Ok, I want to upgrade the lighting for my tank so the plants do
better. Looks like I can't just get a brighter bulb for my hood.

Nope, it doesn't work that way, unfortunately. The fixture pretty much
determines what bulbs you can use and how much light you can have.

Anyway, I saw glass tops which you could put separate lighting
fixtures on top of. I would like something flexible so that I could
add more light later if I decided to really get into this planted tank
thing. Would this be a good idea?

I use glass canopies on both of my tanks. They do offer a lot of flexibility.
So far, my two monster cats have not managed to knock off the light strips.

I am thinking of staying away from
CO2 at the moment. So could I buy a glass top, maybe use the light
from my existing hood plus another fixture on the top

You could do that. Another possibility might be to buy a 55W power compact
upgrade kit, and fit it into your current hood. AHSupply.com has them.

I've been studiously reading the back posts on watts per gallon. Would
three 20 watt bulbs be ok? That would be 60 watts or about 2 1/2 watts
per gallon. Is that suitable for the size and shape of my aquarium?

It's a bit high, but will probably be all right. Are you planning to get one
twin-tube light strip, and use it with your current single strip? If so, make
sure they both fit on the tank top. The twin-tube is wider. And remember that
the handle on front of the glass top, and equipment at the back, may take up
some of the width of the tank top.



Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/