I remember Dr. RHF articles in the print magazines and for RK online magazine more than a decade before he joined RC. The dude is amazing and has contributed as much as anybody since The WWM and Dr. Ron left the scene. I do think that less people know about chemistry now than they did a few decades ago - they seem to know about chemicals, but not chemistry. I could probably give a talk for two hours about super-important chemistry that nearly nobody knows about anymore like how GFO will release phosphate back into the tank if you change water without changing the GFO... or how phosphate binds in massive quantities to aragonite... or how the black stuff in the sand bed is what you want and is one of the best things in your tank... about how bare bottom does not actually solve any of the problems that people thing (this is also biology) but can still be great for other reason that most people do not think about... the other stuff in melted calcium carbonate that if people truly knew and understood would almost never choose 2/3 part over a CaRx. Many, many people do not know that baking soda (or washing soda) is the same stuff that BRS sells for alk, or ice melt is the same as the calcium additive. Epsom Salt, Muratic Acid, Kalk all were around since they had their uses especially in emergencies.
I was around in 1995 with almost a decade under my belt and I could gather 50 people in our local club in KC that could walk chemistry laps over any 50 that you could gather today. You had no choice but to understand it or just wait and learn... or actually call a friend or go their home to chew the fat for a few hours. I do wonder how clueless new hobbyists would be without Dr. Holmes-Farley since he does do so much good.
Even though the years overlap, here is my most current breakdown of the reefing generations. This is about as useful as trying to breakdown Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, etc., but still kinda fun:
- Pre 1985-1990 - Discus/African Generation - You dabbled in reefing with the LFS credit that you had from breeding discus and African cichlids. Rare marine stuff was easy to get (like live rock from the Great Barrier Reef), but animals poorly understood and VERY expensive. Very few stores would order stuff, but when they would it was usually nice if you could afford it. You made some really bad and dumb mistakes because you had to learn a bunch of stuff for yourself. This was uncommon, but I used to add on to orders that our local zoo made for fish and inverts.
- 1985-1995 - TFH/Magazine Generation - Some articles starting to appear in publications that are pretty good. Ads in the back to order high tech stuff like VHOs, MH and a protein skimmer and even livestock - you would cut out the order form and mail a money order and wait for 6-8 weeks. Husbandry got better and there are now a few good books. Hobby is ascending to where most good pet shops at least have a tank or two.
- 1995-2005 - LFS Generation - This was the golden age of reef keeping. You NEEDED a good LFS for advice and supplies and people truly knew what they were doing (mostly). A lot of people who started at this time are still in the hobby (you know who you are)... they really developed a love affair. Local knowledge was really good and help was given. Internet was just starting up in the early part with sites like WWM and ReefFarmers giving good advice on care and being a good resource without yet being totally commercial. Local clubs were in their hay day with lots of good meetings - this was really all that you had outside of the LFS.
- 2000-2010 - Biocube Generation - Lots of whim buyers that did not last long in the hobby. People expecting to get the same results out of a 17g cube as you do a 180g tank. Lots of folks cannot truly afford the hobby to begin and ongoing cost is a huge concern with sales going to the internet. LFS start to go bye bye being out priced by the internet and the emergence of know-it-all keepers who do not need their advice enough to pay extra for supplies to keep the doors open. The best thing out of this generation is a huge emergence of commercial tanks and maintenance accounts - you can thank Nemo for this.
- 2010-2015 - BRS Generation - Most new folks are complete and total experts based on what they read online and watched in a BRS video even though their tank has been wet for a few months with a few boogers that have not even grown over the frag plugs yet. Most of what they read online is from people from the same generation and not the more experienced who have started to retreat and just run their tanks. Few people read a book or take the time to fully understand the process of time and patience and how a tank matures. Lots of people more concerned with a "clean" build than a nice running tank. Controllers get big where some folks know more about pseudo-coding a Apex than they do growing coral.
- 2016-Now - Farmer Generation - This is still a continuation of the BioCube & BRS generation, but now people frag their nubs to get boogers to sell to try and make a profit. Now everybody wants to be a retail shop out of their tank. Some tanks have more frags on racks than on rocks.
I am not sure what the next generation will look like. Part of me thinks a renaissance back to the Golden years for a myriad of reasons... if importing of wild corals gets more and more scarce (we are in a trend heading that way), then people might actually get smart and want to provide their corals with the best of the best. There is no better way to do this than with larger, more stable tanks, better lighting, but most importantly having actual understanding. Most of the people who are from the Golden Years and LFS Generation mostly still reef like they did then and have some of the most wonderful tanks to show. When the only choice is to grow captive coral, then people will wise up and pay attention to how the best of the best grow stuff and not some trendy shop with photoshopped pictures who posts a lot and/or will shill for manufactures... think Copps over WWC/Vivid. You are already starting to see this with less and less people using LED alone and more adding on T5s or moving away from them all together. My whole idea that this might happen is based on CITES or location bans or other restrictions on wild stuff... if this does not happen, then I have no idea. In any case, when importing slows down or stops completely, there will be huge changes and I hope that the huge change is not people leaving the hobby.
As time has gone by, larger tanks are still more stable, MH are still the best lights for pure performance, AC pumps that have been around for 3 decades are still the most reliable (askol based) and venturi based skimmers like LifeReef are still better than needlewheels. ...times have changed, but a good book from 1990s can still get you 90% of the way home.
I derailed the heck out of this thread - sorry Mike. I did type a lot, so I have to let it post, so you can just crap all over one of mine soon.