Lighting for my 40g

Hey guys, still new to the whole SW thing, especially lighting... Everyone i know says metal halides, but it's not their money and MH is really expensive... I'm not scared of spending the money, but with my 40g only being 15" deep do i really need MH? I know a lot of people are mentioning watts/gallon, but isn't it about light penetration? i mean if my tank was 24" deep but 40g, it would require more lighting than my 15" high right? So what do you guys suggest? I'll leave it to the experts

 

You are right about depth.
You could do PC or T5 or the like. Be sure to compare to a halide setup though, you might be surprised. Remember, all those bulbs add up and you have to replace them more often that metal halide.

 

At the end of the day the M/Hs will last longer and give you far more lux for the Bux joking But as Matt said all those little tubes need to be replaced on average at about 9 to 12 months T 5's have a shorter life then all others . But the M/H I use my bulbs for closer to 2 yrs on average. P/M me if you want I may be able to help you out with the cost and set up of either type you want I have several; T 5's to sell now used and cheap.. I still don't see the rage about them.. Souped up P/C are all they are I think. A set of VHO will run all over the T5's Running the URI brand bulb.