One thing that is rarely mentioned is the effects of a point-source light versus light that emanates over a larger area. If you set up a tank with a full-length hood, using fluorescent lamps especially, you get an even, flat illumination that looks totally lifeless. I'm not referring to light colour or temperature here; a daylight-spectrum lamp provides a more natural look than a cool white, for example, but in both cases the lighting is completely flat.
Contrast this to the wonderful dappled effect that can be achieved with a single point source of light, such as a single LED fixture, combined with some surface disturbance created by HOB overflows, airstones, pump returns aimed at the surface, etc. You must experiment to get this effect dialed in...any changes in the light source, the angle of the light, distance from the water surface, and type or degree of surface agitation can drastically affect the look of the tank. Once you achieve that dancing, sparkling effect of light bending and refracting at the surface and then shining onto the substrate, decor and fish...it will blow you away. The dramatic look is increased also by the intermingling of bright areas with darker shaded areas at the back and sides.
Some of the LED fixtures sold for planted tank or reef tank use, and which facilitate this look, are very expensive if you aren't actually planning to grow plants. I have a couple of tanks illuminated by LED work lights, mounted in DIY brackets, plugged into GFCI outlets for safety. These things work great, are very durable and very inexpensive. If this is a display tank as opposed to a fishroom tank, you would need to address their homely appearance; maybe mount into some sort of hood, under a shelf unit or something along those lines.
As an aside, they actually work quite well to grow simple plants like most floaters, Anubis, etc.
