Hi from DFWMAS's founder

Hi fellow reefers! My name is Bob Coco, I was the founder of DFWMAS (formerly DFWMAA, DFW Marine Aquiculturist Society) back in 1991. A little history, I started the society with a $30 add in the Dallas newspaper. It grew so fast, we had over 120 active members when I left in 1995. You have to remember, no internet back then, so we relied on our meetings to share info.

I'm so pleased to see the society strong and active after all these years. Keep it up!

Best regards,
Bob

hi, Bob. Good to see you back on the board. Thanks for establishing the board. It's kicking very good.Could you post some pix of yours so members know who the founder is.

Think the BOD should give Bob a life time free membership. Maybe a special fishy or something.

Glen, i am with you. 100% agree. Without Bob, we dont have DFwmas. He is a pioneer.

That's pretty cool and thanks. You still live in the area and still an active reefer?

[Marc]

Hi Bob,

I'd really like to get some details of the early years to create some type of historical write up from the club's inception up to now. This topic has arisen a number of times, but never gets followed up upon. Would you be interested in getting the groundwork started?

Hi Bob,

I'd really like to get some details of the early years to create some type of historical write up from the club's inception up to now. This topic has arisen a number of times, but never gets followed up upon. Would you be interested in getting the groundwork started?

Hi Marc,

First let me say thanks for keeping DFWMAS going. It's hard work, as you know.

I'd certainly be glad to help you with history. Whatever you need, just let me know. I'll give a brief summary and we can add to it later.

I had been a mini-reefer for many years when I moved to Dallas (Grand Prairie) in 1991. Up until then, the greatest source of reef/saltwater info was Marine Fish Monthly Magazine. I had often corresponded with Dr Bob Goemans (then a writer for the mag) about reef issues etc, and one day when we were talking on the phone, I casually mentioned how nice it was to discuss "reefs" with other people. He then said, "well why don't you start a local society." That was it! I took out ads in the Dallas and Fort Worth Papers, simply saying, "Marine Aquarium Society now forming".
The calls started coming almost immediately. We called ourselves the DFW Marine Aquiculturist Society. Withing a month we had over 1 dozen members and had our first meeting at my house. We always tried to have meetings where there was a tank, and we rotated between member's houses. Later at LHS's as well. We changed our name to DFWMAS a few years later to be more in tune with the other MAS's around the country.


I began publishing a monthly newsletter with club activities and articles. We actually had many members who never came to meetings but suscribed to the newsletter, all across the country too. I'm curious, do you have any of our old newsletters? I kept the historical copies in binders and passed them on to Tim Stewart, who was the President after me. They would contain a lot of historical info, dates, etc. I think I may even has some files on old floppy. I'll check. I'll try to recreate a history for you. Anything you need let me know.

Cheers,
Bob

That's pretty cool and thanks. You still live in the area and still an active reefer?

You're welcome Adam. Unfortunately my job forced me to move from Dallas, but yes, I still am a reefer! I now live in New Hampshire and own a ice hockey retail store. I work 80hrs a week so don't have time to run and maintain the big 200 gallons reefs I use to. When I was in Dallas, I had three reefs going in my house. My main tank was a 200G Oceanic, with two built in overflows. I used a Oceanic Wet Dry, two skimmers, a Tunze in tank and one in the sump. I had ozone reactors, oxygen reactors, dosing pumps, ph/orp controllers with ozone to maintain reef at a constant 385mv. Two huge pumps gave great circulation. Of course a 1/4 hp chiller for Dallas! It was lighted by 3, 175W 5500k metal halides and 1 40w actinic. The tank had 400 lbs of live rock and a bare bottom. I sucsessfully kept and grew just about every coral available at the time. This reef was definately a showcase. I also had a 58G reef and a 5 gal micro-reef which is still running all these years without ever being broken down.

Cheers,
Bob

[Rick]

Bob I have read some of your past threads and knew you were in the New England area. As a native Vermonter and for the past 30 years a resident in Texas, at this time of year at least I would trade climates. Which part of N.H. did you open the store in?
I would also extend a gracious handshake for the effort you put out to start and marine society in this area. I am sure you would be happy to know that the club has grown and continues to grow with members signing up almost weekly.
One of the main reasons it has grown faster the past few years is the visibility of this website. With a few hiccups from time to time, overall I think it is going in the right direction.
If you ever find yourself going to a MACNA convention, the next one in three weeks in the D.C. area, you would find a great number of DFWMAS attending. If not this year maybe next, but I know the many of us attending would love to sit down with you over a few cold brews and talk about the club past and present.

[Marc]

Unfortunately, a harddrive crash lost many of our older newsletters before I became president. I have about 10 or 15 issues that are printed, and one day they need to be scanned in and made available that way. It is too much to retype them, that is for sure.

This is great. I appreciate your willingness to help get this started.

Hi Rick,

I do miss the DFW area, the weather is another story. I can remember my chiller working hard on those 105 degree days and dumping the hot exhaust right into my living room. The fish/corals were a comfy 76 degrees and we were sweating out butts off even with the house AC on max!

I'm very impressed with the DFWMAS site. It's awesome. The internet has really expanded the sharing of info for reefers.

Some day, I'll make it back to DFW and will certainly attend a meeting and meet all you guys!

Cheers,
Bob

Bob I have read some of your past threads and knew you were in the New England area. As a native Vermonter and for the past 30 years a resident in Texas, at this time of year at least I would trade climates. Which part of N.H. did you open the store in?
I would also extend a gracious handshake for the effort you put out to start and marine society in this area. I am sure you would be happy to know that the club has grown and continues to grow with members signing up almost weekly.
One of the main reasons it has grown faster the past few years is the visibility of this website. With a few hiccups from time to time, overall I think it is going in the right direction.
If you ever find yourself going to a MACNA convention, the next one in three weeks in the D.C. area, you would find a great number of DFWMAS attending. If not this year maybe next, but I know the many of us attending would love to sit down with you over a few cold brews and talk about the club past and present.

Bob, it is truely an honor and a pleasure to hear from you.
I do agree with others that you've Earned the right of Lifetime free passage and membership. It might be worth while to put together a "group buy" of sorts to get you a visit down here for one of our Meetings
Just a thanks and some food for thought for the rest of the group.

Russ

Bob, it is truely an honor and a pleasure to hear from you.
I do agree with others that you've Earned the right of Lifetime free passage and membership. It might be worth while to put together a "group buy" of sorts to get you a visit down here for one of our Meetings
Just a thanks and some food for thought for the rest of the group.

Russ

Thanks Russ,

I get great reward seeing the DFWMAS still going strong, no need for any freebees. After my daughter heads off to college next year, we'll be free to travel more and certainly will make it to Dallas area , our adopted "home town".

Keep up the support! Nothing better than a local MAS!

Hello Bob, just wanted to add to all the other kudos and tell you how happy I am also that you got this club started. There's so many of us that enjoy it soooo much.

I would also like to let you know that my next door neighbor is from NH. she has a lot of family there now, they are around the Bethlehem, Pelham ,Nashua, Hudson and Salem New Hampshire areas.

Thanks to you again though, would love to have you come and attend a meeting with us sometime.

Hello Bob, just wanted to add to all the other kudos and tell you how happy I am also that you got this club started. There's so many of us that enjoy it soooo much.

I would also like to let you know that my next door neighbor is from NH. she has a lot of family there now, they are around the Bethlehem, Pelham ,Nashua, Hudson and Salem New Hampshire areas.

Thanks to you again though, would love to have you come and attend a meeting with us sometime.

Hi Granny!

Nice to hear from you. Tell your neighbor I live in Hudson. May live close to her relatives, we are a small town.... compared to the DFW size towns. Still, what's cool is a new LFS just opened in our town, by a bunch of Boston Reefer's Society members. They took over a floundering store that was mainly a base for aquarium maint business. I visited them on Saturday. The store is going to be awesome. My luck!

Cheers,
Bob

[Rick]

Still, what's cool is a new LFS just opened in our town, by a bunch of Boston Reefer's Society members. They took over a floundering store that was mainly a base for aquarium maint business. I visited them on Saturday. The store is going to be awesome.

You talking about The Aquarium Gallery?

Still, what's cool is a new LFS just opened in our town, by a bunch of Boston Reefer's Society members. They took over a floundering store that was mainly a base for aquarium maint business. I visited them on Saturday. The store is going to be awesome.

You talking about The Aquarium Gallery?

Yes it is! Do you know the guys?

Hi Bob, I will pass this info. on to my neighbor. She was quite excited when I told her about you, she said to be sure to let her know when I hear from you.
We had another really good club meeting tonight (oops, last night) at one of the fish stores in Haltom City (sub. of Fort Worth). I always enjoy the meetings so much, they are really a lot of fun, and everyone is just soooo nice, thanks again to you of course for getting them started....

[Rick]

Still, what's cool is a new LFS just opened in our town, by a bunch of Boston Reefer's Society members. They took over a floundering store that was mainly a base for aquarium maint business. I visited them on Saturday. The store is going to be awesome.

You talking about The Aquarium Gallery?

Yes it is! Do you know the guys?

No not personally but a couple of years ago in Louisville I met several guys from the BRS. And ever since, I look in on them from time to time to see what is happening. In fact I talked to Joe Scavo the president of the BRS tonight about drinking plans this weekend.
When I saw you post that about that new store up there, I figured that was the one and thought I would surprise you with the name.

No not personally but a couple of years ago in Louisville I met several guys from the BRS. And ever since, I look in on them from time to time to see what is happening. In fact I talked to Joe Scavo the president of the BRS tonight about drinking plans this weekend.
When I saw you post that about that new store up there, I figured that was the one and thought I would surprise you with the name. [/quote]

"drinking" plans??? Is that some new homebuilt reactor? I have some drinking plans of a different sort, in fact partaking right as we speak.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to when they get all their tanks cycled and stock in. Looks like to be a good store, owned by society reefers. Good timing too, my lovely wife of 29 yrs accidently hit the fragile dial of my heater and fried my reef. I had to start all over. Not real dissapointed other than the loss, because I'm anxious to ditch DSB's (they don't work/or are too difficult/time consuming) and going back to LR/BB Berlin reef. IMO, the best way. I've given DSB's a shot 3 times, followed all the "rules" and just can't get the same quality tank as my old Berlin sysem...LR, lots of skimming, BB, denitrator and controlled ozone. Chris Curtis can vow for me, ...Chris, remember my 200g reef? Man, I want that tank back! We'll see in 6 months.

[masharp1126]

I remember it. It was awesome. I had just started my first reef and was very envious of yours. For some reason, I could never get mine to look that good. Thank goodness, it's going a lot better these days and is finally taking shape.

Hope your doing well, I attended several meeting at your house and actually still use the same Kent RO unit that I won at a raffle there one time. Several membranes later and it's still running great.

I remember it. It was awesome. I had just started my first reef and was very envious of yours. For some reason, I could never get mine to look that good. Thank goodness, it's going a lot better these days and is finally taking shape.

Hope your doing well, I attended several meeting at your house and actually still use the same Kent RO unit that I won at a raffle there one time. Several membranes later and it's still running great.

Oh yea, I remember you won that....and a lot more if I'm not mistaken!