I agreeI heard the same thing. Saltwater tanks were only for rich people and were next to impossible to keep. Growing up, we were friends with a wealthy family who had a FOWLer in their living room and that was really novel and showed their affluence. They had a company that came out and took care of the tank. So, it never seemed like anything that would ever be possible for me and I think that's a real pity because I've had so much enjoyment from my tanks.
I think nano tanks and AIO's really helped change things so that having a saltwater tank became more of an option for "regular" people. It's certainly not the only option to do a tank on a budget, but it makes the hobby much less intimidating to start...and I think that's a good thing.
I don’t like to say there are “regular people or separate anyone by Income or class .
Everyone is equal in my mind and everyone has the choice to be anything they way .
Driving a Porsche compared to a Toyota doesn’t make one better .
I’ve read in old Facebook fish keeping groups where those that kept freshwater tanks were less than or their tanks were “ crud ) compared to the saltwater
Which is not right