Title: First Paludarium Build (IKEA Milsbo Conversion) – Looking for Advice on Plants, Aeration, and Animals

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Hi everyone,

I wanted to share the very beginning of my first paludarium project and get some advice from people with more experience.

The structure I’m using is actually an IKEA Milsbo cabinet that I’m converting into a paludarium. Inside, the tank dimensions are 20 × 60 × 30 cm, and the aquarium is positioned about 50 cm above the ground.

Above, I’m planning to build a small waterfall feature. I still need to add a mist maker (fogger) and a 120mm USB fan (like the one in the picture) for airflow.

For the substrate, I’m planning to use expanded clay and soil, and underneath I’d also like to include some plants that thrive in high humidity and low light, since they won’t receive direct light.

I have a few questions:

What kind of plants would you recommend (both aquatic and terrestrial)?

Does the setup need specific aeration, and how can I tell if mine is enough?

What kind of animals could live well in a setup like this?

I should mention that I’ve been getting some help from ChatGPT, but I’m not sure how much I should trust it 😅, so I’d really appreciate feedback from real people with hands-on experience.

Again, this is my first paludarium, so any suggestions, corrections, or ideas are very welcome!

Thanks in advance 🙏