Friendofthefish, I live within spittin' distance of you and my wife bought my 80g for me for my birthday at PetSmart. The tank has been set up for almost a year and I haven't had any problem with it. But to be honest, I've also purchased smaller Visio and Eclipse tanks at a couple of different LFSs and I haven't had any problems with them either. Others may disagree but IME, there is not a lot of difference in tanks unless you want to go for the big bucks and then Oceanic tanks are hard to beat. My local PetSmart doesn't carry Oceanic but there is one in Long Beach on Willow that does. They aren't cheap but as I understand it, they have the reputation of being the best.
I use both an HOB and a canister filter on my 80g. I have an Eheim, Rena XP3, and a Fluvall on different tanks and they all seem to do a good job. I use AquaClear HOBs and wouldn't trade them for anything else. They're inexpensive, quiet, and have a two year guarantee. On the other hand, I think you get what you pay for when it comes to heaters so I go for the best.
Good luck and whatever you get, enjoy the new tank!!
