would this be overkill for a 10 gallon?

150w Metal Halide Reef Lights

im thinking of purchasing the cadlights fixture for my 10 gallon soon to be sps reef. would that bleach out my corals?

 

It depends on height above the tank, length of time each day, position of the corals etc. The thing I would be most concerned about is temperature fluctuation in a tank that small with a mini sun above it

 

well i keep my house at around 60 degrees 24 hours a day. its hard to keep it much higher than that here in colorado. do you think it will rise the temp that much?

 

For SPS, it's not an overkill if you properly acclimate corals.

You are better off with LEDs for a small tank, no heat and can keep any SPS without replacing bulbs every now and then.

 

Acclimation, keep it high at first then lower it after several weeks by an inch until it is at the mfg recommended distance.

 

150W on a 10gal, yes you'll cook it! There is simply not enough water for it to cool properly, not to mention you'll have half a tank of water left when you get home from evaporation. They do make 70W & 75W MH though.. Here is just one to show you..

70W Metal Halide Pendant Lights

IMO I would just go LED with something that small.. I have a 90gal with 8 T5s and still get 4 gals of water loss per day! I did T5s due to cost & I can maint my water temp without a chiller. I can house pretty much anything I want. The only loss is that I don't have the shimmer effect from MH & LEDs have. Things to remember MH;

MH:
Cost of fixture.
Cost to run it.
Dealing with water temp rising.
Maint cost.

LED:
Cost of fixture, that's it!

 

what if i put it higher up on the tank? the reason im leaning towards either of these fixtures is because this guy said he would take 80 dollars. and i dont have the funds right now to purchase an led lighting system.

i dont think evaporation is a big problem, im used to it. my 5 gallon tank would be empty in 3 days if i didnt top it off.

but if i hang it 1-2 feet above the tank will it still fry my corals?

 

Look at it this way. You can do whatever you'd like.. I'm just giving you my option & knowledge of 6 years of doing this.. 10gal is a nano tank & 150W MH is NOT a nano fixture. I don't care if the fixture is 2 feet above the tank, it will drive the temp up.. I have had great deals on fixtures in the past, but didn't buy them because it would not work for me..

 

ok thanks, so there is no way it could work? im really just looking into options right now i guess.

 

Ygpm