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Thread: Pond lighting

  1. #1

    Pond lighting

    Hi there. Been thinking about pond lighting. Can anyone recommend some? I was thinking under water lights or downlights off the back wall? Whats the pros and cons and does anyone have any pics of there lighting set up? Ill attach a pic of the pond for some suggestions? Many thanks


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  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    This was posted not so long ago, but can't remember by who. I would stick with externally mounted lights, mine are going in the pergola

    Pros
    Look really good


    Cons
    Constant cleaning
    Pain to change the bulbs
    Expensive to buy a good unit
    Tricky to fiberglass if recessed
    More liable to leak
    If they stick out then they are a danger to fish
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
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    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    I would agree with Roy, keep them out of the water much less hassle for maintenance etc.

    Just make sure you protect the circuit with an RCD or RCBO if it's not already got one.

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    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    I had this dilemma when I rebuilt in 2017, but after realising that I couldn't put down lighters anywhere that would illuminate the pond sufficiently to really make it worth doing (especially in winter with the polycarbs on), I created my own underwater 'light bar' that is easy to pull up for cleaning, and has worked well for over two years (apart from the disaster with a cut cable tie, which is why I re-did the bar without any cuts - very harsh lesson).

    The bar consists of a length of square downpipe, cut down one side to feed through the wires and ends of the cable ties, which hold in place two sets of Pontec Pondostar LED lights x 3 which are not expensive (very good price of £34.98 from Water Gardening Direct right now), and excellent quality (Pontec being a division of Oase). I angle these so that they illuminate the whole pond from beneath with the bar resting on the shelf. I have cable tied the light cables to allow me to use them to safely pull the bar up and down. It's easy to clean the glass on the lights in situ using a blanket weed brush, but once a month I pull it up for a full clean with a scrubbing brush and scourer. The wires to the bar feed into my pond via a channel from my filter house and the cables are clipped just beneath my copings using stick on fasteners that you can get from Ebay or Amazon, so it's all very neat and you don't notice any wiring.

    It really does make my pond look at spectacular at night especially as the fish swim up from below into the windows, and even when the polycarbs are on in winter it looks good from above - a bit like a laser light show! I've got some pics somewhere of this, but can't find them right now and I need to go scrape my fish. If I come across them later, I'll pop them up. In the meantime, here are some photos of the actual bar as it's sitting on the side of my stripped down pond at the mo...

    Light Bar 01.JPG

    Light Bar 02.JPG

    Cable Pull Up.JPG

    Clips.JPG
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper View Post
    Just make sure you protect the circuit with an RCD or RCBO if it's not already got one.
    Couldn't agree more! All my garden and pond electrics are on their own fuseboard in my summer house, which runs from a dedicated 'garden' RCBO from my main Consumer Unit. The garden lights are part of this circuit, with a control switch in my utility so I can easily switch them on and off without having to go outside in the cold or rain! My only wish is that I'd extended that switch control up to my bedroom also so I could lay in bed looking at the lit up pond though my balcony doors and be able to turn it off without getting up. How's that for lazy
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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    Looks like you have it sorted. Be good to see the photos of it working

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    Quote Originally Posted by Koiz View Post
    Couldn't agree more! All my garden and pond electrics are on their own fuseboard in my summer house, which runs from a dedicated 'garden' RCBO from my main Consumer Unit. The garden lights are part of this circuit, with a control switch in my utility so I can easily switch them on and off without having to go outside in the cold or rain! My only wish is that I'd extended that switch control up to my bedroom also so I could lay in bed looking at the lit up pond though my balcony doors and be able to turn it off without getting up. How's that for lazy
    Can you put any of it on a wifi controlled plug? Then you can work them from anywhere.

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    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper View Post
    Can you put any of it on a wifi controlled plug? Then you can work them from anywhere.
    Ordinarily that'd be an excellent solution, but unfortunately I have to avoid WiFi as much as poss as it gives me bad headaches When I refurbed my house and garden, I installed an Ethernet network so everything runs over wire. It's sad how much technology I have to pass by because of this sensitivity, but it's just the way it is. I used to work in IT years ago, so I love gadgets and tech - but the wireless world is sadly something I have to avoid when possible. Bummer!
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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    Thanks for the input mate. That looks really good ��

  17. #10
    Ive decided to go with 3 philips hue lilly spot lights. Ill fix these to the top of the feature wall and angle these down the the surface of the water. Ive got hue throughout the house, and pleased with them. If they do a crap job, ill just peg them around the garden lol

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    Quote Originally Posted by Koiz View Post
    Ordinarily that'd be an excellent solution, but unfortunately I have to avoid WiFi as much as poss as it gives me bad headaches When I refurbed my house and garden, I installed an Ethernet network so everything runs over wire. It's sad how much technology I have to pass by because of this sensitivity, but it's just the way it is. I used to work in IT years ago, so I love gadgets and tech - but the wireless world is sadly something I have to avoid when possible. Bummer!
    That's a shame.

    Is it related to the proximity of the wifi signals so you could hard wire as much as possible then just wifi the bits you can't hard wire to get the wifi as far away from you as possible if that makes sense? Or another option is can you use the mains electrical supply to run the internet signal?

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    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai algarth's Avatar
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    Lights in the pond also show more clearly the bits floating mid water etc
    QUOTE=Frimley Koi keeper;332479]I would agree with Roy, keep them out of the water much less hassle for maintenance etc.

    Just make sure you protect the circuit with an RCD or RCBO if it's not already got one.[/QUOTE]

  22. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    This is a great idea, nicely done

    Quote Originally Posted by Koiz View Post
    I had this dilemma when I rebuilt in 2017, but after realising that I couldn't put down lighters anywhere that would illuminate the pond sufficiently to really make it worth doing (especially in winter with the polycarbs on), I created my own underwater 'light bar' that is easy to pull up for cleaning, and has worked well for over two years (apart from the disaster with a cut cable tie, which is why I re-did the bar without any cuts - very harsh lesson).

    The bar consists of a length of square downpipe, cut down one side to feed through the wires and ends of the cable ties, which hold in place two sets of Pontec Pondostar LED lights x 3 which are not expensive (very good price of £34.98 from Water Gardening Direct right now), and excellent quality (Pontec being a division of Oase). I angle these so that they illuminate the whole pond from beneath with the bar resting on the shelf. I have cable tied the light cables to allow me to use them to safely pull the bar up and down. It's easy to clean the glass on the lights in situ using a blanket weed brush, but once a month I pull it up for a full clean with a scrubbing brush and scourer. The wires to the bar feed into my pond via a channel from my filter house and the cables are clipped just beneath my copings using stick on fasteners that you can get from Ebay or Amazon, so it's all very neat and you don't notice any wiring.

    It really does make my pond look at spectacular at night especially as the fish swim up from below into the windows, and even when the polycarbs are on in winter it looks good from above - a bit like a laser light show! I've got some pics somewhere of this, but can't find them right now and I need to go scrape my fish. If I come across them later, I'll pop them up. In the meantime, here are some photos of the actual bar as it's sitting on the side of my stripped down pond at the mo...

    Light Bar 01.JPG

    Light Bar 02.JPG

    Cable Pull Up.JPG

    Clips.JPG

  23. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frimley Koi keeper View Post
    That's a shame. Is it related to the proximity of the wifi signals so you could hard wire as much as possible then just wifi the bits you can't hard wire to get the wifi as far away from you as possible if that makes sense? Or another option is can you use the mains electrical supply to run the internet signal?
    Sorry I never replied to your helpful suggestion. Yes, power-line adaptors are an excellent way of transmitting signal and I used them extensively before I installed my Ethernet network. To be honest, because the switch for the pond lights is on the same outside wall that I'd want my switch next to my bed to be, the best solution would be to run a wire up the outside wall between the sockets. I just wished I thought of how great it'd be to control my pond lights from my bed when I was doing the house refurb as I could have run the wire inside the walls then. Hindsight, and all that
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dbs View Post
    This is a great idea, nicely done
    Many thanks dbs .

    External lights are unquestionably easier to manage, but there are some advantages to my internal light bar even though it requires regular cleaning.

    It works well with my windows during winter when I have the poly carb covers on, and because the lights are angled upwards from the shelf, the fish are able to avoid the glare when below the shelf - got to remember fish don’t have eye lids! The lights also illuminate the back wall of the filter house at night and create a fantastic shimmering display where they catch the moving water from the waterblade – obviously only when I don’t have the polycarbs on

    To be honest, I haven’t found that the internal lights show up any more fines in the water than shining a torch in, so I’m not sure how much of a difference external would really make, but yes – lights do highlight the good and the bad in the pond!

    Here are a couple of pics that show how great the fish look through the windows at night, and from above in winter shining through the covers, and the back wall I refer to above. My phone doesn’t take very good night time pics, but hopefully this gives you some idea of the effect

    Internal Pond Lights On Back Wall.JPG Internal Pond Lights At Night.JPG Internal Pond Lights Under Polycarbs.JPG
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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    Quote Originally Posted by Koiz View Post
    Sorry I never replied to your helpful suggestion. Yes, power-line adaptors are an excellent way of transmitting signal and I used them extensively before I installed my Ethernet network. To be honest, because the switch for the pond lights is on the same outside wall that I'd want my switch next to my bed to be, the best solution would be to run a wire up the outside wall between the sockets. I just wished I thought of how great it'd be to control my pond lights from my bed when I was doing the house refurb as I could have run the wire inside the walls then. Hindsight, and all that
    Depending on if you have a cavity wall and also what's in the cavity it might be possible to drop the cable down the cavity using a string and a small weight. Then use that to pull the cable up or down the wall. Strictly speaking you aren't supposed to run through a cavity but if it's the only option?

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    Senior Member Rank = Gosai SamuraiJack's Avatar
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    i've recently added lights to my old pond, still a lot left to clear at the back and sides then add things to make it look nice, i built the pergola then put a felt roof over the pond, i have attached 4 adjustable ip65 lights at top of each corner pointing down from 4 directions, on Sunday when i switched them on at night the whole pond lit up, you can see bottom of pond clearly, the koi got confused thinking hold on we just gone to bed for the night and now it's all bright, i'll take some pics and post it soon, must say it does look nice.

    Mo
    Human life is truly a short affair. It is better to live doing the things that you like Inazo Nitobe

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    Quote Originally Posted by SamuraiJack View Post
    i've recently added lights to my old pond, still a lot left to clear at the back and sides then add things to make it look nice, i built the pergola then put a felt roof over the pond, i have attached 4 adjustable ip65 lights at top of each corner pointing down from 4 directions, on Sunday when i switched them on at night the whole pond lit up, you can see bottom of pond clearly, the koi got confused thinking hold on we just gone to bed for the night and now it's all bright, i'll take some pics and post it soon, must say it does look nice.

    Mo
    Nice work Mo, we all like photos

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    Senior Member Rank = Sansai PeterDunn's Avatar
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    https://www.uk-automation.co.uk/home...sy-smartwares/
    HI HEZZA81 I have all my outside lights controlled with a outdoor three channel remote radio controlled, one remote will control up to 5 recievers a massive 6000 watts off 1 handset.
    All my lights outside are controlled this way and its easy wired up direct from my ten way fuse board
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by PeterDunn; 05-08-2020 at 07:38 AM.

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    Better photo
    Attached Images Attached Images

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