Terms of Service
Terms of Service
Essential Reef
Effective upon publication
Welcome to Essential Reef. These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Essential Reef mobile application (the "App"), operated by ESSENTIAL REEF & CO. LLC, a Florida limited liability company ("Essential Reef," "we," "us," "our").
By creating an account or using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.
1. Who Can Use Essential Reef
- You must be at least 13 years old. Users between 13 and 18 must have parental or guardian permission.
- You must provide accurate information when creating an account.
- You must have a valid invite code to create a new account. Essential Reef is invite-only.
- You may not create multiple accounts, impersonate others, or register on behalf of someone else without authorization.
- You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure. Notify us immediately at support@essentialreef.com if you suspect unauthorized access.
2. Invite Codes
- Invite codes are personal to the member who generated them.
- Generating invite codes is a privilege we may grant, limit, or revoke at any time.
- Selling, trading, or monetizing invite codes is prohibited. Accounts found to be doing so may be suspended.
3. Community Guidelines
By using the App, you agree to follow our Community Guidelines (available at essentialreef.com/pages/community-guidelines). Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, or permanent ban.
Summary of prohibited behavior:
- Harassment, hate speech, or targeted abuse
- Threats of violence or sharing content that incites violence
- Sexually explicit content, including in DMs
- Child sexual abuse material (zero tolerance — reported to law enforcement)
- Impersonation, identity fraud, or account sharing
- Spam, scams, or deceptive commercial practices
- Selling or coordinating sales of prohibited livestock (endangered species, illegal-to-ship-in-state species, etc.)
- Harassment of sellers or buyers following legitimate transactions
- Coordinated off-platform activity that violates these Terms
- Bypassing moderation (block evasion, creating new accounts after ban)
4. User-Generated Content
Your Content
- You retain ownership of content you post.
- By posting content, you grant Essential Reef a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, and modify your content for the purpose of operating and promoting the App.
- This license ends when you delete your content, except as needed for legal compliance, backups, and good-faith enforcement.
Your Responsibility
- You are solely responsible for content you post.
- Do not post content that infringes on others' intellectual property, violates privacy rights, or contains unlawful material.
- You warrant that you have the rights to post any content you share.
Our Role
- We do not pre-screen content. Content is user-generated.
- We may remove content that violates these Terms or Community Guidelines.
- We may suspend or ban accounts that repeatedly violate these Terms.
- We respond to reports within 24 hours.
5. Marketplace and Auctions
Essential Reef provides a platform for users to list, buy, and sell reef-related items (livestock, equipment, supplies). Essential Reef is not a party to these transactions.
Our Role
- We provide listing tools, auction mechanics, and communication tools.
- We do not process payments. Buyers and sellers arrange payment directly off-platform.
- We do not handle shipping, delivery, or product quality.
- We do not guarantee the condition, authenticity, or legality of listed items.
Seller Responsibilities
- Accurately describe items you list.
- Comply with all applicable laws (state, federal, international) regarding shipping and sale of livestock or equipment.
- Deliver items as described and in the condition represented.
- Handle buyer communication and disputes professionally.
- Follow through on committed transactions.
Buyer Responsibilities
- Pay for committed purchases promptly.
- Communicate shipping details and preferences clearly.
- Inspect items upon arrival and report issues directly to the seller.
- Leave honest, factual reviews.
Disputes
- Payment disputes, shipping disputes, and product-quality disputes are between buyer and seller.
- Essential Reef does not arbitrate financial disputes.
- We will review and act on violations of Community Guidelines arising from disputes (e.g., harassment, scams, fraud).
- Repeated violators or documented scammers will be banned.
Prohibited Items
You may not list:
- Species prohibited by federal, state, or international law
- Wild-caught specimens in violation of collection regulations
- Stolen property
- Hazardous materials that cannot be legally shipped
- Items misrepresented in listing
6. Auctions
- Auctions are binding. Winning bidders agree to purchase at their winning bid.
- Sellers may not shill-bid on their own auctions.
- Flash auction rules (rapid-close anti-sniping extensions) are enforced by the App.
- Bid retractions are not permitted except where allowed by applicable law.
- Essential Reef is not responsible for auction outcomes.
7. Fees and Payments
- The App is currently free to use.
- Future features (e.g., subscriptions for AI chatbot unlimited messages) may be subject to fees.
- Fees will be clearly disclosed before you are charged.
- We reserve the right to change pricing with 30 days notice.
- No transaction fees on marketplace sales (at launch).
8. Intellectual Property
Our Intellectual Property
- The Essential Reef name, logo, trademarks, and service marks are our property.
- The App's code, design, and features are our intellectual property.
- You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer the App without permission.
Others' Intellectual Property
- Respect others' intellectual property.
- Do not post content that infringes on copyrights, trademarks, or other rights.
- We respond to DMCA takedown notices per our DMCA Policy (essentialreef.com/pages/dmca).
9. AI Features (When Available)
Essential Reef may offer AI-powered features (tank suggestions, chatbot assistance). These features:
- Are provided "as is" without warranty
- May produce inaccurate or incomplete information
- Should not be relied upon as professional advice (veterinary, legal, financial)
- Are not a substitute for consulting qualified professionals
- May use third-party AI models (e.g., Anthropic Claude); your queries and context may be sent to these services
Do not use AI features for medical or emergency situations with your livestock. If a coral or fish shows signs of serious illness, consult a reef-aware veterinarian or experienced local reefer.
10. Account Suspension and Termination
By Us
We may suspend or terminate your account if you:
- Violate these Terms or Community Guidelines
- Engage in fraudulent, illegal, or abusive behavior
- Threaten the safety or well-being of other users
- Provide false information
- Circumvent a previous ban
We will notify you of the reason when reasonably possible.
By You
You may delete your account at any time by emailing support@essentialreef.com. We will delete your account and personal data within 30 days, subject to legal retention requirements.
Survival of Terms
Sections covering intellectual property, limitation of liability, indemnification, dispute resolution, and governing law survive termination.
11. Disclaimers
THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.
We do not warrant that:
- The App will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free
- Content will be accurate, reliable, or complete
- Transactions between users will be successfully completed
- Any specific result will be achieved from using the App
12. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ESSENTIAL REEF SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenues, data, or use, arising out of or related to your use of the App.
Our total liability to you for any claim related to the App is limited to the greater of:
- The amount you have paid us in the 12 months before the claim, or
- $100 USD
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of liability. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
13. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Essential Reef, its owners, employees, and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from:
- Your use of the App
- Your content
- Your violation of these Terms or applicable law
- Your violation of third-party rights
- Disputes with other users
14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the App shall be resolved through:
- Informal resolution first: Contact us at support@essentialreef.com; we'll try to resolve disputes within 30 days.
- Binding arbitration: If informal resolution fails, disputes shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, except where prohibited by law.
- No class actions: You agree that disputes will be resolved individually, not as part of a class action.
Small claims: you may bring individual claims in small claims court if they qualify.
15. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified via:
- In-app notice
- Email to your registered address
- Posted on essentialreef.com
Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance. If you disagree with changes, delete your account before they take effect.
16. Miscellaneous
- Entire agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, form the entire agreement between you and Essential Reef.
- Severability: If any provision is found invalid, the rest remains in effect.
- No waiver: Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver.
- Assignment: You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them to a successor.
- Headings: Section headings are for convenience and do not affect interpretation.
17. Contact Us
Questions about these Terms?
- Email: support@essentialreef.com
- Mail: ESSENTIAL REEF & CO. LLC, 1555 NE 176 ST, North Miami Beach, FL 33162
© 2026 ESSENTIAL REEF & CO. LLC — All rights reserved.