lighting system

Question
hi,i have a 75 gallon system(fish only)that has been going for about 10 years, i recently have been reading up on corals and have purchased a system that can run 8 T8 bulbs , only interested in keeping soft corals and some zoa's , what is the best bulbs to get for this system and how many ie. 3 actintic and 5 10,000k ?

Answer
Hey Dave,
Good man, reading up before you leap into a reef system. It sounds like you've got a fixture like I used to have. I ran mine 4 and 4 and had wonderful results for 7 years(then did a re-design). But 3 actinics and 5 10,000's will serve you well. There are a few soft corals that do better under stronger actinic lighting, so do your reading on each species before you buy. You can always add a spot fixture, fairly inexpensively, later if you'd like to add a species that requires a different light supplemented. Let me know if you have any other questions. Always glad to help a fellow aquarist.

I forgot.... Type bulbs... Oops, sorry my friend. There are numerous brands out there. Zoo Med makes great and affordable bulbs for T-8 fixtures. 50/50(50% actinic 50% reef sun), 10,000k, 420 true actinic, they make them all. I would recommend the true 420 actinic(a more blue light, above 420 starts to get violet with more reds and under 420 is more green) in combination with 10,000k or 12,000k. 3 actinics and 5 reef sun(10 or 12,000K) or 4 actinic and 4 reef sun as I previously mentioned. Either will give you a striking display and enable most of the species you probably intend to keep, to thrive. The 4 and 4 split does give you more flexibility with species. Corallife is the only other brand I can speak from personal experience about. They make a great bulb as well, just a bit more pricey. I'm a DIY guy with most things, including lighting so I really cant say there are any particular brand fixtures I like or recommend. Just keep your system in the 5 to 8 watts per gallon range, with at least 30% in the blue actinic spectrum and you should be doing fine.