Montipora confusa bleach?

[amebcia]

I believe that a Montipora confusa that I got around a week ago started bleaching from the inside. Outside is not affected.

Could you guys please have a look. It is my first SPS, so I have no practical experience yet

Water/tank parameters (photo to follow this evening):
Tank: Biocube 29g
Light: DIY Epiled. Blue - 17W for 9h; White 10W - for 4h (and slowly ramping up)
Location: The Montipora is located 3" below the surface (same as in the tank I got it from)
Salinity: 35ppm
Ca: 400ppm
Mg: not measured (do not expect a problem, tank is stocked lightly)
NO3: 4ppm
PO4: 0.08ppm
Temp: 78F
KH: 9.5
Filtration: Tunze 9002 skimmer, Ramping down Vinegar (now 2ml/day). Ramping up biopellets. Seachem PO4 absorber.
Powerheads: 1x Jebao WP10

After reading multiple threads about similar problems I narrowed down potential root causes to:
- debris (because it is bleaching in the inside of the cup) - started removing any debris daily
- bleaching due to KH swing (the tank I got it from had KH of 6.5)

LPS corals are opening really nicely (Zoa, Acan, Hammer, Duncan, Favia).

 

[Dugless]

It could be bleaching because of too much light, or too drastic of a change in brightness. Most montiporas are on the easier side of SPS and are much less finicky than others, so I'm shying away from thinking it an issue with water conditions. That said, parameter stability is much more valuable than hitting specific numbers. So keep that in mind when measuring Alkalinity and Calcium.

 

[amebcia]

It could be bleaching because of too much light, or too drastic of a change in brightness.

Thanks for the feedback

I will try to move it lower for a while, however I believe the tank I got it from had much higher lighting than I do (also led). That is of course just my perception and I have not taken any measurements.
Also, only the middle is affected, not the parts closer to the surface.

Most montiporas are on the easier side of SPS and are much less finicky than others.

That's why I selected Monti as my first SPS

That said, parameter stability is much more valuable than hitting specific numbers. So keep that in mind when measuring Alkalinity and Calcium.

Thanks. Will keep that in mind and do my best.

 

[amebcia]

Photo attached.

 

[Tweaked]

Don't believe you have a confusa there, looks like a capricornis.

 

[Pife]

It also appears to be dieing in that area not bleaching.