Memory Lane...

HISTORY of Dutch Aquarium Systems or DAS

In the 1960's the President of DAS Aquariums, Lambert deHaan bought a small Pet Store in a small city in The Netherlands. Soon the store expanded into one of the most visited and talked about Pet Stores in Europe. It featured many levels which included an Aquatics Center, Small Mammals, Birds, a Garden Center plus a Coffee Bar. Mr. deHaan hosted many tours in the store and visited many local schools with his 10 foot Boa Constrictor, his 2 Scarlet Macaws and many other animals to share his love for pets.

Mr. deHaan soon found that his main passion was Aquariums and Filtration systems but got frustrated by the lack of quality built products available. He decided to start manufacturing his own Aquariums as well as Filtration Systems and named it deHaan Aquariums. The company was soon approached by a professor from a local laboratory in need of a biological filtration system. The laboratory was doing studies on turtles and found that the available filtration systems were not sufficient to maintain proper water conditions. This started the research and development phase of the company which resulted in several patented filtration systems to include the "Wet Dry Filter".

With the invention of the Wet Dry Filter, the term "Reef Ready" was born offering customer built-in or external filtration systems. The company soon expanded their product line to include pet enclosures specifically designed for pet stores to house fish, birds, reptiles & small mammals under a new name Minireef BV.  Soon the company got attention from pet stores in the United States. After exporting many aquariums to the USA, Mr.deHaan was approached by an investor to entertain the idea of manufacturing his products in the USA. After some visits to the USA as well as attending a few trade-shows, Mr. deHaan decided to relocate his family to Dallas, TX.

After a few years, the name of the company was changed to Dutch Aquarium Systems, Inc. or DAS for short.  DAS started working on projects that included large setups for Museums, Malls, Specialty Pet Stores, Nature Centers, Schools, Universities and other public places that needed large aquarium setups. The Pet Store Fixture line also expanded to include enclosures for Puppies & Kittens as well as completely new line of pet store enclosures for Freshwater & Marine Fish, Reptiles & Amphibians, Small & Large Birds and Small Mammals.

 

 

DAS Today  The company has reinvented most products to satisfy the changing needs of pet retailers. We have greatly expanded our capabilities creating realistic artificial backgrounds, rocks and trees to create natural looking displays and enclosures.  A new cycling system with the "Bio Box" has been invented for an all natural approach to freshwater fish aquarium keeping. The new "Bio Box" is also the reason for success of our new THRIVE Freshwater Fish enclosures, designed for minimum fish loss and maximum display. 

 ---

 DAS Aquariums - 123 Lucas St - BLDG A - Waxahachie TX 75165
PHONE (972) 938 2020 E-Mail: Sales@DASaquariums.com