It gets severely hot and I keep them in porous soil and in pots in at least 6-8 hours of Texas sun. I do water them once a week when it gets warm, in the 90's- 115 . we are approaching the big heat after a nice cool spring. It sure isn't like last summer. We had already hit 111 by this time. My aloes did fine through the heat. That is why I love them to pieces.

Hey there, Might not be a pest and could just be general rot due to over saturated soil. As stated above, even in southern more sunny regions, northern windows will work for a very limited number of plants to grow and thrive in. If that is all you have to work with, you will be forced to look into supplemental lighting. Repot into smallest container it will fit into and cut your soil with 50/50 perlite/soil for better drainage. Unfortunately, your conditions are about as bad as possible for this type plant. (ie: water retentive soil, not enough light and too large a container). Don't feel bad, its all about trial and error with these guys. I've killed several trying to maximize my growing conditions. Sounds like you'll have to decide if growing this type of plant in your conditions is worth setting up a grow station or not. Good luck!

Paul and Christina I like your thinking! :-) Paul, the common/shared balcony does get some weather but not with the same force or as much rain as mine. I've never noticed a power outlet on the shared balcony, but I wouldn't use it anyway because we have a lot of people here that have absolutely no idea of safety. We have another balcony directly above ours the same size as ours, so there is better shelter from the elements. My balcony also has a small balcony above, the same size as mine. Oh my goodness! I have the same sort of shelving in my room, of the first image from your link lol. I bought expensive ones so they can hold more weight than I could ever manage. I did put the small one outside for a short while but it started developing surface rust pretty quickly. But I've noticed recently much cheaper ones of the same design. What type of store is the BBS? I wouldn't like to tie or even chain anything from the balcony fence above and we have asked permission to get hooks for hanging plants, I even offered to pay to get them to get professionally done, a firm no :-( By the way, I have often used zip ties with far greater success than even strong wire, and cheap enough to replace often if needed. Christina, I love the lockable wheels thought! Then I could even take them from the shared balcony to mine and vice versa. And even inside if needed. Just had a thought! We have a walkway across to the next building/wing of the complex, that I've noticed gets full sun for quite a few hours in the middle of the day. I also have a few trusted friends on my floor who's balconys face north so should get the hottest sun for many hours. So...... cheap shelving with wheels, maybe 2 if needed. Roll the plants all over the place to get the best conditions available for any season lol. Equals - I may be able to keep and add to my Succulents after all!!! Woooo hooooooo :-D Also very spoilt plants lol. Also equals a very long post. Sorry guys. But thank you so much!!!!

I am in colder zone, but temps in Summer are quite god. Succulents are outdoors, in full sun, whole day. You could have bit of 'microclimate' - if there is solid surface on your terrace; otherwise most succulents will probably enjoy the sunlight. Exceptions would be most Haworthias - they don't need such strong sunlight. Do you have list of succulents you want to get? Some other plants may prefer bit of dappled sunlight around noon-time, when sunlight is strongest. When are you planning on putting them outdoors? I do not put leaves and rootless cuttings into strong sunlight until they grew roots, and always acclimatize them first.