...I forgot to mention the dimensions too! It will be 4 ft X 4 ft X 1 ft 6 in.

I cant tell enough about that tube from the information listed. I would assume that it is better than cool white, but they really don't give the wavelength or color temp of the tube. I would contact the company before spending your money on it. I still think you are better off with the CF fixture though. You should go through 3 tubes by the time you have to replace your CF bulb from the setup that I listed. I have been using this style of setup for more than a year now and they work great. I think this is about as good as you can do in that price range oustide of making your own. Good luck!

I am in the camp that thinks the spectrum of the light is not crucial to growing plants, at least not the different spectra between fluorescent tubes. Some people have the opinion that it makes a bigger difference. One thing that may be important to you is how the plants appear under the lights. The special plant lights are a funny pinky/purpley colour and they can make plants look funny. A standard cool white tube that would probably be fine for growing will make the plant colours look a little flat. If you want the plants and flowers to look good then you should hunt down a tube with a CRI number above 90. They are more expensive but they look better. They may be labelled as full spectrum or daylight, but don't rely on the words, check that CRI number. You can get CRI 96 tubes fairly easily that are almost indistinguishable from natural light. The high CRI probably won't make much difference to the plants, but again some people say they work better. The other thing to make sure is that you have enough light to keep the plants healthy. With only one tube, you are probably going to be a little short on light. Its hard to give more specific advice without knowing the terrarium size and the fitting details. P.S. Good choice with the Saxifrage there :)

As to changing the water, I don't know how often. All things eventually decompose and recycle. Plants take up stuff like nitrate, ammonia, sulphur compounds, anything that is a nutrient for plants. I read that the newt may leave the water if the condition is bad, giving me some clue. I can't actually see any evidence that the newt is benefiting from changing the water. I've settled on every two weeks, and don't feed the animal excessively. How much to feed is another good question. I can only go by if the newt is fat or thin or looks "just right". I think they might actually live longer if not fed more than they need. Some interesting facts about newts. They can live 25 years in captivity. They can grow a new leg if they lose one. Some good links: http://www.caudata.org/cc/index.shtml http://www.livingunderworld.org/ What is a tomato frog? I'd like to get another pet, real small. Maybe a small gecko or other lizard, or a small tree frog or a small land salamander. Nothing expensive, just common species.