how many t-5 lights

i have a 40 gallon breeder 16"tall tank.i have a nova extreme pro 6 bulb.how many bulbs would ya use,not to bleach every thing.
right now i have
uv super acintic
ati b+
uv indigo sun 50/50 bulb aquasun/454 close to same par as atintic white
ati b+
uv indigo sun
geismann atintic +
i have acans,favia,some torch coral and hammer coras on the sand and a dersa calm.my milli corals ar about middle of tank they seem to be doing ok.the one that concerns me is the orange monti coral he really lighted up with the t-5 on him from a deep orange to a more glowing orange i have pics posted on photo bucket under clevebill if ya want to see my tank.basically i just want to know is 4 enough for everything or is 6 better because its not a high end fixture like a tex or a ati fixture.i wish i had a par meter to see what these bulbs are really putting out with this fixture.

 

Go with all 6. It Wont hurt anything. Just acclimate them slowly to the new light and all should be good.

 

It won't necessarily hurt anything, but your colors will fade a bit and become light and less pronounced, aka bleaching. If you can, run four, but I don't know how that fixture is wired.

 

i could just run 4 bulbs in the middle of the fixture and leave the outer 2 bulbs out ,but will i get the spread being that the 4 lights will be bunched together in 6 iches wide to cover a 18 inch wide tank

 

hello clevebill

i sent you a pm not to long ago. i have the same tank and have also been asking around about a good lighting unit for a 40 breeder. i was looking at the TEK or the elite. im just not sure if i should use the 4 bulb or a 6 bulb unit.

myself im wanting mostly LPS's but im sure before to long i will want a few SPS and a clam for sure.

well if you come across the best thing to do hook me up with a PM. i will be sure to do the same i i get a good answer first.

 

Just increase the distance between the water and your fixture and use all six. Using all six will give you a greater selection of bulbs to make sure get more of the color spectrum.

 

i run now
front
blue+
uv acintic white
blue+
geismann midday
its a nice white with blue to it i think if ya run to many blue it looks washed out the acintic white help pop the corals of the rocks.i used to run 20k radiums but its not the same without the shimmer and ya had light and dark spots.with t-5 its just one solid blue not the same look imo