Lighting requirements

[kweku414]

Haven't been in the aquarium game for about 8 years. Have a 75gal bowfront. Going to a good number of tropicals plants (the types and variety you find in those online pet shops special packages) aand a good number of community fish (I know very ambiguous). Building my own hood for 3 or 4 fixtures (haven't made up my mind, yet). The number and types of light fixtures and bulbs has gotten stupid - in my opinion. I just want everyone (fishes and plants) to be happy. So, what selection of bulbs would y'all suggest and define whether they are t-12, T-8s, or T-5000s.
Thanx ahead of time.

[Zen4t5]

I believe wattage and lumens are more important than the size of the bulb. For a planted tank you want 2-3 watts per gallon, so you probably want from 150-225 watts for your tank. The higher wattage you go you will need co2. You will also need fertilizers. Do some searches for the plants you are getting to see what kind of light they need. As far as lumens go, you want ideally 5000K-6700K. It should say on bulb or packaging. There is a good amount of research to do, but it is all worth it.