Requesting advice for orchid terrarium rebuild

[OrchidFan1]

Hello Orchid Board

I've been growing orchids for 6-7 years now with good success (simple grocery store orchids in my living room) and decided to take the plunge into terrariums with miniature orchids.

I finished construction of my first orchid terrarium three weeks ago following instructions online. My goal is to make a fully automated, natural-style planted terrarium. It's been a ton of fun, though I've continued researching since then and realized I made a number of mistakes.

First, details on my current setup:

I live in Boston, MA. My terrarium is indoors, aside a southeast facing window (not in front of it, since my desk is there). Measuring with a lux sensor only registers about 1000 lux at noon, much less than I initially expected.

I have a UNS 60U tank (20 gallons, ~24x14x14") with a glass top covering just over 3/4 of it. The base layer is 1" of volcanic gravel covered by a plastic mesh screen, then a 3/4" layer of activated charcoal, topped by a 2" layer of rePotme Phalaenopsis Monterey Dark Imperial Orchid Mix. The orchids are either mounted in sphagnum moss on rocks or cork bark, or planted in the substrate. There is an AC Infinity USB fan constantly circulating air internally.

I have the following plants:

• Cattleya dormaniana
• Ceratostylis philippinensis
• Dendrobium trantuanii
• Dendrobium unicum
• Schoenorchis fragrans
• Haraella retrocalla (Gastrochilus retrocallus)
• Bulbophyllum barbigerum

I made a culture spreadsheet here: Orchids - Google Sheets

And here are current images of it: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

As I mentioned, my goal is to create a natural looking planted terrarium, automate as much of it as possible, and require as little manual maintenance as possible. I'd like to leave for 1-2 weeks at a time and not have to worry about it. I'm building an automation setup using a Raspberry Pi which is currently monitoring temperature, humidity, and light over the day, and can automatically flip on a Repti Fogger and any other accessory as needed.

So far I've identified these problems:

• I fell into the trap of ordering orchids I liked and not orchids that were appropriate for the environment. Some have wildly different requirements.
• The 3/4 cover is not adequate to contain humidity. I can only keep it at 50-60% but is dependent on the weather. When I seal the openings with saran wrap I can easily maintain 80-95%.
• The tank is not getting nearly enough sun. According to the culture sheets all of the plants require 10,000+ lux and some much higher.
• My natural-style tank seems ill-suited to handle and drain as much water as the culture sheets require, especially when it's sealed. Also, I'm nervous to water that much after years and years of conditioning to only sparingly water orchids.
• The terrarium honestly seems a bit dull at the moment, and I'd like to make it more interesting.

I've decided to rebuild it, and if I'm doing that I might as well rebuild it right. I've come up with the following changes to make:

• Rebuild the tank with a custom background to make it more interesting Custom Background Kits For Live Vivariums, Bioactive Terrariums, and Basic Enclosures | NEHERP - Your One Stop Vivarium Shop!
• Only purchase appropriate orchids for the environment going forward
• Mount a light on top to supplement sunlight. The lighting articles at firstrays.com have been insightful.
• Order a custom cut acrylic top to seal the tank but still pass through accessories to maintain humidity. And include an external fan to bring in fresh air as needed.
• The biggest question is how to handle watering. A misting system like the MistKing seems ideal for the plants' requirements, but I don't know how to drain it, especially if it's constantly, frequently adding water to the system.

I'd appreciate any guidance on how to address these issues, especially the watering part, and criticisms of my plans.

I was additionally wondering if it's possible to seal (or nearly seal) an orchid terrarium like this so it acts like a traditional terrarium: that is, simulating the water cycle so it requires little/no manual watering. Is it possible to adequately meet the plants' needs doing that without keeping them persistently damp?

Also, I'd like to clarify my understanding of the culture requirements for 10,000+ lux. Holding my phone flashlight directly up to my light meter registers 10,000 lux, and that seems awfully bright as a minimum. Is this correct, or am I misinterpreting it?

Thank you!