I actually got a terrarium from someone on this forum who was going to throw it out...i took it and set it up in my classroom and started with 4 poison dart frogs...now I have 9 with 3 more tadpoles and 6 additional eggs.
Anyway, I have a bunch of plants in there and had to set the tank up back from scratch. You need to make a base thats about an inch high (don't quote me on the accepted specifics - I'm ball parking it) off the bottom of tank. Use PVC pipe ring pieces cut to the height you want the base, put egg crate wrapped with a screen on it on top of that, and thats your raised base. There is specific terrarium dirt you can/should get that has everything you need, get some terrarium branches and landscape the way you want. Most people put a back wall that makes the tank look more natural, but i have no idea what the cost is because my tank came with it. Also, build up more dirt in the back in the tank so its raised which will help the plants in the back be more visible (but a subtle gradient).
In terms of lighting, I got LED's for a freshwater aquarium with a timer.
To keep the humidity up and keep them watered you can invest in a misting system that will mist the tank on a schedule - but if you're not keeping frogs i guess its not as important, and you can probably just save some money and mist by hand. Top of the tank should be acrylic or glass to keep humidity in.
Pick the plants you want, plant them, and you're done! To make it look more natural (and keep the soil moist) get some leaf litter and spread it out along the bottom of the tank. Makes it look awesome.
Every week or 2 the water will infiltrate the soil and start building up on the bottom of the tank below your egg crate/screen base. This prevents the roots from sitting in the water and rotting. Just siphon out that water with an air line into a bucket and thats basically all the maintenance needed.
Keeping frogs is SUPER easy...to the point where I only feed them and they're thriving so much that they are breeding and the offspring are living. BTW, if you decide to throw some frogs in there let me know and I'll give you some of the young adults (i guess?) that I have.
I happened to find a guy who has a side business making/running terrariums. He has a showroom in the basement of his house and has all different types of tropical plants and everything else you need to make the tank. His name is Paul from Vivariums in the Mist. If you want his contact information PM me and I'll send it over. Nice guy, and I like supporting the local small business guy instead of someone on the internet I don't know, but thats just me.
I'm not an expert and am just speaking from my own experience...Hope this helped!
