Hey lynn, what tee shirt size am i? We just met and you're trying to get me shirtless? Tsk tsk.....lol i am a large. you'reblike me with stuff, most of my lights for tanks are just shop lights and phillips 6500k bulbs. They blow away those plant/aquarium bulbs they sell. They aren't even the right color spectrum. They only run about 3000k. Great for viewing fish and plants, but not real good for plant growth.
Heather, for sealing the viv, think drylok paint (sold at h.d., lowes, wally world) or you can go with fiberglass mesh and marine epoxy. I would definitely go with epoxy on the water reservoir. You are already planning t5ho lights, so any aquarium lighting should be relatively waterproof