blue_gourami, you are correct in elephant noses prefuring it a bit darker however a better way to go about it is available. if the light isn't strong enough alot of plants won't grow so i have two possible suggestions that i thought of along with many more i'm sure are out there.
1. Use a less powerful light and look into plants such as java fern and anubias. anubias gets large leaves that cover alot of ground and jave fern grows fairly tall and spreads very well, you could also use decorations like driftwood. these things don't require much light at all so you wouldn't have to blast the fish with light.
2. more of just an addon than another idea. if you want some of those higher end plants try something like the driftwood and/or taller plants to kindof grow over the surface of the water or atleast provide large shaded areas in the tank. this way you can have the powerful light and still give the fish its needed darkness
oh, and no tank should have light 24/7 i would aim for about 8-10 hours a day consistently it seems to work well from experience.