The front of Reef 18-025 is exposed to the prevailing wind and sea conditions found within the lagoon of the Great Barrier Reef. Manta tow surveys were conducted on the reef slope. The reef slope is generally steep dropping off into more than 20m of water.

The benthic community was dominated by hard coral, but coralline/turf algae was also common. Hard coral cover on the reef front was high composed mainly of Acropora species. The dominant coral lifeform was tabulate, but other forms such as digitate and sub-massive corals were also present in decreasing order of abundance. Coral bleaching was not present.

The fish abundance on the front of Reef 18-025 was moderate. Conspicuous groups of reef fishes included parrotfish, surgeonfish, damselfish and baitfish. Crown-of-thorns starfish were observed on the front of Reef 18-025 below levels that may be expected to impact on live coral cover. White syndromes (such as white band disease or shutdown reaction) were present on hard corals.