Overkill for 29g soon-to-be reef?

I have a friend that's moving and can't bring his tank. He's sold off most of his equipment but still has a few pieces, including a 30" 250 Watt metal halide fixture. He had it suspended over a 55g with wondrous results. However, would this be too much for my 29? I currently have no corals, just two clowns and a yellow watchman goby/tiger pistol pair sitting under one 10000k and one actinic blue t-5s. The only thing that keeps me from buying corals is my fear that my current lighting is inadequate. Obviously this would be a significant upgrade, and yy ou can't beat the price. However, would this be a little too much for such a small tank? If i can get the suspension hardware fvvrom him, how high would I need to suspend it above my tank to avoid bleaching any coral and possibly blinding my poor fish? I plan to keep mushrooms and maybe some other softies to begin with, but would also like to keep a clam or two eventually. Any advice?

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if u can hang it high enought to keep the temp down ur probaly guna need to put some cooling fans i would say go for it

 

I have a 250 metal halide over my 40 i have 1 big cooling fan sucking out hot air, another big fan blowing on the water, and a 3rd fan circulating air in the canopy and my tank never gets above 80 now its reel cool i just use ALOT of ro water lol

 

So I was lucky enough to convince him to give me both his MH fixture and his 4 bulb t5 fixture (its a 124w 30" wavepoint somerhing-or-other).

This brings up a new question. I alluded in my first post to my desire to keep a maxima clam or two. I'd prefer not to have to combat the heat of the metal halide if I can avoid it, so would the t5 fixture be sufficent for clams and a few mushrooms? I'm fairly certain the mushrooms would be just fine, but I'm unsure about the clams.

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Im not familiar with that particular T5 but if the reflectors are any good then that light would be perfect. In my opinion it would be better than the metal halide. Although you may get by with the halide if you hang it up high enough, it really is overkill in my honest opinion. I have a light on my tank right now that is WAY to powerful and I cannot keep mushrooms even at the bottom because the light is so bright. Mushrooms require very low light, clams require very intense light.

 

im keeping my clam under 4 t5's right now, hes very bright and happy, Tank is 24 w by 13 deep and 18 tall. i use four 24 watt t5ho KZ super blue and a 6500k bulb

 

I would suggest LED over the MHs but if you are getting a good enough deal and are willing to deal with the energy consumption and heat it would work well to support your corals. You might want to consider something from aquariumledsolutions.com i got two 60W for my 55 gallon reef tank to replace my old halides and I'd never look back. Good luck with your tank!