Complex Setups: What gives?

[Delphinus]

That's exactly it - you do what works for you to keep things simple from your perspective.

In my case, I tried dosing and I tried calcium reactors. For me, nothing beats the "set and forget" part of the calcium reactor. If I go away on a trip, my tank sitter doesn't have to do any kind of dosing, just check to make sure things are running. For me, that's simpler. But if another way seems simpler to you, then that's not wrong either.

Basically Chin nailed it:

I currently have a lot of "gadgets" in and out of my sump and while they may seem overwhelming, each and every item has a specific function to simplify the complexity of the hobby. Understanding the functionality of each gadget will reduce the perception of complexity.
As complex as some systems may be, there is not one guaranteed recipe of success when putting together a tank which results in continuous modifications and improvements to our existing "already-complexed" systems.

I totally agree. (Although it seems to me that was the point I was originally trying to make, so I guess I'm just agreeing with myself now. Haha oh well.) Point is, it only seems overwhelming if you don't understand what it's for. And you should not do anything if you don't understand why you're doing it. So while someone says "you should use halides" (or whatever), if you don't understand why you need halides, then you don't need them. As your experience grows and your interests shift, you may realize that you do one day need them. But until then .. it's whatever makes your tank work, that works.