I think the two main issues that lead to this line of thinking (reefer madness) is most people vastly, wildly overcomplicate things, and the other is that people have unrealistic expectations and a misunderstanding of what the hobby truly is.
Not much else is needed besides a tank, some flow, some lighting, and some rock to keep a tank going (I should also say water and salt mix). Everything else is optional. I kept successful reefs for years with compact fluorescent lights, tap water, and zero testing. They weren’t mind blowing, but the fish and coral were happy and healthy. The point is that this hobby isn’t really that complicated, we choose to complicate it.
This hobby isn’t necessarily the endeavor to have an impeccable, supernatural looking reef, it is at its core animal husbandry. The aesthetics of it are secondary. Personally I don’t find algae outbreaks, or pests, or disease demoralizing, at least not in the long term, these are part of the hobby, they are puzzles and issues to be solved. This is also not a hobby for those looking for instant gratification, and that works both ways, for the both successes and failures, the good comes slowly, and righting the wrongs comes slowly. But that is also why it is so rewarding. A successful reef tank is the culmination of so many moving parts and so many little decisions (and some big), of time and patience and dedication, and of learning (I’m 20 years in and I learn new stuff about my tank/inhabitants/reefing in general pretty much daily). So my advice is don’t go into this hobby with the expectation that you’re going to have some world class SPS reef (it’s fine to have goals), go into with the expectation that it’s a never ending learning process, that things will never be perfect, and that setbacks and failures are part of the hobby, they are just part of the learning process.
I will agree that it’s expensive, but what hobby isn’t?
