I'm still here too, just upgraded to a 60G cube.
That sounds funny from a guy that used to have a 330G in his basement...Don't miss that thing really...
DITTO to much money for the "high tech crap" with very little difference.I purchased a house, had my fourth kid, busy with life in general. I really wanted out but my wife insisted I stay in (she's a great lady). I put some money and time into my tank and boy im glad I did. I realized I really enjoy this hobby.
Since I started iv seen a lot of trends go in and out. I figured out what worked for me and stuck with it. No crazy high tech stuff for me. I keep it basic and once the tank is on cruise control all I have to do is feed my fish, top off the tank and change my water every few months.
My motto is KISS: keep is simple sulay.
How are the frag swaps these days? Do they still exist? I haven't been in years, almost since Boyd. $5 would get you a tiny piece of something really nice, occasionally a large chunk. I might hand out free frags with my "I don't quarantine, you might want to dip" warning. I went to one about 3 years ago and I felt like if I didn't have several hundred in my pocket I was wasting my time, it was all vendors with LFS prices.
i know i do not speak for the majority, but a lot of the local people who posted wanted to also have some fun with their reef discussions, for better or worse that is mostly not allowed on here. So you find a bunch of them moved onto much smaller local forums, I still like rc for the wealth of knowledge and for all the help that everyone is willing to offer but the reality is i have a close circle of friends i made on here who i keep in touch with even though i moved out of state. Things are still going strong in Chicago, i know and im not there. My area (dallas/ft. worth) sucks so far, i cant make good contacts, i already offended people because i stated one of their stores is overpriced and overall im not happy, i cant find sps and nice fish on my side of town, gotta drive 40-50 miles.