New reefer lighting question.

I posted this in the new area, but thought I might get a better response here.

Okay I know there are a million questions about this everywhere, but I want to ask mine. I am setting up a new tank from scratch.
I have a 30 gallon finnex M tank. 24" across x 18" high (not sure about the width with the dividers). I plan on having a shallow sand bed, probably 2" at most. Its more for asthetics.
I have a Outer Orbit 250w MQI lighting setup. There is also 4 T5's with this setup and the most awesomest blue and white lunar lights. Total wattage is 355. I got this from a friend of a friend for a good price (cheaper than a good PC setup).
I plan on keeping SPS in this tank at some point in the future, which is another reason I wanted the 250w HQI.
What are your thoughts on using this light for soft corals and zoa's to begin with? From what I have read it is way to powerful, so I am probably going to be using some diffuser to cut back the MH output and putting some distance between it and the tank. Will this work good for SPS in the future?
Any other suggestions for using this setup with the softies and zoa's?

 

bump........anyone??????????

 

It is allot of light for a 30 gallon but you shouldn't have a problem with using it as long as you can keep the tank cool enough. Thats the only issue I can see you having really is keeping it cool.

If it was me I would raise the light up a little higher than normal, maybe use a light hanging kit to keep it a little higher than normal.

My Zoa's and leathers all thrive in high light, I have 260 watts of T5 over a 20 gallon long and they love it. Mushrooms however tend to move to a lower less bright area.

 

Cool thanks for the input. I definetly plan on hanging it above to get some distance and try and keep the temp down.

 

Its def more then enough - you may even want to consider just using 3 bulbs.