Underwater lights

[jebsmith]

Hey guys,

I want to light up the pond bar. Any one have suggestions or a good source for underwater LEDs? lowes has a 3 pack for 60 bucks. Seems high to me, but I dont know. Thanks!

 

[koiguy1969]

look on ebay....couldnt hurt.

 

[j.w]

I bought some at Lowes quite awhile ago and they lost the ability to seal so had to take them out and just lay around the top of pond. You might do better online.

 

[taherrmann4]

Addy has some for hers that she had sent me a link to and now I can't find it. She will chime in shortly.

 

[addy1]

Mine work great, but weren't cheap, need some power to light up a large area.

They are made by ocean mist, very well made

http://www.oceanmistmaker.com/ledwholesales.html

I bought them from

http://www.mainlandmart.com/ledmart.html

They gave me a discounted price, since I bought 4 of them.

 

[brokensword]

I got mine last year, 10 LED lights ( 2 x 5 lites per string, includes transformer) for $99 off ebay, which was the best price I could find at the time. The dealer had different combos for different prices. Below is the exact unit(s) and I think, the same dealer. Used them for 2 months no problem, and so far this early spring, when I put my lights back out from their winter hibernation in the basement, they worked just fine.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTO-ON-OFF...002?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item484251ee5a

Hope this helps.


Michael

 

[herzausstahl]

I got mine last year, 10 LED lights ( 2 x 5 lites per string, includes transformer) for $99 off ebay, which was the best price I could find at the time. The dealer had different combos for different prices. Below is the exact unit(s) and I think, the same dealer. Used them for 2 months no problem, and so far this early spring, when I put my lights back out from their winter hibernation in the basement, they worked just fine.



http://www.ebay.com/...=item484251ee5a

Hope this helps.


Michael

Michael,
How much wire (power cord) is there between each light in the set? Are they like regular landscape lights, as in, could you customize the length of wire between each light? Saw this same seller on ebay last year, thought about getting a lesser light set, but was always curious how much cord between each light and if I would be able to customize the length to fit my set up. Thanks

Nathan

 

[brokensword]

I believe there's about 3 feet or so; my pond is 18' long and I can span half + a bit on the curve.  The other string runs the other half plus I have 3 of the 5 on my waterfall(with the blue filters attached; they give you 5 of each color), so basically, I span the whole 18' with two lines.  There's about 10' of line from the power supply to the first light.  I imagine you could, but be careful with the length you use to make the spans longer.  I bought an LED line for lights to be placed along the top of my 'pondhouse', for night effect, and when I did just what you're suggesting, I lost current and thus, light output, simply by adding a longer piece from the power end to the first light.  My bet is you'd be better off accepting the length between lights as they've designed it, but you could try one line and if it didn't work, cut out the splice and put it back to the original.  
Now, that also means you have to make good and sure you've waterproofed whatever cuts you make IF you're going to submerge the wires.  I have my lines in the water as it was just easier.  Like you, I WAS going to try a 3 lite set, but I knew I'd eventually want more and this particular set/dealer seemed to be the best per unit price @ $10.  I've seen similar units that are going for $25 per unit or more and didn't see what made such units that much better.  So far, I'm happy I bought the ones I mentioned. Any other questions re this setup/unit, let me know; be glad to pass on any info I have.

Hope this helps.
Michael

Michael,
How much wire (power cord) is there between each light in the set?  Are they like regular landscape lights, as in, could you customize the length of wire between each light?  Saw this same seller on ebay last year, thought about getting a lesser light set, but was always curious how much cord between each light and if I would be able to customize the length to fit my set up.  Thanks

Nathan

 

[herzausstahl]

Thanks Michael,
If I was going to replace the wire I was looking at trying to use low voltage wire, not sure if thats what you tried. Was guessing that these used the same wire, but wasn't sure how easy it is to open them up and replace the wire with another one, while keeping them waterproof. But glad to know the success you have had with yours and I might go for the 5 piece set or possible even the 10 like you got. Although at least the 3' should be enough for what I would want to use it for. I understand each set has its own transformer but can you run the lights off of just one of them? Thanks again for all the info, only downside to ebay is you can never get any good feedback on the products like this.

 

[brokensword]

Nathan;

I actually DIDN'T have good luck with the splice (I used 6 wire thermostat line as the LEDs I was going to use contained 4 different lines due to the various flash patterns) and undid the whole thing because the lights were too dim. Not sure how this would work with the underwater lights, but if adding line increases resistance, you're going to lose power to the lights, I'm thinking. That said, as I said, you can try splicing one section and see how it goes. The waterproofing might be an issue or you can use some sort of shrink wrap mechanism (or even encase with silicone glue, etc), but three feet between lights looks nice.

The units look/feel pretty decent for the price, imo, and as I said, they've worked for 3 months or so of 2011 and are working now, having stored them in the basement all winter. Wasn't sure they could take the freeze so I opted to take caution's side. Btw, there are more sets (I think he sells in 15 lite sets too, but you'd have to check out his 'ebay store' and do some nosing around. Could even shoot him an email and ask, if you were looking for more quantity; no doubt the price per unit would come down even more.)

Glad I could help.


Michael

 

[JenH]

Herzausstahl,do you have any pictures of your pond lit up at night with these lights? I've been trying to decide what to do for lighting with my new pond and can't decide. I purchased the 3 pack from Home Depot and ended up returning them because there wasn't much length between the lights and they didn't seem very bright. All 3 only lit up about half of my little preform I tested them in, which is much smaller then my new pond. It also seemed to make the water look very dirty, even though during the day the water looked clear. I'm not sure if I should go with underwater lights, or if I should do lights above the water.......

 

[herzausstahl]

Herzausstahl,do you have any pictures of your pond lit up at night with these lights? I've been trying to decide what to do for lighting with my new pond and can't decide. I purchased the 3 pack from Home Depot and ended up returning them because there wasn't much length between the lights and they didn't seem very bright. All 3 only lit up about half of my little preform I tested them in, which is much smaller then my new pond. It also seemed to make the water look very dirty, even though during the day the water looked clear. I'm not sure if I should go with underwater lights, or if I should do lights above the water.......

I don't have any yet Jen, still waiting till I add more outlets by the pond, gonna be at least one short. I have seen the kind Michael is talking about here, and they are probably very similiar to the ones that Home Depot sells. Think of the lights as more accents for a certain part of the pond, instead of lighting up the whole thing. Think of them as low voltage garden spot lights which is what I basically believe they are, and as for making it look dirty, my guess would be that you simply shone light on all the particles that were floating in the water making it look dirty. The water should be as clear, you just see the particles I believe. For what you sound like what you would like I would say go for the low voltage lights around the pond. You could do solar, but the light output would be nowhere near the same as low voltage. Lighting will probably be one of the last things I tackle. I just have a few solar lights in my garden now. Hope my ideas help!

 

[sissy]

I have all LED lights now cheaper to run and do not get hot and bugs do not see LED lights .Another plus is they do not hurt frogs ,I have seen frogs hop on some of the other lights not realizing how hot they are .LED'S do not keep bugs away either so frogs still have plenty to eat .Mostly mosquito's are the ones who can not see the light .solar light to replace the batteries is expensive also .Low voltage in the pond get very hot and if they have a plastic lens it can melt the lens if it has no water to keep it cool .I tried cutting glass for mine and sealed them with silicon but the heat from them burned me 2 times after that i got all LED's .I sometimes still use the other ones in the winter to keep the water warmer ..Plus LED's use less electric and the bulbs last a lot longer.I also have LED's that spotlights that shine down and like that look better .I think it makes the fish show up better and the water particles do not show up .

 

[brokensword]

Thought I'd post a couple of pics of the lights at night, but realize, without additional lighting, focus and details are a bit lost. Still, the pics should show the possibilities at least. Too bad it's so early and the plants are only beginning to grow; looks a bit sparse and the effect is somewhat diluted.

The star burst effect is only because I took the shot using Bulb mode; the other two shows the lights using the flash.

Michael

 

[CountryEscape]

OK, can someone please tell me where I put my 6 underwater lights last winter???? LOL I have looked for them probably 6 times so far with no luck. That Gnome must have come and stole them .... This thread makes me want to go search again! How many places could I possibly have put them? I found the skimmer, and all other pond items, why am I still missing the lights .... Ho hum ...
And, Michael, I loved your pics, the last picture was really neat effects!

 

[JenH]

Thanks for all the answers. I guess I'm just gonna have to try a couple options and see what I like better. There's just something about the ambiance that underwater lights create. But, I do really want to see my fish and don't want the water to look too bad. But also when I tried the HD lights out it was in a little preform half full with 22 goldfish in it (holding) So while the water looked pretty good in there during the day, I imagine my new pond will look (and already does) much better then that did anyway.

 

[herzausstahl]

Sissy I believe the ones Michael has are LED, at least the underwater ones I get would be. I was more looking at low voltage around the pond for Jen if she wanted the brighter look, but I do believe they make low voltage LED lights as well for landscape lighting. For me it depends on the area where I want to use them, sometimes I like the warmer (color wise, but guess also temp wise comes with them ) look for how it affects the area around it, but obviously to each their own. I will probably employ both kinds at some point. LOL Yeah the batteries are expensive as my mom found out last year when she had to replace a set for a bigger solar light she had, but the tiny solars I have were about $1 a piece when i bought them so I have extras, guessing the cost of replacement batteries would be more than that. I've been wondering if you can use any rechargeable battery or if they have to be made just for solar lights? Thanks for the pics Michael, your pond and patio area looks awesome. Jen I would say give the underwater LED's another try in the pond you want to use them in and see if they look better, guessing the preform was probably not the best place to test them out. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing pics of the new pond.

 

[brokensword]

Thanks for the kudos, Nathan.

And you're right; there are low voltage garden lights, but I'd suggest using the LED solars which CAN use any rechargeable battery (mine use AA)and be done with wires. These lites I'm using can be in or out of water, so one can also go the above route too. I use the rechargeable solars for above water/garden effect and the underwater LEDs for water effect. I'm not trying to light up the whole pond to see fish, though, I'm using the lights for effect. When the fish swim through the light, it's a ghostly effect and just adds to the overall ambiance. Looked much better when all the plants were mature, and I'll post more pics prob about midsummer, just to show that 'look'.

Jen; really should look into the LEDs as Nathan suggests; best use of power consumption (and therefore cost) as well as inexpensive ($10 a unit, compared to approx $3-4 for battery/garden units) and the light is fairly bright. I have to tilt my underwater ones down so as not to 'blind' viewers looking into the pond. The waterfall (blue portion in the pics) is lit up by 3 of the units, all facing one tier of the falls each, and is quite vivid, imo. Also, any light is going to show floating particulates, if you have them, so best to create the clear water if you want nothing but fish and light to be on display. What I especially liked is when the plants are mature, their undersides is lit up and interesting patterns emerge.


Michael

 

[HARO]

Country; I can tell you exactly where your lights are. They will be in the last place you look!!! :lamp5:
John

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm so glad you told me that, John, because I found them! Woohoo!!! It was in the FIRST place I looked, but obviously not very well, and the last place I looked. LOL They are now under my waterfall but I think I will maybe add the color lenses to them and put them up in the waterfall, rather than under the waterfall in the pond. I really like how you did yours with blue lights in the waterfall, Michael, so may "steal" your idea as well!