Light SW vs FW. Who needs more light.?

I am having great luck with LESS light in my FW tank. In fact my only problem is the plants have adjusted to 2.5 wpg and they are growing out of control again.

Now, on my macro planted nano I have 23 watts over 8 gallons.
I have a 96 watt fixture I can use to either blast them. or the fixture will take a 50/50 bulb , raising the effective light to 48 watts..

Do macros do better with more light? Do they need more light than FW plants?

Oh as for air/mist.. should imy tank look like there is a snow flurry or am I mimicking water's edge after a wave?