Thanks Chris.
My tank is going in the corner at the far back with the vortech dry sides under the stairs and equipment under the stairs along that back wall. Am going to insulate that wall so I don't expect to hear much when I'm watching my tank or the tv.
In other news my wife vetoed a shallow tank so I know 2 things at this point. footprint will be square and the height will be 24". Whether I end up with the 94 gallon or something slightly larger remains to be seen. My tank builder also talked me out of starphire so again I'll be building 'green' and using my magfloat with confidence.