StarkLED Blunova NatureSync program and coral bleaching?

[tjdouglas]

Anyone else experiencing a coral bleaching problem while using Stark Blunova LEDs? My corals looked great through the fall and winter but over the last month several sps starting getting significantly paler and losing color. I even lost a couple of them All of my params seem fine: 1.24 SG, 8 KH, NO3< 5, PO4 is 0, Ca is 475 ppm, temp is 72F.

I am thinking that my corals might have started burning due to the LED NatureSync program which has been automatically extending the hours of lighting in the tank to reflect the natural seasonal cycle. Anybody else having a similar issue?

 

[alexander_ktn]

It could be this (in the tropics, where our corals come from, the day is pretty much 12 hours light/12 hours dark all year) or if your phosphates are truly zero (e.g. you also have very little algae or coralline algae growth too) it might be a nutrient limitation which in the case of phosphate leads to bleaching/color loss and slowly receding tissue, usually from the base up.

 

[tjdouglas]

I am also wondering if my phosphates are truly zero. My Hanna phosphate mini-checker says they are. But I still see algae, etc., in the tank.