Yep, my first "reef" tank (1990) was a 30 gallon, crushed coral substrate, NO daylight fluorescent bulbs in a couple shop lights, and California (yes California) live rock. For filtration, a homemade trickle filter that consisted of (I think) a 10 gallon tank with plastic trays I drilled holes in, stacked on top of one another and filled with more crushed coral. No skimmer. Back then, we TRIED to grow hair algae to look, "natural" and help with nutrient reduction. At the time, (no internet) you followed your LFS' advice and the above was the advice the local LFSs were giving.
My first two real inverts were a bright neon yellow anemone and a bright neon pink anemone that lasted a month or two. I didn't know until several years later (thanks to the internet) those were bleached anemones that had been injected with dye. My first corals were a softball size rock
covered with R. Florida that cost about $25