When I started my first marine tank, it was with crushed coral, dead base rock, and a undergravel filter using airstones. I had 2 x 24" NO T12's for lighting, and glass tops. I set the tank (55g) up on day 1, added 5 or 6 damsels the next day, and called it a success. It was the right way to do it at the time, because nobody really knew better. Within a couple months I had at least 15 or 20 different types of critters in there, by the end of the 1st year the count was 54, including a RBTA, a good sized LTA, several corals, a couple gorgonians, a clam or 2, crabs, shrimp, a small lobster, and a wide variety of fish. Sure, I had to do ~ 20g a week water changes, but didn't everybody? Then I upgraded to a SKILTER! It just could not get any better than that, could it?
It does not make it the wrong way to run a tank now, but there are many more options now to (usually) make our lives easier that it just makes sense to use the technology available. That being said, my 60g cube, set up in 1992, still uses the same Emperor dual biowheel filter and canister filter that I started with back in the day. I've upgraded the lights (3 x 24" VHO now), and finally ditched the glass tops in favor of a DIY window screen top. Still no skimmer. Maybe someday?
New is not necessarily better - sometimes it's just different.