FInally managed to get some reasonably clear pics of my terrarium this morning.

Here's the whole thing:

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Most of the lights are off so I could get the picture.

There's a few banana seedlings in there, just so when you go "what's that", that's what.

The pyramid shapes on the top house 1 75 watt hallide bulb & 1 150 watt flourescent. Under each back shelf are 2 40 watt flourescent bulbs, the common "shop light" kind, and under each side shelf are 2 22 watt (each) compact flourescent bulbs. With all the lights on the thing pulls 500+ watts, and lights the whole room.

The tube looking thing on the middle top is a chimney above one of the cooling fans (activated by the thermostat near the bottom of the terrarium) which aids in cooling the whole thing by convection. As the warm air rises up the 'chimney' it pulls in cool air through slots in the bottom. (look at the bottom left- see the slot cut in the plexi? That's a cold air intake.)

The back & sides are 1/4" plywood, with reflective mylar sheet spary-glued on to create mirrors directing the light back toward the plants. The underside of the top just happens to be a highly polished side of plate aluminum I found at the recycler's It's almost "mirror" quality.

Humidity is adjusted with a humidistat (near the bottom of the terrarium as well) and a home-brew ultrasonic humidifier I tore apart & remade to my spec's. It blows mist down from above, and the entire device is hidden behind the chimney. When set at 65%, I go through about a pint of water every 2 days.

The shelves are 1/8" aluminum plate I picked up at the local metal recycling place (it's sold as 'scrap' there & I get it by the pound) with 1/2"x1" wooden sides bolted on. Cracks are sealed with 50 year silicon calking, making watertight trays within which the water can be about 3/4" deep if I wish.

The lights are controlled by an appliance timer ($5 at hardware stores) & is "on" 18 hours, then "off" for 6. Thus the plants "see" an 18 hour day with a 6 hour night. The heat & humidity controlls are "on" all the time, however rarely turn on during the night cycle.

Here's the bottom shelf, closer:

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The bottom right side, showing the thermal & humidity controlls:

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And one of the small side shelves:

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WHen I built the thing I had read about "the tray method" of keeping carnivorous plants happy, and the intent was to fill each shelf (with the sides on effectively I made trays) with 1/2" or so of water & allow the plants to sit in it, hopefully keeping them happy. For a few months this seemed to work.. But then I began to notice several plants were dying. Sundews.. Flytraps.. Just seemed to be rotting from the inside out. Almost lost a cephalotus to that rot.. And that's when I started to get worried. I *think* the "tray method" was keeping the plants and their roots too wet.. As most of the plants are in 2" or 3.5" square pots which aren't but 3" or 4" deep.

So I let the water in the trays dry, and have been watering the plants with a 2 litre bottle & small hose. Drill a hole in the lid of the bottle, shove the hose through, fill the bottle with (rain) water, & I have a spill-proof watering can.. I have to squeeze it to get the water out, but the hose allows for exact placement of said water.

Is my theory correct? Will sitting in water (like they were) cause some plants to die? I tried to replicate a bog to the best of my ability, but never having seen one...

Now my worry is the tedium of too wet? Too dry? When to water.. I don't know. How wet do most carnivores need their "soil"? Damp? Or... I honestly don't know.. I've only been doing this for about 6 months. It's a balancing act, and I'm afraid I don't know much about soil moisture levels.. And of cource I don't want to kill (more) plants by keeping them too dry.

Any suggestions are welcome- I'm curious to hear how others water their terrarium plants, how much & how often.. Do yours sit in water, or no?

Eventually I want to move some outside, but we often have single-digit humidity here in the summer & I'm concerned about that. Say I have a 10 gallon fish tank. Plan is to fill the bottom with (say) 5" of gravel. Put the plants (in their pots) on this gravel, and pour in enough water that the level is flush w/ the top of the gravel. Tops of the plants will be about 6" from the top of the tank. Will this work? I *hope* it will keep the humidity near the plants high enough that they'll be ok, but (as I've said) being new at this I'm unsure of myself. (if you haven't figured that out already) I don't want to try it.. Get it all set up, move the plants, only to have them all die in a week or 2.

Again, suggestions are welcome.