I just have the standard 15w flourescent that came with the tank and I have to trim my plants at least twice a month. I bought the Lotus at Wal-Mart as bulbs. Took them about 2 weeks to start blooming.
May be a while before I can update now. The Digi cam broke
I was sitting in my living room playing on the laptop and suddenly realized I have a web cam. DUH! I've had this thing for months and I don't even think I've turned it on. LOL. So...here is what my tank looks like now (after I trimmed back some plants that were getting unruly).