Is 150W enough?

[fish addict]

I am upgrading my lighting to metal halide and I thought that 150 watts would be enough to keep anything in my 29G. But yesterday I saw on a website that I would need 250W to keep SPS which I might try after getting a few things for my tank and I am sure it is very stable. But 250 watts seems like overkill to me. Do I really need 250 watts to keep SPS?

 

[teen]

you'll be fine with 150w. 250w would be great, but then you risk heat problems and what not. have you looked into 175w mh fixtures? thats probably the best choice..

 

[fish addict]

Yes but I want a clip-on or something that will fit on my tank(30"). I don't really want to bother with hanging lights.

 

[krazekajin]

I have a 29g with sps and 175w of HM. However, the 150 will be fine and if you have any doubts as to a particular coral needing the extra 25 or so watts of light, then just put that coral closer to the light.
There are several lights that have mounting legs and you can get by with a 24in light or even a 36in light because the legs slide to go smaller or larger

 

[clibby]

Just keep your SPS mid to high in the tank. You really need 250 for 24 inches. So, keep your SPS a bit higher.
Good Luck!

 

[aztec reef]

i wouldn't keep Sps under 150w, but it is good for all other corals.
if you don't want hanging lights then good luck finding a fixture that will fit in a canopy.(first get the lights then build your canopy around it, you'll need fans too) But if you change your mind try Aquamedic fixtures they have great ones for small tanks.

 

[fish addict]

I don't have a canopy and I think it's easier without one. Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[drewsta]

sps grows pretty fast under the right conditions and that is plenty of light. Just know with sps lights are really only 1/2 the battle, you need to feed those puppies and keep grade A+ water quality

 

[aztec reef]

Actually Sps like intensity and with a 150w you can do it! But is it lame for the coral? put it like this ..
If you put a 150w over a 29g of course it will look and be better than putting it in a 50g tank, but the problem is that the intensity still lame in both cases(for sps) a 150w is a 150w no matter how you put it.
Sps are high light intensity corals so we should try to mimic they're natutal habitat and i believe that a 250w is the minumun when it comes to Sps.(the more the better)
so if a Sps requires 15,000 lux to saturate, and a 175w delivers 17,500 lux at the water surface it will be about 7,000 lux at about 11 inches down . this means that you can put Sps ONLY at the very top center for best results.