Making a DIY IKEA Cabinet Living Wall Fish Paludarium

The IKEA greenhouse. That's a thing. I've wanted to take my spin on it for a while, but as I explored various options they had to offer, I wasn't satisfied. In the meantime, I made the IKEA aquariums. However, just the other day, I had a spark of inspiration. I saw the Fabricor case once again, and I realized this thing has the potential for greatness. First order of business was to get the thing unboxed and built. Everyone knows the directions are useless, and you're always stuck with the worst tool. You didn't come here for a demonstration on how to build IKEA furniture though, so I'll keep it brief. It was actually fairly straightforward and just a matter of prepping the legs, cranking a few bolts, nesting pieces together, adding more bolts, installing the glass, placing the top, followed by the final bolts, and the bottom piece. The result is a decent looking display case that should make for a nice piece in my office. However, as is, this is not designed to hold water, and there are various areas where it would exit. There's really no quick solution here besides adding more glass and sealing it with silicone. It's made primarily of glass as is, and the shelf fits perfectly on the bottom, so I only need a few additional pieces. I wanted to keep it as easy as possible, but I couldn't find any workarounds besides cutting the glass myself. I know it can seem daunting, but it's pretty simple with the right process. I just clamp a guide over the glass, oil the cutting tool, and give one solid pass to score a line. For long, thin pieces like this, I usually use the back of the tool to create a fissure along the scored line. Otherwise, I score the glass as before, and snap it along the edge of the table. I go back with wet sandpaper to remove sharp edges, and give them a quick rinse to complete the process. Before installing these new pieces in the case, I cleaned everything off with isopropyl alcohol to remove oil. I applied a bead along the bottom to start. There's a gap around the bottom piece, so the silicone is actually going between and on everything like normal. Then, I dropped in the front piece, and locked it down. I smoothed out the silicone with my finger, and moved on to the corners. I applied a bead along the bottom edge, pressed them in, and ran more up the sides. As before, the silicone is getting in between and on the pieces. Unfortunately, the glass wasn't long enough, so I could only account for the entire height with two pieces. I installed these small pieces as before, and repeated the process in the front. After allowing the silicone to cure, and removing the tape, I was left with this. Essentially, what I've done is built a watertight glass box inside of the unit. That said, there are areas I didn't seal off in the front and top, but it shouldn't matter. On the bottom, I built the equivalent of a 10 gallon aquarium or 38 liters, while the entire usable space within the case itself is around 57 gallons or 216 liters. I will admit that my silicone beads for this one are a little sloppy, but none of it will be visible in the end, so I didn't feel like taking the extra steps to tape it off. Regardless, I think it all looks solid, but none of that matters unless it holds water. Let's see how that goes. I'm never worried about my seals with normal aquariums. However, with weird ones like this, they often pique my anxiety when I do the test. Luckily, it retained water flawlessly. With that addressed, there are a few additional things I need to account for, such as this waterproof spotlight. I drilled a hole up in the back to run the cords through to start. Retrospectively, I wish I would have done this prior to assembling the case. Anyway, I deburred the hole with 30 grit sandpaper, and installed the light. I drilled two more holes in the back to account for the bracket. I mounted this to the metal with bolts, and cut off the excess for a cleaner look. Then, I attached the light to the bracket. I also decided to include two waterproof fans for passive air circulation. Weaving stainless steel wire through the holes allowed me to easily mount them to the top of the cabinet. I hooked them up to a USB connection as well. I went with a selection of Mupani wood for the scape. These branchy pieces are perfect for what I intend to do, which will be a little different. I found a piece with a flat end that fit against the top. I drilled a hole through that aligns with it, and mounted it in place with a stainless steel screw. Then, I drilled holes through the branches. I used these to connect various pieces to the first one with wire. I repeated this process on the right side as well. Originally, I was going to include two individual pumps for each side of the setup, to create a living wall. I installed everything accordingly, but I realized this wasn't a viable option. The pumps just weren't strong enough to reach to the top. Instead, I put a single, stronger pump in their place, with one tube that loops around the entire setup. I drilled holes along the tube to create a soaker feature within the branches. By stuffing the gaps with sphagnum moss, I simultaneously created a seamless look through hiding the hardware, but it will double as a growing surface for plants. The soaker tube will keep the moss wet at all times, which will allow the plants to prosper. After adding most of the moss, I installed frost film on the back, and moved the case over to its designated location under the stairs. I think the result is really cool, and I'm excited to see how it will look in this spot. There's more I'll do to the scape shortly, but it would be best if I added the terrestrial plants first. I have an array of different plants here, which will grow perfectly in the living wall environment. Before I can use them though, I need to take them down to the bare roots. They've been soaking for a little bit already, to make my job easier. From there, I simply removed what I could by hand, and sprayed off any remaining bits. The result being clean plants I could easily add to this setup. To do so, I simply put the roots of the plants into the moss. The ferns really filled in the space, and I love how they brought the scape together. I built out from here, adding various smaller plants for texture. Tweezers made the task a breeze. I thought that air plants would be a good addition as well. They add a lot of interest, and are easy to care for. I simply glued them to the branches with super glue. In addition to that, I placed java moss throughout in strategic locations. It will take some time, but in theory, this should cover most of the sphagnum moss. I went on to add dragonstone in the bottom. I used them to stabilize this area of the branches, and hide the filtration. Which you'll see I had to modify here with a tee to get better flow to each side. Then I filled in the front with aqua soil, and evened it out. I capped that off with a layer of small gravel. Within this, I added various aquatic plants to create a little forest. I slowly filled the tank, and was just about to finish things up when I realized, I still haven't installed the door. Simple enough. I just put it in place, and dropped the pins. All in all, I really like how this turned out, and its overall appearance. But more on that later. I want to give a quick rundown on how it will work. The mini fans are hooked up to a timer that turns them on for a few minutes at different times throughout the day. This will help keep the air from becoming stagnant, which is important because it's more or less a sealed environment. The pump, which is actually an all-in-one filter, is hidden in the back. When I need to service it, all I have to do is move the pile of rocks off of it. That might seem annoying, but it's not really a big deal to me. Anyway, from here, as the pump is split into two directions, it goes up the sides of the tank, and as you saw, it's hidden behind the hardscape and moss. As these tubes send out water, they keep everything hydrated, which in turn created a living wall. Within this are various plants that not only look cool, but will also help keep the system clean. These plants, much as they would in a riparian environment, will pull impurities from the water, and thus create a more favorable environment for livestock. The same can be said for the aquatic plants, but the terrestrial ones do a much better job at this. In time, the plants and java moss will consume most of the sphagnum moss, and look even better than it does now. In addition to that, I should probably point out that a few of the plants are looking a little withered. That can happen sometimes when you do something like this, but typically they'll perk back up in no time. Enough on that, all this talk has me wanting to see the setup full of fish. In my opinion, no tank is complete without a good colony of snails, so I started there. I have a mix of bladder, ram's horn, and malaysian trumpet snails. As for the fish, I've selected one of my all-time favorites, zebra danios. I figured, I might as well add some floating plants too. With a little vision, you can turn something as mundane as an Ikea cabinet, into a unique and living piece of art, such as this living wall paludarium. Originally, I intended to make it a terrarium, then a vivarium, and I figured, you know what, why not go all the way and make a paludarium. So that's exactly what I did. I really like how the negative space between the plant walls adds tension to the design itself. I think it makes the whole thing more interesting to look at. The dripping water off the walls adds great movement as well. The display case itself perfectly frames in and showcases the plants, hardscape, snails, and fish, which as I said are one of my favorites. I appreciate their outgoing demeanor, and in my opinion, they're one of the most beautiful common fish. What's your favorite common fish? Let me know in the comments. With this piece, I wanted something unique that added to the appearance of the room itself. A good conversation piece, if you will, and not just another tank. As I said, I also wanted to take my spin on making an Ikea greenhouse, although this is a bit of a deviation from that. I personally think I made the right call though. After all, for someone who loves terrariums, aquariums, fish, plants, all that, what's better than a paludarium?