This ^^^^No, the gadgets give the appearance the hobby is more expensive than it really needs to be.
The imho the hobby is getting out of hand expensive. This is in part due to the 'gadgets' being presented as must-haves by online distributers and retailers. Also, many show tanks in forums are chock full of gadgets further enforcing the 'must-have-to-be-successful' mentality.
Costly gadgets are simply for 1) convenience and 2) insurance.