maroun.c, jnarowe: First of all, you may be taking me too literally in regards to spawning events and my tank. I wouldn't state that aquarium reefs directly mimic the ocean reefs. There's simply too many variables coming into play to do so with our closed systems. Keep in mind that I had just done a water change the day of the spawning event. It did, though, happen to coincide with the full moon. I do water changes every month. This happened to coincide with the fool moon. Coincidence? Maybe... maybe not. In fact, on the Great Barrier Reef, spawning takes place six days
after the full moon in the month of November. But, it does always takes place at night. The Pacific coral reefs have coral mass spawning that happens a few days after the April full moon. Hmm.
(Interesting read.)
So... there was a reason I mentioned in my first post that I had done a water change that day. I'm sure this helped to put into effect the chain of events leading to the coral spawning. Could be chemical, temperature, lighting, gravity or some other (or all) factors. I don't feel that the LED moonlights
alone caused this event but I do feel they took part. The fact that they are synchronized to the actual lunar solstice I feel adds to this. But... keep in mind that these are simply my opinions and they are not based on any scientific testing on my part. Maybe I'll setup another 240 without moonlights and compare the two.
Last of all, I'm not too concerned should this type of event happen while I am away. Partly based on the infrequency that this takes place and on the fact that my equipment can handle the removal on a timely basis, on its own. I did take extra steps in an attempt to remove as much "PE" as quickly as possible but I don't feel my system would have any problem doing so on its own. It would simply take longer to do so. Perhaps not the healthiest situation for the tank to have to endure this over a longer period of time but I don't feel it would cause major issues. I am confident in the equipment in place to do this in a fast enough time, though, to prevent severe damage. But again, you have to consider that this isn't happening on a frequent basis. Far from it.
Joseph.