Pond Lighting

[KJLive]

Any suggestions on pond lighting?

 

[GBBUDD]

I have Aquascape lights 1 wat are a nice soft glow but in a larger pond they are only nice until algae grows on the lens. Then they are to soft The 3 watt are too strong until the algae grows on the lens then they start to give a softer glow. but is still brighter then the 1 wat without algae on the lens. All the reports of lights failing and water getting in i believe is probably more user error and placed the lights within the ice zone. If the lights are within the top of the pond and it freezes they have little chance of surviving against the pressures.

 

[Lisak1]

Do it!

How's that for a suggestion? haha! Honestly though - we installed Aquascape lights in our DiY pond ten years ago. They worked for about the first two years and then started failing. Got a couple replaced due to the warranty and then just gave up. First the underwater lights went, then the spotlights. The waterfall pucks lasted the longest but eventually they gave up the ghost, too. It's been at least six years since we had any light in or on the pond. The failure, I believe, was mostly us installing the lights badly (too close the surface where they froze in the ice and cracked the lenses). But I also think ten years down the line, the lights have just gotten better.

This year we were having some professional re-working done on the pond and the contractor talked us into lighting up the pond and landscape. And BOY are we glad we did. It's absolutely a game changer. We've extended our pond viewing and enjoyment by hours every day, and especially on those days when it's just too dang hot to be out there in the middle of the day. We can go out when it's cooled off and still enjoy the fish and the water. It's just so pretty!

These are again Aquascape lights. Far less expensive than when we first installed them and installed correctly I believe they will last a long, long time. Our contractor had no issue giving us a 10 year guarantee.

As for WHERE to install them - the only thing they were concerned about was keeping the big underwater lights pointed away from the viewing area. You don't want to be staring into a spotlight while you're trying to enjoy the fish. In our 2500 gallon pond we have three big underwater lights, which lights up the whole pond. Then we have three little lights (maybe 1 watt?) that uplight a few of the areas that are planted - looks very cool to have water shining up from the water. Very shimmery and sparkly. (Those are the technical terms!)

Hope that helps!

 

[Lisak1]

All the reports of lights failing and water getting in i believe is probably more user error

See - @GBBUDD knows me!

 

[KJLive]

Great information! Thanks everyone! Is there a minimum depth to avoid freeze damage to the lights?

 

[brokensword]

Great information! Thanks everyone! Is there a minimum depth to avoid freeze damage to the lights?

depends on location and other weather conditons; best to google the average ice depth for your locale and place them below that. Or, as I used to do, take them out each autumn before it freezes. I liked to have the lights nearer the surface, so it wasn't too hard. But like some other stories, mine also began to not work (not due to freezing) and I didn't want to replace them all the time (I'd get maybe 2 years out of them and since they were all strung together, I'd have had to cut and splice in, with anything fixed now being underwater, so...).

 

[KJLive]

Thank you.That makes sense. Do they have have a quick disconnect feature for easy removal? I havent checked pricing yet. Are they reasonably priced? I would hate to buy something that may not last too long! LOL!

 

[Lisak1]

Do they have have a quick disconnect feature for easy removal?

That would be a great idea, but I feel like we discussed that here and someone said water+electricity makes that not so simple.

For us removing lights would be an onerous task as they are wired through the rock work in the pond - not behind or under, exactly, but enough hidden that taking them out could be an issue, and we would have to wait for the water to get warm enough in spring to replace them.

I'd love to hear how others do it though!

 

[KJLive]

Valid points and make perfect sense! I guess I will need to think thru this one before I react!

 

[phomlish]

depends on location and other weather conditons; best to google the average ice depth for your locale and place them below that. Or, as I used to do, take them out each autumn before it freezes. I liked to have the lights nearer the surface, so it wasn't too hard. But like some other stories, mine also began to not work (not due to freezing) and I didn't want to replace them all the time (I'd get maybe 2 years out of them and since they were all strung together, I'd have had to cut and splice in, with anything fixed now being underwater, so...).

Google failed me. Could you please provide another search term or two to help me search? Although I think I'm hosed no matter what. My shallow area at the front of the pond where I'll feed the fish is only 6" deep which is where I was thinking to put the lights. I'm sure that's going to freeze.

 

[Lisak1]

@phomlish - where are you located? How deep is your pond overall? How may gallons? Do you shut it down for the winter or keep it running?

 

[brokensword]

Google failed me. Could you please provide another search term or two to help me search? Although I think I'm hosed no matter what. My shallow area at the front of the pond where I'll feed the fish is only 6" deep which is where I was thinking to put the lights. I'm sure that's going to freeze.

hmm, failed me too, though I got to admit, I already knew how thick our ice can get from years of skating on ponds. As Lisa asked, where are you located? Maybe someone here on GPF can tell you if they're in your area. For me, in Mi, I know it can easily get to 14". And also as Lisa asked, if you keep the pond covered or have the pump going continuously or have aerators, this will influence how deep the ice is for sure. In my case, I now cover with agricultural plastic (greenhouse) and keep one of my waterfalls+aerator going all year, and don't have any ice at all anymore. Really shortens the winter season and allows me to see/work the pond quicker. You could put in aerators to keep the ice thin, but depending on where your lights are, it may or may not help. I think I already noted that when I used lights, I used to take them inside for the winter; this was before I used the ag plastic tent and kept the falls going. Then, I used a pond breather and an aerator.

 

[phomlish]

@phomlish - where are you located? How deep is your pond overall? How may gallons? Do you shut it down for the winter or keep it running?

I think I'll just wait until next year for lighting so I can see what actually happens. The 800 gallons of spring water per day is going to mess up anything I try to calculate now.

 

[Eltee]

Has anyone tried one of the color changing submersible lights? This is one I am interested in.

Alpine Luminosity Power Beam LED Pond & Garden Light

Brighten up your pond and garden with these Alpine LED pond lights! These can be used in or out of the water making them very versatile, so order some today.

www.thepondguy.com

 

[mrsclem]

I have them (different brand) in my pond. Mine change colors constantly. Wish I could just set them for 1 color.