St. Louis Area Saltwater Hobbyists (SLASH) is a social club with members from all walks of life who share a common interest in saltwater/reef tanks. We meet casually about once a month at a local fish store then head to a nearby eatery for food and beverages. We are occasionally fortunate to have the hospitality of a volunteer’s home for a tank viewing and more socializing afterward.
Twice a year we host a frag swap that is open to all which draws vendors and attendees from multiple states to buy, sell and trade livestock and dry goods.
A majority of SLASH communication is done on our own Reef Central Club Forum easily accessible by members and nonmembers alike. Don’t be shy, feel free to start a thread and introduce yourself over there!
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Everyone can attend most meetings and access most of the SLASH forums.
Paid supporters fund the club’s forum and expenses, so these paid members receive the additional benefits listed below:
—— Access to the member-only forum area.
—— Access to members-only meetings & events.
—— Eligible to receive raffle and contest prizes.
—— Access to borrow expensive equipment – the H.E.L.P. (See below.)
—— Eligible to participate in the club’s Coral Donor Program. (See below.)
—— LFS discounts at participating stores. (See below.)
With a current SLASH membership card, these LFS’s will honor a club discount (subject to change and exclusions):
- Aquatic Treasures (Collinsville, IL) – 10% off all livestock purchases
- Gateway Aquatics (St Louis, MO) – 10% off all livestock purchases over $50
- Marine Solutions (St. Charles, MO) – 10% off all purchases
- Saltwater Island (Ballwin, MO) – 10% off all purchases excluding tanks
- Tropical World Pets (Webster Groves, MO) – 10% off all purchases
Though the majority of SLASH’s general discussions are done in this forum, all of the club’s “member’s only” programs are managed on our club’s website: www.slashclub.org.
FYI, If you’re not a current paid member or not logged in to the club website many of site’s forums will appear missing or empty.
The SLASH Coral Donor Program (CDP) allows members to receive free frags from other members with the condition that they in turn pass along frags to other members once the coral has grown out. The CDP is completely voluntary and works best for members who reach out to other members i.e. attend meetings. There is a growing list of over 200 different corals available to SLASH members through the CDP.
The CDP is managed on a members only section of our club website here. The full rules and a more thorough description of the program are available at the top of the CDP forum. If you are interested in learning about the program before you become a member you can read most of the details HERE.
The Helpful Equipment Loan Program is designed to help our valued club members by providing access to extremely useful but relatively expensive equipment that is typically not utilized often enough by the average hobbyist to warrant individual purchase.
Full rules available on the HELP forum. This program not only allows access to really cool gear but also provides support and training in its use. This program is intended to grow over time, adding additional equipment to the club’s inventory as interest and our budget increases.
At the time of posting the following equipment is available to SLASH members:
—— PAR Meter (for measuring light intensity)
—— Diamond Holesaw Set (for drilling holes in glass)
—— Dwyer Airflow Meter (for measuring skimmer air pull)
—— Wet Band Saw (for cutting stony corals cleanly)
—— Professional Quality Suction Cup Handles (for moving large tanks)
—— Large Fish Trap (self explanatory)
—— Phosphate Photometer (for measuring inorganic phosphate)
We routinely conduct other activities that involve prizes such as raffles, poker runs, and coral growing contests. Some of these activities welcome non-members to participate but typically only supporting SLASH members are allowed to win prizes. We also offer a couple of non publicized benefits to current card holding members.
Club dues are annually $25 for an individual membership and $35 for a family membership. New member dues and all renewals may be paid in person at a club event. Come on out and join us sometime. Non-members are always welcome to any of our events and there is no commitment to join.
For those interested in joining SLASH, we have a membership form. If you would like to avoid sitting around filling out the form at an event, you may download the form here and fill it out at home then print it and bring it with you. The form can be opened with Acrobat Reader or any other free .pdf reader.
Please go to http://www.slashclub.org/JoinNow/ for more info.*
If you have any questions feel free to post them HERE or send a private message to Smoothdog or Ebius
S.L.A.S.H. Board Of Directors
I am currently President of SLASH, but my obsession started early on… for my 9th birthday, all I wanted was a 15-gallon fish tank complete with stand and state-of-the-art under gravel filtration system. I set the tank up with live-bearing fish and artificial plants. It was absolutely amazing.
I slowly outgrew that tank as I transitioned into catching tadpoles, frogs, salamanders, and turtles. I wanted to keep some of these wild animals at my house but didn’t have a tank large enough. That is, until my Dad scored a 6′ x 6′ x 5′ deep stainless steel tank from work. I think that’s when my obsession truly began.
I kept half a dozen turtles, tadpoles, and frogs in that tank in an uncontrolled environment until winter struck, when I learned another valuable lesson.
Moving on from that tragedy, landed me 10 years later and a couple states away.
I’ve always liked the colors of fish you can get in marine tanks, so that led me to my next tank – a 12-gallon BioCube that I bought running with two Clown Fish and a Cabbage Coral. I joined SLASH a couple days after I picked up the tank up. Moscato and meatballs anyone?
Within a month I was already building a collection of fish tank stands and supplies, with my eyes on a dream of a large, colorful collection of fish and coral. This hobby can sink its teeth in fast and deep.
I started a 90-gallon mixed reef and then a SLASH member got me into SPS Coral. Now I only live for SPS! Over the next couple of years I built a 150-gallon cube display tank in our living room with a 220-gallon basement sump, complete with a frag tank. At this time I keep over 100 different coral and several dozen fish. My absolute favorite fish is a miss-barred Regal Angel, which I received from a member of our club.
Dennis Auer (rams) – Bio Coming Soon!
Dave Bayne – Bio Coming Soon!
Mike Edmonds – Bio Coming Soon!
Kirk Willmann – Bio Coming Soon!