I didn’t trust such large holes to only backing paper, so I got some mesh drywall tape and went over them again. The bottom one made the biggest mess, but fortunately for me, drywall compound is easy to sand.

Oh, and since I’m redoing the wall, and the tanks look like shit right now, I finally broke down and bought canopies and decent plant lights for the 55g. Since I wanted free shipping from Drs. F & S, I got a canopy for Cliffie’s tank (the new one I haven’t bought yet), and then got him a double-tube light so he can have a planted tank, too. It’s not warm enough yet to buy the plants, but at least I’ll be ready when it is! I’ve got fancy sand in my Amazon cart, but haven’t quite decided to make the purchase yet. If I’m going to use my points on it, it’s damned well going to be something I like!