well plants need a balance light food and co2/o2 to thrive
lighting needs to be in the 6500k to 6700k spectrum, most bulbs will say on them what they are. watts per gallon is an old rule but more or less applys depending on how strong your lights are. the stronger the light the more everything els your plants need to grow(co2,ferts). so lower strength lights will grow plants slower but they will require less in terms of co2 and fertilizer, plants can also adapt to a degree of lighting, and Emerson
food- plants love a good substrate, (organic)dirt works well because its cheap plentiful and provides lots of good stuff for your plants roots. they absorb quite a deal more through their root systems. I made a very effective fert tab. which consists of clay, iron,and fertilizer tabs, which when mixd in with dirt provides lush growth. also you can supplement some nutrients though the water collum with liquid fertilzers, each one unique in what it provides for the plants health.
and co2 which is the plants intake during photosynthesis this can be done with a pressurized system like paintball tanks or co2 tanks or through diy co2 with yeast and suger. or if you wanted to you can always use EXCELL a liquid carbon source for plants. if co2 was a 10 excell would be like a 6 or 7 a decent substitute. I use a "drop checker' in my tank which actively moniters co2 levels in the tank allowing me to adjust accordingly. co2 can also be measured with a PH kit and a KH kit. with each given figure you can calculate the total amount of co2 in your water. I turn my co2 on 1hr before the lights come on and shut it down 1hr b4 the lights turn off. when the plants are in darkness they stop using co2 and begin using oxygen, which buffs the ph back up.
my lights run for 6 hrs a day, i have 4 -24". 24w- T5ho lights
substrate is a mix of clay and dirt (plus homemade fert tabs) capped with gravel or sand
i run pressurized co2 on timer
i dose excell and flourish
i keep good water flow with my penguin 400 and powerhead.
and i do a water change about 30-50% once a week.
my system is higher tech than most people but the idea is the same as far as providing optimum parameters for growing plants. I have created cheaper and more basic systems for people which can still grow a variety of low light or med light plants.
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