Whats going on with my acro?

[nanoreefer14]

Whats up RC,
Ive been having trouble with my acro lately. Its been starting to bleach from the undersides of it. Heres a pic of what I mean:

Any ideas of what causes this? Could this be from insufficient light? I figured that if it was from too much light, that it would be bleaching all over, but if you look down on the frag from the top of the tank, it doesnt look bleached at all. Its only noticeable when the lights are off and you view the coral from the side. I have a red monti cap thats doing something very similar. My alk does swing quite a bit. Could that be it? Other than the white spots I do have great polyp extension during the day. Any and all help/advice appreciated. Thanks in advance.
(Edit: the tip of it is RTNing at the moment due to an overdose of alk, i think i managed to fix it with a water change b/c it stopped, but the bleaching has been going on for quite a while)

 

[jbvdhp]

So what does your dKh fluctuate to and from?

 

[nanoreefer14]

Usually from 7-9ish depending on when i get around to dosing. I try to keep it at around 8-8.5, but it usually drops around 1.5 dKH in just 24 hours

 

[karimwassef]

??? That's what's killing your acros...

You need a doser or drip to keep your alk steady - or you need to figure out if the alk consumption is not productive (precipitation) and fix it.

You've got to stabilize your alkalinity.

What's your Mg, Ca, pH and Temp?

 

[nanoreefer14]

Mg: 1300
Ca: 450
pH: 8.2
Temp: 80F
No noticeable precipitation
I understand that the alk swings are unhealthy for it, but my question is do you think that they are the cause of the odd bleaching pattern? If so then okay, but the coral is only bleached in the spots that are shadowed. Every part of the coral that is exposed to direct light is fully colored up. Is this normal bleaching? I switched from T5s to LEDs about two months ago. The first month, I noticed that the color in all of my coral, even the acro, started to become more vibrant and I even saw better growth rates. The problem is that I dont have a PAR meter and am concerned about whether or not my lighting is the cause of my problem. The alk has always been unstable, and will be until my next current reef project is finished due to the fact that I cant afford a dosing pump yet.

 

[reefmutt]

What type of lights do you use?
To me, it's tough to see from that pic, it does look like classic shading..
I would guess you are using a single led fixture over the tank and you are getting some shading.
That being said, I do agree with everyone else's comments regarding stability..

 

[nanoreefer14]

Im running a TaoTronics TT-AL09 over a 20 gallon high. Right now they are set at White: 20% Blue: 30% at about 8" above water level. Any higher setting and my hammers starting bleaching

 

[karimwassef]

In my experience, large alkalinity swings will cause bleaching and death. It doesn't happen to all corals at the same time, but you're pushing them to the edge of a cliff. One more stressor and they're falling off the cliff.

I'd fix chemistry first.

That'll give them resiliency to handle the light issues.

 

[reefmutt]

Im running a TaoTronics TT-AL09 over a 20 gallon high. Right now they are set at White: 20% Blue: 30% at about 8" above water level. Any higher setting and my hammers starting bleaching

It's not the amount of light, it's how direct LEDs are..
It is claimed and I'd tend to agree that MH and t5 spread the light around more when good reflectors are used. This allows more indirect light to bounce around and light the undersides of corals..
But.. Having said that, like most are saying, light is the least of your worries. Fix your chemistry stability issues, first before you even think about lighting. It's fine right now..

 

[nanoreefer14]

Okay, Im going to set up a DIY dosing system of AquaLife Part C since I already have alot of it. Im going to use an Aqualifter and timer to dose about 5mL 5 times a day. That should be more than enough to stabilize my params. Im currently building a 40B/29/20long(frag tank)/55sump tri-tank system, and I am going to hold off on the expensive dosing pumps until I get all of it up and running... On another note, when acros bleach from insufficient light, do they bleach the same way they do from too much light, only slower?

 

[karimwassef]

get a cheap one. A Jebao 4 head goes for $80 and will get you through this.

The Chinese LEDs are pretty direct in terms of lighting... no lenses.

 

[Galaxyreef]

Alk swings will cause Stn at the base