Advice before I put a hole in my drywall

You were gonna make a hole at the beginning and repair and paint it. The repair and paint for the size of a power cord would be small now. Still sounds like less work than the other options you described.

If you end up using the outlet behind the fish tank, you may want to consider GFI.

Sounds good to me.

Just keep in mind, there are wires going to that 4 gang electric box. In that wall.
I'd take a hammer and just make a hole with it. Sounds crude yes,but no sharp hole saw teeth to nick a wire and ruin an evening.

Blast a whole with the hammer on the side you won't see, then spot the other side with a long bit, or if no long bit,
cut a metal coat hanger piece, the long straight piece on the bottom, and use that as a bit to spot the hole on the other side.

Nice pad there guy.

I cannot help much with your power situation.

However, nice fish tank. Back in college I probably had 4 to 5 salt tanks. I had to 55, and out I’ll 160 gallon tall. And when everything was great they look fine when shit goes sideways it’s a pain in the ass.

Good luck.

Do it. Use something similar to this on each side to make it look cleaner:

Home Depot will have a few different covers that will work, so pick whichever option you think looks best. Like mentioned above, I would change those outlets near the fish tank to GFCI outlets since they’re near water.

Make a square hole in the wall and put an old build box in the hole and connect it to the outlet on the other wall.

SEE ARE125 wrote:

Do it. Use something similar to this on each side to make it look cleaner:

Home Depot will have a few different covers that will work, so pick whichever option you think looks best. Like mentioned above, I would change those outlets near the fish tank to GFCI outlets since they’re near water.

Good call... I figured something like this existed.

Also a good call to consider a GFI

Thanks everyone else for the input!

30 amp breaker on a 120v circuit. Is it an old circuit for an electric range. Reason I mention it is you don't want 12 guage wires on a 30 amp breaker.

The tv on the fireplace mantel fad needs to die (unless you standing while watching tv, then it's the perfect height).

SCR wrote:

30 amp breaker on a 120v circuit. Is it an old circuit for an electric range. Reason I mention it is you don't want 12 guage wires on a 30 amp breaker.

Good catch. Just went out to the panel and checked, and it's a 20 amp breaker.

Ebs wrote:

The tv on the fireplace mantel fad needs to die (unless you standing while watching tv, then it's the perfect height).

Personally I've never found it to be an awkward angle at all. Way cleaner look than taking up floor space with an entertainment center. But, to each their own.

MR. X wrote:

Make a square hole in the wall and put an old build box in the hole and connect it to the outlet on the other wall.

Yep, remodel box. Simple and clean.

Yes, your idea will work fine.

I would remove 2 outets from the 4 gang box behind the fish tank. Drill directly through the back of the box to the TV side of the wall. Install 4 outlets on the TV side so you have extra plugs. If you don't need 4 outlets on the tank side, leave the 4 gang box with two outlets. This buys you enough space for the extra wire etc.

I tried to feed the wire through the back of a 4 gang box and keep 4 outlets. It was a bitch. There's not enough room to work. The box is so tight its difficult to stuff another wire in there.

Ebs wrote:

The tv on the fireplace mantel fad needs to die (unless you standing while watching tv, then it's the perfect height).

Agree. When sitting in a chair or on couch the TV should be at eye level. When it’s higher then eye level you are causing eye strain and slight neck strain you may not even notice at first.

Popping a couple of holes and feeding the cord through is simple and quick. Installing an old work box on the tv side is simple and quick. The wiring could end up being difficult though because the box is back in that alcove and hard to get to. Being that it's a 2 gang box helps a little but it may be a shallow box and packed with wires. Could be easy, could be a can of worms. Pull the cover off and unscrew one of the receptacles so you can pull it out far enough to see how much room you have in the box. More than 3 #12's in a wire nut can be problematic unless you know what you are doing. Especially if you are working in a cramped space.