Maxspect R420R 15k Pucks?

[hawk82]

Hey, I just got a used gen 1 Maxspect R420R 27" for my 40 breeder. I didnt know till I had it, that it was the 10K version. It works fine, but I cant seem to go past 25% on channel A without it looking too "white" This is with channel B at 60%. Should I try to replace the pucks with the 15K ones? I seen on the website in the parts that they still carry these, was wondering if it would make much a difference or worth spending time and money on? 3 pucks would be $180, and I only paid $150 for the whole fixture lol. Im just worried 25% on channel A wont be enough to grow anything. 40 breeder tank, light is mounted on the stock legs over the tank. It aready has the 120 optics installed when I got it.

 

[rgulrich]

I'd recommend using a PAR meter to see what levels you're reaching with the color mix you're using. Adjust height up or down to decrease/increase light levels above and beyond the controls. If you're not satisfied at that point, you could try swapping out the LED pad.
I've just repaired one of my original R420R's with a new 15000k LED pad and replaced the reflectors in all three 160W fixtures. The new 120' reflector provide a much better "blending" of the LED colors with less transition between pads.
While you're working on the fixture you'll probably want to replace the battery as well. It's a CR1220 that maintains the clock and programming if you lose power. Some YouTube vids out there on how to do it. Here's one that gets you to the battery in the first 30 seconds: Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Ray

 

[hawk82]

How do the 15K pads look vs your original? Was your original the 10k or 16k?

 

[rgulrich]

Not much difference from the original for me; I have the original 160W 16000K fixtures from the G2 exchange program.
Cheers,
Ray

 

[Llebcire]

Hey, I just got a used gen 1 Maxspect R420R 27" for my 40 breeder. I didnt know till I had it, that it was the 10K version. It works fine, but I cant seem to go past 25% on channel A without it looking too "white" This is with channel B at 60%. Should I try to replace the pucks with the 15K ones? I seen on the website in the parts that they still carry these, was wondering if it would make much a difference or worth spending time and money on? 3 pucks would be $180, and I only paid $150 for the whole fixture lol. Im just worried 25% on channel A wont be enough to grow anything. 40 breeder tank, light is mounted on the stock legs over the tank. It aready has the 120 optics installed when I got it.

What did you end up doing?

I believe I have the same light (13 LEDs/pad, blue/white) and need to replace some burned out LEDs and update the color spectrum.

-Eric