New Terrarium 2/6/08- PICS :)

Hey AC folks!

I've always wanted a terrarium, but every terrestrial plant I touch seems to die, LOL. Now that I got my tax return, I went ahead and set one up. It's nothing complicated (since I have 5 going on 6 aquariums, FW and SW), but I was given a free stand and said WTH, you know? I'm using a 20 gallon high aquarium, and a 24" 65W PC light- someone tell me if this will not be effective, and I will gladly move the terrarium close to a window. If I can get away with this lighting, I'd like to do so. For substrate, I chose about an inch, maybe more, of Lowe's pea gravel. Then I added a mix of organic potting soil, worm castings, and a bit of sand mixed together. I bought some plants at Lowe's, but unfortunately threw away most of the tags before I thought about what I was doing- D'OH!!!! I do remember that I have some African violets, a dracaena species, one medium light plant, and the rest low light houseplants, so hopefully I won't kill them. I left the top of the tank uncovered, as I hear this is easier to maintain. I have no animals in here at the moment.... although I saw a sweet tarantula at a LPS.:devil: But my BF does not want to feed crickets, lol, so this may just be a pretty plant setup if I don't kill it.:silly:

Anyway, here are some pics from tonight.













If anyone has any suggestions for me, I certainly welcome any advice. I've only ever had success with aquatic plants, and never terrestrials.:headshake2: Also, if there is anything I can do to improve my setup, I will gladly pot any of the plants I've chosen and set them up by my windows, and choose more suitable plants. This won't be possible with the terrarium, but it would be on an individual plant basis.

**fingers crossed**
WISH ME LUCK!

If the sago starts to have issues (as well as any of the other plants), then I will simply pot it and move it by a window. The soil seems to drain pretty well, and there is just over an inch of gravel underneath it for that purpose.

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Here's some updates! I snapped a couple of pics tonight. The non-clearance African violets don't look too hot, but then again that's why they were $.75. I'm hoping they pull through. Bet you can't guess which African violet was the full-price item! LOL. The other plants still seem to be looking good, and I've been pleasantly surprised what little effort I've had to put into this project. I water (lightly) every 3-4 days, and before I do I look under the stand at the bottom of the tank. If there are very few droplets down there to evap, I go ahead and water.

Here are a couple of pics, I suck at photography so they look really dark for whatever reason.