4 or 6 bulb t5????

[Tflow256]

So I'm in the process of planning all my purchase for my 40b reef. Now I've been doing a lot of reading and research on lighting but need a bit more advice. I plan on doing a sps dominate tank with maybe a few lps and softies. Mainly I want to be able to support the sps more than anything and I can't decide if it really is necessary to get a 6 bulb rather than the 4 bulb fixture. I read different things like 6 bulb on this shallow of a tank causes more problems than it benefits and is pretty much overkill. Any input?? Thanks!

[Tflow256]

Sorry, meant to post this in the lighting forum

[Duvallj]

A good six bulb fixture will allow you to run different combinations of lights, like 2,4,6 bulbs. You can program a timer to ramp up light and only run 6 bulbs durring peak hours.

I ran a couple of 36" 4bulb t5 fixtures. It worked good enough for my corals, but I didn't have sps in the tank. Even with ati bulbs I don't think 6 bulbs would of been too much.
I ran this on a standard 30 gallon tank which is more narrow than a 40b. A 6 bulb fixture will help the spread over the added width.

With sps in mind 6bulbs will give you more options and a good fixture will allow you to only run 4 if you want. I'd go a 6 bulb config.