Keep the forum friendly EVERYONE! Don't be sarcastic...I don't want to hear it, and no one else does.
Techguy - I'm sorry, but the requirement for dosing can be proved by math. If the organisms in a tank are taking out more than water changes can supply, dosing must be provided to keep up with their growth. For some people, regular water changes are just NOT enough to keep up with the demand. For instance, on my 40g tank, I had over 75 colonies, mostly SPS. Before I moved tanks, I was dosing 300 ml per day of Ca, Alk, and Mag...and doing a 10% water change every other day. Lemme tell ya...a 10% water change every other day is just NOT feasible for most people. High demand systems are just that...high demand. There was only one time where I had trouble (not a crash, but trouble) by dosing...and that was when Will accidentally dosed a gallon of Magnesium b/c he thought it was RO topoff water. There are user-friendly websites that calculate the amount of chemicals you'll need to add...not that difficult. I've haven't really heard too many horror stories with dosing other than dosing pumps failing...or CA reactors failing. I do it manually...not too much error there!
You ask, "what does it take to do some research"? Where are your sources? Have you stopped to read any of my "Reef Brief" articles on this site? They're all researched and sourced...info by top experts in the field...or by scientists using the scientific method.
On this site you'll find MANY engineers, some scientists, a couple of chemists, many construction/carpenters, and several biologists. In addition to that, there are a few people on here that have been in this hobby about as long as I've been alive. That's not really a hobby anymore...they could be considered experts.
No, dosing is definitely not for everyone. I went for quite a while without dosing...water changes were more than fine. My theory has always been K.I.S.S. - Keep it simple, stupid! But, there is a threshhold where water changes become excessive...and dosing becomes easier and less expensive.
And don't point at LFS encouraging dosing to make a profit. While they do sell the chemicals...many of us buy in bulk from our local hardware/grocery stores...and some of the LFS have encouraged it or do it themselves.