Welcome to Maast John! I think we all started in the freshwater arena.
I have an in-wall 120g and it's got it's pro's and cons. For one, the equipment room is going to get hot no matter how well you vent it. Plus, it's hard to work on the tank since I'm working from the back. The other thing I really miss is being able to look down into the tank. But, there's no noise or heat in the viewing area.
One setup I would recommend is having the tank set up like a normal tank in the room. But have your sump and equipment plumbed into the fish room. All you need to do is drill two 1" holes in the wall to run your plumbing through. That way you can work on the tank like normal, but all the noise and heat generating stuff are in a separate area.
I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.
Groucho Marx