basement definitely
I put mine in the basement for the following reasons:
1) no pump noise in your immediate living area
2) flooding is isolate to basement. if drain is nearby, bonus. if not, its still "only" the basement
3) you can buy pumps by performance and not so much by noise factor
4) basement is cooler in summer and winter, chilling is still required but not as much
5) you don't have to buy or build to "fit" in your cabinet. You can buy BIG and BIGGER and the BIGGEST of whatever you want.
6) i don't need to hide my calcium reactor, the 20lb CO2 tank, my skimmer nor my skimmer pumps. Changing or cleaning any of the above noted items is so much easier not having to worry about breaking this or that because of confined space
7) RO filter and water containers are all in the basement for mixing new batches of saltwater for water changes or for storage of top up water.
Two drawbacks i've experienced:
1) more return piping required. I used flexible spa hose and was a litte costly to buy that much (i needed 50' of 1.5" and 25' of 1")
2) return pump gph at the respective head height needs to be considered
One minor drawback that can be fixed is having to run downstairs to turn off return pump. But I'm looking to remedy this by pulling an extension cord through so the return pump is actually powered by an outlet upstairs so if I need to turn it off from upstairs, i unplug the extension cord; if i need to turn it off downstairs, i just unplug the pump from the extension cord.
thats my experience so far, HTH.
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