lighting problem in Aqueon Minibow 5 gallon

[homegrown terror]

hey, i've got a problem. we've got an Aqueon Minibow 5 that's currently got silk plants in it. we're going to switch it to live plants, but the filter is built into the hood, and blocks lighting from a good third of the tank floor. is there any way to circumvent this problem without having to use an additional light source, or should that area just be planted with low-light plants like wisterias?

[sandybottom]

does the 5 gallon have a small 12v incandescent candelabra bulb in it? one or two bulbs? these bulbs won't grow much. maybe java fern ,anubias,moss or marimo balls. for these i would just give the tank a little filtered, indirect sunlight for a couple of hours a day. you can't grow much more without upgrading your lighting. i have the 1 gallon minibow and assume that the lighting is similar. i use mine as a hospital tank.i stocked it with the plants mentioned above.

[homegrown terror]

it's got a single-socket hood, and we've got a pretty strong CFL bulb in there. the light is wonderful, the only problem is the largeish shadow the filter creates.

[aokashi]

put lowlight plants in the shadow and high light plants in the well lit areas....