lighting

[nemo79]

i currently have basic fluorescent lighting. i want to upgrade the bulbs but not the whole thing...not in my budget right now. i want to keep some soft corals the ones that need low to moderate lighting. what bulbs would you consider good. my lfs isn't good at helping or giving advice, actually their pretty much nose up in the air people. i was thinking 50/50 bulbs. i have the canopy with the 2 small light fixtures instead of the one long. also is there a way to tell what the watt capacity is cause i can't find it. thanks so much my fishy friends.

[coral reefer]

The fluorescent bulbs that came with your tank as a whole set-up(which I believe you are referencing to) are no good for corals and inverts especially. The reason being is that they aren't "full spectrum" bulbs. In other words they do not cover the full spectrum of light ranging from red to purple and all the colors in between replicating the suns rays.
They do sell bulbs(coralife for one) for your particular hood. I want to say they are around 15-30 watts per bulb. The 50/50 bulb is a popular choice with reefers becuase it contains 10000k(white light) as well as Actinic(blue light).
The cooler lower kelvin bulb comprises the red/yellow/white end of the spectrum. The hotter, higher kelvin bulbs represent the green/ blue and purple end of the spectrum. Ie. 6700k bulb is very white with alot of red and yellow in the bulb for coloration. A 20000k bulb is mostly blue and purple.
Alot of corals look awesome under the actinic lighting(fluoresce/glowing) capabilities and it represents the deeper reef zones in our oceans.
The 10000k bulb will look brighter and whiter and will aid in faster coral growth, however it will also promote algae growth due to the red color of the spectrum.
I could go on and on but as a short guide for ya, this should hopefully help.
Soft corals don't require intense light unlike that of sps.
You may want to try gorgonians, sponges, mushrooms, zoopolyps, leather, colt or Xenia as well for low lighting.