Anyone have some ideas on hood options that allow more light?

I have a 55G, and I built my own.

I got a $13 fixture, two 40W T12 aquarium bulbs at $10 each, and a $5
sheet of styrofoam insulation at home depot. I got two 6in x 23.25in
pieces of 1/4 glass for $10 from a local supplier.

I built a small box to mount the fixture in (with some spare plywood I
had), and placed this box over the glass. I filled in the remaining
space in front and behind the glass with the styrofoam. It actually
looks pretty good.

There are some options available to you. Some people like electronic
ballasts (the thing that runs your flourescent tubes) better, for
reasons such as extended bulb life and better light output.
Additionally, high output 32W T8 bulbs would use less electricity,
although home depot didn't have aquarium or sunlight bulbs of this
type. Your other option is compact flourescent, but these bulbs are
expensive (~$30 each), so it will depend how cheap you are.

Keep in mind that you should change your bulbs about once a year (or
one every 6 months, if you have two), so the cost of bulbs is
important. I hear that you can get the T12 bulbs for $2 if you find
them on sale. If you're going to go the compact flourescent route, you
can get DIY bright kits that use semi-parabolic reflectors
(http://www.ahsupply.com/).

Of course, you could buy a glass top and separate lighting setup, or
something of the like, but when I priced them the setups were in the
range of ~$180, and I'm too cheap for that (I got my tank for $30 at a
yard sale).

Hope that helps