I can't believe I haven't posted anything on this since May! But now I have something to post about. We ordered a Mag 18 from my lfs yesterday (who actually beat the price of a mag 18 from Marinedepot.com!), and got a bunch of plumbing parts to replace the old ones on the tank (ie, bulkheads, overflow strainers, fittings). Also went ahead and ordered a bucket of Tropic Marin salt (they sold their last one earlier that day, so had to order me more) Spent a good hour there. Hubby was with me, this time, so he now understands why a trip to the lfs usually takes up most of my day!
They had a new skimmer in that they are going to beta test. So hopefully when I'm ready to buy the skimmer, they'll let me know how they did with the new one. It's around $200. I didn't get the brand, though.
After debating on using reinforced flex tubing (like the kind that doesn't pinch when bent) vs pvc, we decided what works for our stand's layout under the tank is just plain ole pvc. So we picked up some parts for that.
Picked up a large trash bin for my rodi reserve and future ato reserve. So hopefully next week I'll have pics of my new toys! We will work on plumbing as much as we can this week, so we'll just have to add the missing pieces next week when we get it, and hopefully do a trial run w/ tap water. Pics to come!