I heard street
lamps make a very nice blackwater look however promotes alot of algae
growth.

No algae, I've used HPS(yellow looking) and Merc vapor(Bluer looking),
heck they cost only 15$ and the bulbs last for years. The HSP and MH
are what they use for grow lights. But the light type is not what
causes the algae, it's more about CO2 and nutriuents that are at zero
ppm or out of balance.

my problem is I am a noob to aquatic plants and am looking for advice
on some good hearty plants. and any info on a diffrent bulb for the
pendant's.

I like the powercompact pendent up on 4 individual "feet". You can
also hang it from the ceiling. The "feet" raise it up off the top of
the tank about 3 inches. The box is 11"w x 2.5" h x 48.5"l(6 x 55w PC
lights). I used 3/16" and 1/4" wood then painted it. It's pretty light
weight.
You could go with 4 (2.1 w gal) or 6 (3.2 w/gal) 96w PC lights and do
the same thing with the 96 w lights.

MH's need to be up around 12" from the surface of the light, while the
PC's can be right down on the surface and still has good spread and
even lighting unlike the MH. Better reflectors on the PC's than
some/most MH set ups. The smaller HQI bulbs usually have a nice look
but cost more.
There's also the Spider MH reflector (or something close that is made
for a MH light).

Water sprite is a good test plant. Using driftwood with jave fern
attached to it or moss etc would look good and allow you to move the
pieces around for maintenance/design changes.
Bolbitus fern/moss on the wood and water sprite would look nice
together also.
Regards,
Tom Barr

thanks,
bob