Hello
Just read your thread from start to finish, looks like you have come on a journey and i can see the "planted tank" glint in your eye!
As a fellow Elite user i know what your working with, excllent bits of kit to get started with:
Just a couple of things to consider
1. you mention earlier in your thread that you hadnt cleaned you stingray filter in five weeks, when i was using mine b4 i went external i was cleaning it every 7-10days. I also have a fluval U2 which is an excellent internal filter and benefits from having media in it. As with the stingray its important to give it regular cleans as internals definatly loose there performance a lot quicker than an external. This will have positive effects on both your plants and fish
2. Not trying to encourage you to spend money, but managed to fit a second tube into the hood, (12" t5) and that had real benefits on the light levels for me. If you interested i can post some pics up to show you how to do it. Its really easy and you only need to drill two small holes.
I hope this helps
Andy