self watering terrarium

http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/hydropon...fill-drain-fitting-kit-fitting-kit-w-adapter/
http://www.mistking.com/3-4-Drain-Bulkhead-Slip-Kit.html

just a couple examples of smaller bulkheads.

ideal ventilation would be an inlet near the substrate layer in the front of the setup and an exit in the top/lid at or near the rear of the setup. this will tend to draw the air in and up along the front glass to keep it from fogging up/condensing and allow hot air to be released out the back minimally reducing any drying that may be caused from air exchange and heat accumulation from your lighting/etc. that can sway tank parameters.

do you know what environmental parameters you're shooting for and what your inhabitants (flora and/or fauna) will be? "european style" viv ventilation will necessitate modification in an aquarium based palu. no matter what your ventilation may be it may best to be able to adjust the amount of ventilation you have to control your environment. once you have it in place, you may want some way of variably plugging those holes as necessary to achieve your desired rh.

depending on your plan for circulation and your desired rh, you likely could get away with controlling rh via your circulation fans or air stones place in the water column inside the terra. this route will make viewing through the front pane more difficult, especially if your need for increasing rh is significant since you than have to focus your circulation for humidity sake instead of for keeping the front glass clean.

another thing you may want to consider is a drip irrigation manifold... http://www.blackjungleterrariumsupply.com/8-Outlet-Dripper-Manifold_p_925.html

all in all... looking at your current progress and thinking minimalistically, it might be best for you to put any ventilation in your top glass in the front of the terra to help with keeping the front glass clear.

but enough of me rambling on and thinking out loud... what do you have to work with? what are your goals? what's your budget? what's your level of DIYness? tell me a little about yourself, lol...

ugh. I just typed a long reply and got a server error!

basically what I said was, http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=260&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=1 you could use 2 of these to run 2 airpumps, 1 that pushes air through the water column to raise humidity, the other to just pump fresh air into the viv to lower.

I'd used stepped eggcrate for your floor, and place plants on the different height steps. Under the eggcrate I'd install a float to actuate refill when the waterline drops, or I'd use a floor drain with a stand pipe to the waterline, and have a pump on a timer that pushes freshwater from a reserve into the tank every day, and flushes old water out through the stand pipe into a waste bucket.

well, the only challenge in what you're looking for is expense really. you could have it fill and drain daily, but you'd need an electronically controlled valve for the drain, so that you could close while filling. something like this might work http://www.google.com/products/cata...obcOuLW0QGl16DgBA&ved=0CIEBEPMCMAA#ps-sellers

so basically, you'd have a timed pump to fill, with a timed valve to open and close at the appropriate time, and you'd probably still want a stand pipe to floor drain so that you never run the risk of over filling.

i like your drilled holes plan for a budget setup, personally. you may find your front glass doesn't clear up perfectly along the whole length... especially with a tank to room temp differential that favors a warm tank. which is highly likely. i suspect it won't be a huge issue, though. for super cheap and adjustable, you could use the plugs you cut out of the glass as guide rails for a vent cover cut out of a thin strip of lexan. a couple dabs of silicone should hold the plugs in place. stagger a second plug on the first on to make a rail, let dry and you're done. then again... the same can be done with scotch tape, lol.

if you're going with leca, i'm going to suggest putting pots in and maybe adhering them lightly to the floor for you to put your plant pots into. this way you can use whatever you want to control the height of each individual pot and if you ever feel the need to remove any of them for any reason, putting them back exactly as they were is as simple as dropping them back into the pots they were in. if you don't go hog crazy with glue, pulling your stationary holder pots should be fairly easy as well. maybe a dab of silicone squished through a hole on one corner. on the other hand, if you're going to jam pack the tank with pots, that'll make things tough to get to the leca should you ever want to clean things up a bit.

i totally agree with bills point on the waste and reservoir buckets, but you certainly could change the water in the bucket weekly and that should suffice. i would aerate it and consider an opaque cover should it ever get algae.

you might consider putting a heater in the bucket too, so that when you flood the tank it's not with cold water.