Finally did it! Here it is!

[RandomGemini]

I spent some time deciding what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to do it.

I was going to skip doing a water feature. I originally set the terrarium up with just a deep bed of moss. Then I decided to do it anyway after learning that I could use it as a vehicle to keep the terrarium cool, because mine was getting a tad too warm for my dracula. Having the water feature drops the temp inside my terrarium by about four degrees over the ambient temp in my house. This is what I needed for my cool growing species and hot summer days. It also maintains humidity a lot higher, averaging around 88% over the course of a day.

I purchased some plants and have a friend with another terrarium this size that he's hanging on to for me, in case some of my plant choices need a warmer setup. I have room to put them both on the same table side by side. I also tried to choose things that I think I can grow without the terrarium if I have to.

So here's what I've got, for now:

Dracula Lotax
Haraella Retrocalla
Masdevallia Mendozae
Schoenorchis Fragrans
Lepanthes Saltatrix (which may move to its own space later on down the line.)
And I picked up a tilandisia (did I spell that right?) because it was inexpensive and looked neat. Maybe it will thrive, maybe it won't.

For the substrate, I have a bed of hydroton, with a piece of mesh material and then a bed of sphagnum moss over the top of that to create the floor. Nestled inside the hydroton is the teeny pump that runs the trickle of water down the back of my tank.

All of this is packed into a 12x12x18 exo-terra terrarium.

I have a large piece of grape vine that I sprayed with bleach water, then rinsed thoroughly, sprayed again with hydrogen peroxide, and then baked in the oven at 250 degrees for a couple of hours to kill bacteria and mold spores.

I'll be using this to mount plants on.

I think I'm good for now, on plants anyway. I did want some kind of vine, but now I'm thinking a live moss might be a better fit.

Here's the pic! I probably should have quarantined the plants, but they all came from the same vendor.