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has anybody tried using intelligent plant light?

You could do much better for less money with a high-powered spiral fluorescent bulb. A 42W CFL can cover a few plants quite thoroughly. For those little light stands, you're mostly paying for the pretty stand and the packaging. An ordinary desk lamp with the appropriate bulb will do the same thing for cheaper.
Don't be too worried about not having a terrarium to start out with. Terrariums are often more trouble than they're worth, especially if you don't know much about the plants you're growing. Try easy varieties like D. capensis and the other common tropical sundews. You might have success with tropical and subtropical Pinguicula as well in your area. Once you're more comfortable with plants in general you could try growing a highland Nep outdoors in the shade, or maybe in a windowsill if you aren't feeling brave. (See http://www.nepenthesaroundthehouse.com/)
~Joe
 
so basically i can just use a lamp with good lighting and just have the plant on top of a water tray and im good?
 
Definitely. You shouldn't encounter any difficulties with conditions until you start getting into plants with particular temperature requirements, like Neps that require certain nighttime conditions or the petiolaris-complex sundews, which I'm also told are finicky with respect to temperature. If your house is air conditioned, low humidity may create difficulties as well. But don't worry about that - there are plenty of easy plants to collect. By the time you have a better idea of growing under lights (and perhaps leaf/root propagation, seed growing, etc.) you'll probably have picked up all sorts of info on more difficult plants.
~Joe
 
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