Actinic dual bulb question + 1 more

[jbc123]

So I set up my Aquapod today but the Actinic bulb looks funny. Maybe it just looks funny to me.. then again I probably look funny to it as well.

Anyway.. The blue bulb is bright but the pink/purple one seems very dim. When I look at it I can barely tell it's on but the reflection of it in the water makes it look much brighter.

Is this just a color spectrum that is hard to see for humans or is my bulb bad out of the box?

Also, I've noticed my live rock (which was fully cured) seems to have little white hairs on it. Not worms or anything, just looks like tiny 1/8inch strands of silk. Is that algae or die off or something else? The vat it came from was totally healthy, supporting fish and inverts with no issue.

 

[micoral]

can you tell us more about the type of bulb? Is it a dual actinic with 420NM & 460NM sides? If so, yes one of them will be very dull looking to our human eyes. Current makes the best PC lights IMO... I traded my current retro kits off a long time ago and have been regreting it ever since.

 

[jbc123]

It's a Current, or SunPaq. Comes with the standard 24 gallon Aquapod. 32W Dual Actinic with a 420 and 460 bulb.

 

[Saltz Creep]

Yes, that is exactly how SunPaq dual 420/460 nm actinics look.

 

[sdietz2469]

yes the spectrum is just harder for us to see....

the white hairs on the rock, are they their all the time? if not then they are a typre of worm...ummm... a spagetti worm is the common name.... if not it is a possibility that it is just dying algae, does it scrub off with your finger easily
shane

 

[jbc123]

Okay, that makes me feel better about the bulb. I could tell it was on, just didn't look like I expected. Darn my limited human eyeballs.

As far the hairs, it's always there. Some are short, some are long. They just waft about in the current. I stopped by a couple stores and they had it as well.. so it seems normal. One guy said it was just common growth, algae, organisms and stuff.

Food for the janitors when my tank settles I guess!

 

[jbc123]

Okay, another question.

After clouding up my water over and over I think I settled on an aquascape I like.

Bascially I have huge rock on one side and a few smaller ones stacked up on the other with a shelf/slab type piece across them.

It makes a great cave about 6inches high and wide and deep, give or take a little and gives me a great big flat spot halfway up the tank for placing corals eventually.

My real question is with the cave. It's dark inside. Obviously I can't put a coral in there, but will it grow coraline algae without any direct light?

I figure the cave will make a primo penthouse for a lucky fish and it has a few nooks and crannies that a shrimp can claim or perhaps an emerald crab. I just don't want to waste a bunch of real estate on dead rock.