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Oh no! another lighting question.

Ok, just got back from living and working in Japan the last four years.
Before I left I got back into the aquarium hobby, and just started using
live plants.  Had to pack up the aquarium and put it into storage before
moving to Japan.  Well in Japan one of my friends was heavily into aquaria,
and you should have seen his tanks.  Now he lived in Tokyo, and he had
barely enough room to sleep & eat in his apartment surrounded by his tanks -
but the plants were tremendous.

So I'm back in the States, got the aquarium out, and have gotten serious
(and already lighter in the wallet).

Specs:

40 gallon acrylic aquarium (36lx15wx16h)
2 bags flourite (30lbs)
very fine gravel/sand over flourite
2 pieces large bogwood
5lb CO2 tank w/double gauge
eheim canister filter

OK, now I have researched the list, and I am concerned about lighting.  Of
course now I wish I had a larger tank, at least 48" in length, then the
solutions would be easy.  I have looked into DIY using T-8 bulbs & an
electronic ballast. And just recently checked the AH Supply site.  While
researching, it has come to my attention that to get bulbs for "high
intensity" plants may by difficult in lengths less than 48".  GE has
discontinued the SPX - 50's in anything less than 48".  Now most of the
bulbs I've noticed come in a range of 2800-4100k, and I think that the
spectral range is ok in red (and green, whether that's good or bad) but not
so good in blue.  I have a hood (oak) on the tank and I will attach the
lights to it.  I am seriously considering the AH Supply Bright Kit, maybe
one 96 watt bright kit, and one 36 watt bright kit. I know some list members
have ordered these kits, but alot seem to be using them in conjunction with
existing lights.  I have already put a fair amount of money into this, and
would like to make sure that I continue to set this up properly. I know that
the watts/gallon rule is not the only concern - I am shooting for approx. 3
watts/gallon.  Any help, suggestions, experiences would be greatly
appreciated.

William Bragg
williambragg at home_com
Oregon, USA