I have good success with led lights that produce 6500k illumination. It's bright and the the taller plants kind of shelter the lower plants that require less lights. My plants are Peppermonia, pothos, spider plants, some species of philodendria but forget which one.
Hi and welcome to the forum. You mentioned tour using a 26w uvb bulb. Is this the compact flourescent unit or the linear tube. What type 5.0?
You will want to measure the amount of uvb near the basking area.