The second flank of Reef 18-025 is partly 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 flat. The reef slope has no discernible edge . The reef structure has many features including gullies, caves and overhangs.

The benthic community was dominated by coralline/turf algae, but soft coral and hard coral were also common. Hard coral cover on the reef second flank was low with no one coral genus dominant. The dominant coral lifeform was massive, but other forms such as tabulate, branching and digitate corals were also present in decreasing order of abundance. Coral bleaching was present on a few individual colonies.

The fish abundance on the second flank of Reef 18-025 was moderate. Conspicuous groups of reef fishes included parrotfish, damselfish, fusiliers, baitfish and pelagic predators. No crown-of-thorns starfish were observed on the second flank of Reef 18-025 .