display those assets in our marketing, educational literature, and product documentation, with attribution to your first name and state of residence (or as you specify at submission). You retain copyright to your submissions. You may request removal of attribution by emailing info@arcreef.com; however, prior commercial uses already in print or distribution may persist until natural retirement.

You represent and warrant that any content you submit (a) is your original work, (b) does not infringe third-party rights, and (c) does not contain unlawful, defamatory, or harmful material.

6. Biological Disposal & Environmental Containment

ARC Reef products contain living Florida-native marine organisms, including coralline algae spores, gametes, larval stages, nitrifying bacteria, and other biological cultures. To prevent the unauthorized introduction of cultured species into wild ecosystems, customers, institutional researchers, and any party in possession of ARC Reef biological products agree to comply with the following disposal protocols, in accordance with U.S. Lacey Act provisions, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) aquaculture transport regulations, and ARC Reef’s federally licensed containment standards.

  • Strict Prohibition on Environmental Release: Under no circumstances may any ARC Reef biological product—live or dormant, including spores, gametes, larval forms, vegetative tissue, or any associated water column—be discharged into storm drains, runoff drains, sewers connected to untreated outflows, natural waterways, intracoastal systems, beaches, oceans, retention ponds, or any other pathway capable of introducing biological material into the natural environment.
  • Approved Disposal Methods: Customers must dispose of unused, unwanted, or expired biological products using one of the following approved methods:
    • Municipal water disposal: Discharge into a sink or toilet connected to a municipal water and wastewater treatment system, where biological material will be neutralized through standard treatment processes.
    • Inactivation prior to solid-waste disposal: Allow the biological material to remain free of life-supporting conditions (no salinity, no aeration, no light) for a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours to ensure complete organism inactivation, then dispose of the inactivated material in standard household solid waste.
  • Acknowledgment of Liability: By accepting delivery of any ARC Reef biological product, you accept full personal and institutional responsibility for proper disposal in accordance with this section. ARC Reef disclaims all liability for any environmental, regulatory, or civil consequences arising from improper disposal by the end user. Violations of federal or state biological release regulations are the sole responsibility of the disposing party.
  • Institutional Disposal Standards: Universities, government agencies, and laboratories engaged in B2B research must dispose of ARC Reef biological materials in accordance with their institutional bio-security and IBC (Institutional Biosafety Committee) protocols, which shall meet or exceed the standards described in this section.

7. Force Majeure

ARC Reef shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance, including biological shipment delays, due to events outside our reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, weather events, hurricanes, red tide events, wildlife disease outbreaks, regulatory shutdowns, supply-chain disruptions, carrier failures, internet outages, pandemics, war, terrorism, or governmental action. In the event of force majeure affecting fulfillment, we will notify affected customers and may, at our discretion, issue store credit, refunds, or rescheduled shipments.

8. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ARC Reef, Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC, our directors, officers, biologists, employees, affiliates, contractors, and suppliers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your violation of these Terms; (b) your misuse of our products, biologicals, or services; (c) your violation of any third-party right, including any intellectual property or privacy right; or (d) your violation of any applicable law or regulation, including aquaculture transport, CITES, or environmental compliance regulations.

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, in no case shall ARC Reef, Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC, our directors, officers, biologists, employees, affiliates, or suppliers be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind—including, without limitation, lost profits, lost revenue, lost data, or replacement costs—arising from your use of any of our products or the inability to use the Service. Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid ARC Reef in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars ($100.00).

10. Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

  • Notice & Cure: Before initiating formal proceedings, you agree to first contact ARC Reef in writing at info@arcreef.com with a description of the dispute and proposed resolution, allowing thirty (30) days for ARC Reef to respond and attempt resolution.
  • Binding Arbitration: Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that cannot be resolved through the notice-and-cure process shall be settled by binding arbitration. Arbitration shall be administered by an arbitration provider selected by ARC Reef in its reasonable discretion, with a preference for the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration shall be conducted in Miami-Dade County, Florida, in English, under Florida law. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
  • Class Action Waiver: You and ARC Reef agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated, or representative action. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims of more than one person.
  • Exception: Either party may bring an individual action in small claims court for disputes within that court’s jurisdiction, or seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual property violations.

11. Governing Law

These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. Subject to Section 9 (Dispute Resolution), exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any non-arbitrable matter shall lie with the state and federal courts located in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

12. Modifications to Terms

ARC Reef reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to modify, update, or replace any part of these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, by email to registered customers. Your continued use of the Service following any change constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. We encourage periodic review.

13. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or arbitrator to be unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible, and the remaining provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect.

14. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Shipping Policy, and Return Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and ARC Reef regarding your use of the Service, superseding any prior or contemporaneous agreements, communications, or proposals, whether oral or written.

15. Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. ARC Reef may assign these Terms freely, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

16. Related Policies

These Terms of Service operate in conjunction with:

17. Contact Information

Questions about the Terms of Service should be directed to our laboratory operations team:

  • Legal Entity: Atlantic Reef Conservation LLC
  • Email: info@arcreef.com
  • Phone: +1 (800) 268-7625
  • Address: 1521 Alton Rd. #138, Miami Beach, FL 33139, United States