MarineAddict
Senior Member
So who actually owns the site we use now?
-
TCMAS Spring Saltwater Expo 2026
The pre-sale forum is open for the spring expo!First, read the pre-sale rules!Then head to the pre-sale forum
TCMAS Club History (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Havre
- Start date
mjoener
Former: kmjoen230
This was awesome! Thank you!
Not sure if this belongs here, but I want to say that TCMAS was a great outlet for my beginning steps, providing information and getting me to swaps.
I can't wait to make history going forward!
Not sure if this belongs here, but I want to say that TCMAS was a great outlet for my beginning steps, providing information and getting me to swaps.
I can't wait to make history going forward!
The second meeting was at Ben Nichols house where we elected Ernie the president. Larry Maras was really the life and push behind the club but he didn't want to be the president. I remember only a handful at that meeting;
Me (Gary Schultze)
Larry Maras
Ernie Frankovich
Ben Nichols
Dirk
( a few of the wives)
Larry was one of the founders of Reef Central and our forum was one of the first club forums on the site. Shawn (Claman) was one of the original members of the club but he moved due to job relocation. Must have been the third or fourth meeting at his house in Savage. He had a huge Dereesa clam in his kitchen tank which I think was a 180. That clam was about the size of a football. When he moved he had a well attended silent auction at his house to sell off the livestock and some of his equipment. He took his clams with him and I haven't heard from him since.
Larry retired from reefing and Reef Central after his 125 gallon tank formed a crack in the corner and flooded his whole living room. The tank was defective and Oceanic gave him some help with the cost of clean up. Larry did not continue after that and instead sold off all his stuff to members (I got his Fridmoni and his calcium reactor). He quickly got into boating and made that his main hobby after reefing.
There was another member who had a major flood of a Ocianic 125 a few months after that. I don't recall his name but the flood went through the floor into his computer business in the basement. With both of the flood events there were several members who showed up to help with cleanup.
Me (Gary Schultze)
Larry Maras
Ernie Frankovich
Ben Nichols
Dirk
( a few of the wives)
Larry was one of the founders of Reef Central and our forum was one of the first club forums on the site. Shawn (Claman) was one of the original members of the club but he moved due to job relocation. Must have been the third or fourth meeting at his house in Savage. He had a huge Dereesa clam in his kitchen tank which I think was a 180. That clam was about the size of a football. When he moved he had a well attended silent auction at his house to sell off the livestock and some of his equipment. He took his clams with him and I haven't heard from him since.
Larry retired from reefing and Reef Central after his 125 gallon tank formed a crack in the corner and flooded his whole living room. The tank was defective and Oceanic gave him some help with the cost of clean up. Larry did not continue after that and instead sold off all his stuff to members (I got his Fridmoni and his calcium reactor). He quickly got into boating and made that his main hobby after reefing.
There was another member who had a major flood of a Ocianic 125 a few months after that. I don't recall his name but the flood went through the floor into his computer business in the basement. With both of the flood events there were several members who showed up to help with cleanup.
Last edited:
vandy10
Senior Member
This was very interesting to read. The club sure has a good story. I was really surprised to read that a former BOD member was banned
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,523
Larry was my first contact in the USA for reefing when he had Reef Central. I was one of the early members there and I came in to see my parents in Burnsville from St. Lucia and we meet up for drinks and a get together. I always wondered what happened to him along the way.
He rejoined http://www.tcmas.org/v4/forums/member.php?2476-lmaras sent me a PM, Told me he had a tank again, I confirmed who he was so he could get lifetime membership status from BOD. Never heard anything after that and looks like he never posted anywhere.
This was several years ago BTW.
This was several years ago BTW.
Last edited:
I know for years prior to Non-profit status, John Sands ( Redwinger ) paid for the hosting out of his own pocket. I paid for the domain for several years.
Expenses to have the site hosted and domain name I'm sure it a TCMAS expense.
For a couple years now TCMAS owns the domain name.
All expenses for hosting are paid by the club.
TCMAS administer and maintains the site/forum
MarineAddict
Senior Member
Oh ok, so it's all taken care of on sort of a donation basis?
Sorry to stray from topic, I just thought as long as "TCMAS History" is now in session, might as well learn all I can and maybe even further educate some others at the same time
Sorry to stray from topic, I just thought as long as "TCMAS History" is now in session, might as well learn all I can and maybe even further educate some others at the same time
Larry Maras actually held the first few meetings in a private room at the Perkins Restaurant in Burnsville. Shortly after that, we decided to go to members' homes so we could actually see each other's tanks and learn more.
If memory serves us correctly, the other member Gary mentioned who had the tank split that flooded his basement, was a guy named Brad Anderson. He used to keep all his dead corals for his young son who took them to school for "show and tell".
We had a couple outings: In 2000 we had a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium at the Mall of America. We also had an after hours tour of the aquariums of the MN Zoo.
If memory serves us correctly, the other member Gary mentioned who had the tank split that flooded his basement, was a guy named Brad Anderson. He used to keep all his dead corals for his young son who took them to school for "show and tell".
We had a couple outings: In 2000 we had a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium at the Mall of America. We also had an after hours tour of the aquariums of the MN Zoo.
Oh yes. I remember Brad Anderson. Was Tim Skarda ( I think was a DA ) an early member. I still have the zoanthids that he gave away at his meeting. First Zoas I ever had. Orange ones ( long before named BAM BAMS ) and orange w/ green skirts ( now referred to as Dragon Eyes ).
Yes, Tim Skarda was an early member but don't remember exactly when he joined. Glad to hear you kept those zoanthids so long! Amazing how many members have come and gone from the club.
OP
OP
Wonder if he ever got that name patented?
Remember when we were all impressed with all that new and wonderful coral in his 180?.........Xenia ! LOL
minnreefer
Senior Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2007
- Messages
- 76
I want to add a few things that I remember from the history. I joined around 1998 or 1999, One of the first meetings that I my wife and I wen tto was at Clam mans house, he had many large and great clams, I think he donated his tank to a local college. My wife started the forum thereeftank about the same time as Reef Central got started. The club went thru a lot of changes in the early 2000's with new business rules what type of web site and where to host it. I bought one of Larry's tanks, which I am not getting ready to sell. I might get back into the hobby with a smaller tank, depending on size and cost.
Thanks
Jon Hanna
Thanks
Jon Hanna
Hi folks. I've been away from the forum for about 2 years I guess (I got very busy with things, got wrapped up more deeply in my music, started performing a bit and recording a bit, etc.... and then time flies past and its been 2 years without even hardly realizing it). I ran into Scott Olson at Saltwater Empire a week or so ago, had a lot of fun talking to him, and we got talking about this thread. I thought I really ought to check in (yikes, I have 2 year old PM's that I had not seen or replied to!). But where I've been and what's up with me is off topic for this thread, so I'll move on to some history.
Larry Maras (not Maris) was the founder of the group, as others have pointed out. Back in 1999 the Augsburg alumni newspaper/magazine had done a cover story on my tanks in the lab that were set up for teaching, and a small simple web site was created to go with that story. Someone on the Reefkeeper's list serve (which I was not yet a member of) who was from Minnesota ran into that web site within a week or so of it going online and posted about it. Larry ran into that discussion, and within a week or two of creating that web site I got contacted by Larry, inviting me to be added to his e-mail list (which pretty much was the whole organization of the club at the time) and directed me to the Reefkeeper's list.
I attended what I thought was the second meeting of the club, at Shaun's house (a.k.a Clam Man). I was blown away by his 220 gallon tank (little did I know at the time that it was going to get donated to the college when Shaun ended up moving). Other than meeting Shaun (and getting a tiny piece of his hot pink birdsnest coral - my favorite coral of all time, which, alas, I no longer have), I have clear memory of meeting Ernie and his wife (who apparently had seen me on the KARE 11 news when they did a story on my hosting a visit to our tanks in the lab from a bunch of 1st through 3rd graders - all of the kids in that age range from Seward Montessori school, in fact).
Ernie's comments above suggest that that was not actually the second meeting, but it was still very close to the very start of the club. I think my second meeting was one at Larry's townhouse (I still have vivid memory of his beautiful patch of green star polyps and his flame angelfish). At that meeting I remember meeting Agu, who was one of my favorite people in the club (along with other folks who have been posting in this thread above - there are some really good people in this group).
I never managed to get out to meetings very often - between an all consuming job and small kids (as well as being a one car household for many years) it was always hard getting away to these things. But I had really good interactions with some of the members, some of whom have been amazingly generous with their help over the years (at the top of this list would be David Grigor).
But I hosted a number of events at Augsburg, the biggest of which was the three day Ron Shimek event. This was held Feb 2, 3, and 4, in 2001. Dwayne Sapp (spelling?) was a huge fan of Ron Shimek, and he contributed a bunch of frequent flier miles to pay for airfare for flying Ron here and back. And a collection was taken at the event, which as I recall ended up covering the rest of the expenses. And the expenses were low because the bio dept where I teach was co-hosting this event (and got a free Friday seminar speaker out of the deal), and so we got to use lecture rooms and the lab at Augsburg for free.
Here is the content from the flier that was posted in pet shops and such to publicize the event:
______________________________________________________________________
Noted marine invertebrate biologist, author, and authority on coral reef aquaria
Dr. Ron Shimek
will speak at
Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Co-hosted by the RiverSouth Reefkeepers group and the
Augsburg College Department of Biology
All talks will be held in the Sateren Auditorium
(Music Hall, 715 22nd Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN)
Friday, Feb 2, 2001
3:30 PM
"Muddling Through in The Deep Sea, or Aspects of Scaphopod Biology".
(a talk on Dr. Shimek's research on deep sea scaphopod molluscs)
5:00 PM
"Deep Thoughts" Odds, Ends and Oddballs...Some critters and interactions from below SCUBA range.
(a slide show/informal talk on deep sea creatures)
Saturday, Feb 3, 2001
9:00 AM
"Methods for Creating a Balanced Ecocosm"
(Dr. Shimek will discuss the biology and methodology of coral reef aquaria)
Both Days (after talks):
Receptions in Room 225 Science Hall
(707 21st Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN)
• Visit with Dr. Shimek
• View Augsburg's Coral Reef and Seagrass Aquaria
Talks are free of charge and open to the public, though donations to the RiverSouth Reefkeepers group will be accepted at the door to help cover expenses.
______________________________________________________________________
Note that we also had a Sunday morning critter ID workshop run by Ron in our general bio lab. This was not on the flyer because it was for Riversouth Reefkeepers members only (due to space limitations). I had two high quality microscopes set up with cameras and digital projectors, along with a bunch of other microscopes for folks to use. Ron identified things from the lab tanks, and also people brought critters from their own tanks to try to get identified. It was a good time.
We also hosted Eric Borneman's visit at Augsburg in 2006 (also co-hosted by the bio dept, with no charge to the club for use of the meeting spaces). He also gave both a research talk (geared toward our biology students, but open to everyone) on a Friday afternoon as well as more hobbyist-oriented talk on Saturday.
Here is the text from some of the internal (within the college) publicity for this event:
In addition, I recall hosting a Saturday club meeting at least once. I remember having two big trays of coral cuttings out for people to take, including at least 20 frags each of Larry Jackson's Purple Tipped Monster Acropora, and the hot pink birdsnest that originated in Shaun's tank. There may have been some Pocillopora damicornis too, and a few other things.
(Ironically, when I was trying to get these corals back in my tanks some years later after some problems that killed them off, no one in the club seemed to have them any more (the pink birdsnest in particular) - or at least no-one had them who knew where they came from, despite me giving away literally dozens of each of them over the years! )
While I can't claim to know what the club is like now, since I've been away so long, I will say that I really miss the club in its original form. Among other things, the spirit of sharing was great (e.g. "I love this coral myself and I would really love to have you enjoying it in your tank as well, and if you have something you want to share too that would be terrific, but I really don't need or expect anything in return for sharing my coral with you"). And in general, it was a group of very earnest, very smart, very nice, generous people.
Larry Maras (not Maris) was the founder of the group, as others have pointed out. Back in 1999 the Augsburg alumni newspaper/magazine had done a cover story on my tanks in the lab that were set up for teaching, and a small simple web site was created to go with that story. Someone on the Reefkeeper's list serve (which I was not yet a member of) who was from Minnesota ran into that web site within a week or so of it going online and posted about it. Larry ran into that discussion, and within a week or two of creating that web site I got contacted by Larry, inviting me to be added to his e-mail list (which pretty much was the whole organization of the club at the time) and directed me to the Reefkeeper's list.
I attended what I thought was the second meeting of the club, at Shaun's house (a.k.a Clam Man). I was blown away by his 220 gallon tank (little did I know at the time that it was going to get donated to the college when Shaun ended up moving). Other than meeting Shaun (and getting a tiny piece of his hot pink birdsnest coral - my favorite coral of all time, which, alas, I no longer have), I have clear memory of meeting Ernie and his wife (who apparently had seen me on the KARE 11 news when they did a story on my hosting a visit to our tanks in the lab from a bunch of 1st through 3rd graders - all of the kids in that age range from Seward Montessori school, in fact).
Ernie's comments above suggest that that was not actually the second meeting, but it was still very close to the very start of the club. I think my second meeting was one at Larry's townhouse (I still have vivid memory of his beautiful patch of green star polyps and his flame angelfish). At that meeting I remember meeting Agu, who was one of my favorite people in the club (along with other folks who have been posting in this thread above - there are some really good people in this group).
I never managed to get out to meetings very often - between an all consuming job and small kids (as well as being a one car household for many years) it was always hard getting away to these things. But I had really good interactions with some of the members, some of whom have been amazingly generous with their help over the years (at the top of this list would be David Grigor).
But I hosted a number of events at Augsburg, the biggest of which was the three day Ron Shimek event. This was held Feb 2, 3, and 4, in 2001. Dwayne Sapp (spelling?) was a huge fan of Ron Shimek, and he contributed a bunch of frequent flier miles to pay for airfare for flying Ron here and back. And a collection was taken at the event, which as I recall ended up covering the rest of the expenses. And the expenses were low because the bio dept where I teach was co-hosting this event (and got a free Friday seminar speaker out of the deal), and so we got to use lecture rooms and the lab at Augsburg for free.
Here is the content from the flier that was posted in pet shops and such to publicize the event:
______________________________________________________________________
Noted marine invertebrate biologist, author, and authority on coral reef aquaria
Dr. Ron Shimek
will speak at
Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Co-hosted by the RiverSouth Reefkeepers group and the
Augsburg College Department of Biology
All talks will be held in the Sateren Auditorium
(Music Hall, 715 22nd Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN)
Friday, Feb 2, 2001
3:30 PM
"Muddling Through in The Deep Sea, or Aspects of Scaphopod Biology".
(a talk on Dr. Shimek's research on deep sea scaphopod molluscs)
5:00 PM
"Deep Thoughts" Odds, Ends and Oddballs...Some critters and interactions from below SCUBA range.
(a slide show/informal talk on deep sea creatures)
Saturday, Feb 3, 2001
9:00 AM
"Methods for Creating a Balanced Ecocosm"
(Dr. Shimek will discuss the biology and methodology of coral reef aquaria)
Both Days (after talks):
Receptions in Room 225 Science Hall
(707 21st Ave. S, Minneapolis, MN)
• Visit with Dr. Shimek
• View Augsburg's Coral Reef and Seagrass Aquaria
Talks are free of charge and open to the public, though donations to the RiverSouth Reefkeepers group will be accepted at the door to help cover expenses.
______________________________________________________________________
Note that we also had a Sunday morning critter ID workshop run by Ron in our general bio lab. This was not on the flyer because it was for Riversouth Reefkeepers members only (due to space limitations). I had two high quality microscopes set up with cameras and digital projectors, along with a bunch of other microscopes for folks to use. Ron identified things from the lab tanks, and also people brought critters from their own tanks to try to get identified. It was a good time.
We also hosted Eric Borneman's visit at Augsburg in 2006 (also co-hosted by the bio dept, with no charge to the club for use of the meeting spaces). He also gave both a research talk (geared toward our biology students, but open to everyone) on a Friday afternoon as well as more hobbyist-oriented talk on Saturday.
Here is the text from some of the internal (within the college) publicity for this event:
____________________________________
Author and coral researcher Eric Borneman to speak April 7 and 8 (this was 2006)
Eric Borneman, coral researcher and author of the acclaimed book "Aquarium Corals" will speak on campus Friday and Saturday, an event co-sponsored by The Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society and the Augsburg Biology Department.
Eric received the "Aquarist of the Year" award by the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America in 2002 for contributions to the field of coral husbandry. He has hosted several advanced aquarium coral husbandry forums on the Internet, and is a science editor of ReefKeeping magazine and Reef Hobbyist Online. Eric has contributed hundreds of articles to both the scientific and the international reefkeeping communities and has lectured worldwide on the subject of coral husbandry. He has been diving and photographing coral reefs of the world since 1978.
Eric is currently a Ph.D. candidate studying coral disease in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston.
Times and locations of Eric Borneman's talks:
Friday, April 7, 3:40, Science Hall 123: "The Role of Stress Related Factors and Apoptosis in Diseased Reef Building Corals"
Saturday, April 8, 9:00, Sateren Auditorium: "Understanding the Nature of, and Factors Involved in Coral Coloration"
Both talks are free and open to the public.
Eric Borneman, coral researcher and author of the acclaimed book "Aquarium Corals" will speak on campus Friday and Saturday, an event co-sponsored by The Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society and the Augsburg Biology Department.
Eric received the "Aquarist of the Year" award by the Marine Aquarium Societies of North America in 2002 for contributions to the field of coral husbandry. He has hosted several advanced aquarium coral husbandry forums on the Internet, and is a science editor of ReefKeeping magazine and Reef Hobbyist Online. Eric has contributed hundreds of articles to both the scientific and the international reefkeeping communities and has lectured worldwide on the subject of coral husbandry. He has been diving and photographing coral reefs of the world since 1978.
Eric is currently a Ph.D. candidate studying coral disease in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston.
Times and locations of Eric Borneman's talks:
Friday, April 7, 3:40, Science Hall 123: "The Role of Stress Related Factors and Apoptosis in Diseased Reef Building Corals"
Saturday, April 8, 9:00, Sateren Auditorium: "Understanding the Nature of, and Factors Involved in Coral Coloration"
Both talks are free and open to the public.
____________________________________________________
In addition, I recall hosting a Saturday club meeting at least once. I remember having two big trays of coral cuttings out for people to take, including at least 20 frags each of Larry Jackson's Purple Tipped Monster Acropora, and the hot pink birdsnest that originated in Shaun's tank. There may have been some Pocillopora damicornis too, and a few other things.
(Ironically, when I was trying to get these corals back in my tanks some years later after some problems that killed them off, no one in the club seemed to have them any more (the pink birdsnest in particular) - or at least no-one had them who knew where they came from, despite me giving away literally dozens of each of them over the years! )
While I can't claim to know what the club is like now, since I've been away so long, I will say that I really miss the club in its original form. Among other things, the spirit of sharing was great (e.g. "I love this coral myself and I would really love to have you enjoying it in your tank as well, and if you have something you want to share too that would be terrific, but I really don't need or expect anything in return for sharing my coral with you"). And in general, it was a group of very earnest, very smart, very nice, generous people.
Last edited:
Afish4u
Senior Member
Thanks Harve for the posting and others here also. TRT seemed to help spread peoples interest back in the day. That's how a few of us in Eau Claire came to join TCMAS 03 and after. Back then it was go to a meeting, then two to be a member (usually it was a meeting and a swap). Chuck and I managed to Host a meeting once where we had TCMAS, EC and Lark clubs all come to meet. Unfortunately only 3 from tcmas (Dustin,The Polock, I can't remember off hand who the third was, Mary wasn't able to make it I believe) made the trip so it didn't count as a TCMAS meeting or life member ship for either of us.
Don't Forget the Yearly meeting at Dirk's in Redwing. That was always a fun one to go to and it didn't matter who you were or what you did or didn't know back then everyone was welcome(not that they aren't now, just remember sitting at the street corner talking CUC with someone).
The other thing we had was Group Buy's that seemed to help everyone out in the club at some point or another. I don't think anyone does those on here anymore do they except for BRS?
I don't know if this is any part worth mentioning here but weren't there a few trips to Foster and Smith also besides the coral conference
its kinda fun to reminisce here and sorry I might have got off track with the foster part but it was a great way to see club members again.
Don't Forget the Yearly meeting at Dirk's in Redwing. That was always a fun one to go to and it didn't matter who you were or what you did or didn't know back then everyone was welcome(not that they aren't now, just remember sitting at the street corner talking CUC with someone).
The other thing we had was Group Buy's that seemed to help everyone out in the club at some point or another. I don't think anyone does those on here anymore do they except for BRS?
I don't know if this is any part worth mentioning here but weren't there a few trips to Foster and Smith also besides the coral conference
its kinda fun to reminisce here and sorry I might have got off track with the foster part but it was a great way to see club members again.
Last edited: