Too much light?

[mark_d]

Hey~!
Recently im starting to worry a bit about my tank.
Mostly everything is in order. A little algae bloom here and there. So I overfeed a bit. Savin up for a skimmer and tryin to cut down on feedings... but i mean, other than that, its all good.
However.... my corals.... their colors.. well... its not so cute.
Is 250watts MH really that much for a 24 gal aquapod?
Originally I intended to keep SPS (hence the MH) but... lately... ive decided I really dont like SPS enough to buy any and then again no one carries SPS stuff locally other than terrible looking Monti caps, Hydnophora and occasional Acroporas which are sold rather quickly or are highly priced.
I really only keep LPS and softies. Couple of clams. Thats about it.
So, do I really need my 250watts MH? Thinkin about tradin that lamp in for a 150watt one.. would that be ok and not bleach the hell out of everything while still keeping my clams happy? or is the light i have just fine and the bleaching could be attributed to a long photoperiod as opposed to light intensity?

 

[mudplayerx]

250 watts of MH seems like an excessive amount for a 24 gallon tank if the bulb is double-ended (HQI). You would more than likely want to keep some form of MH for the clams though.
If the bulb is a single-ended kind that looks more like a traditional lightbulb you may be ok. I think those have about 1/2 the light output of an equivilent HQI bulb. I have read that a good quality 150 watt HQI bulb can output more PAR than some single-ended 400 watt MH's!!!