Rapid LED Solderless Nanocube retrofit

[akbuuur]

http://www.rapidled.com/solderless-jbj-nanocube-24-dimmable-retrofit-kit/

 

Anyone familiar with this?  

 

Where can I learn more about the different colors and the benefits of each one?  I'm thinking about upgrading from CF.. but not sure which colors to choose.  Any and all help is appreciated!

Thanks!

[Origami]

I've not used their solderless kit, so can't comment there.

 

Color mix is a personal preference. Back in the earlier days, when most people were still DIYing their LED fixture, there were two basic colors that people were using: Cool White and Royal Blue. If you mixed them 1:1 (blue/white), the look approximated 10000K (bright white lighting); if you mixed them 2:1, the lighting was closer to 14000K - 20000K in the look that it provided. Since then, other colors have become available. This includes warm white, red, and other colors, including UV. There are a couple of things to consider: Some colors can highlight certain pigment clades better than others. Certain pigments, for example, fluoresce better under short wavelength light (blue to actinic), others jump out or are enhanced by red. Some colors may promote photosynthesis better and as a consequence, growth (this used to be said of 6500K daylight lighting). The other thing to consider is the distribution of the colors in your fixture. LED's are pretty close to a point light source and, depending on the lens used, will spread that light over a restricted area. If you put too few of one color in the fixture and mount close to the water's surface, you may wind up with some visible color banding in your display.

 

We've had a number of Evergrow group buys here in the last year. In some of the early threads, I think that people might have uploaded their LED color selection and placement for those fixtures. You might want to research those and see what you can learn from what others before you have done.