Fish Ponds

When you have a late night barbecue and all your friends come around to admire your patio lights, why not bring life to your pond at night as well by installing pond lights. Adding light to your pond can be done in one of two ways; either, by an external spotlight, or, by actually installing lights in the water. External spotlights can be mounted in a high place such as a tree, or on a wall to shine down into the water, or on the ground to shine up on to the fountain. Lights placed in the pond need careful installation as the waterproof seal must remain intact to prevent short-circuiting. As another safety feature all garden and pond lights should operate off a transformer that gives out low voltage so that if anything goes wrong there isn’t enough power to cause any harm.

The only drawback to low voltage systems is that the transformer has to be kept near the lights and kept cool and dry. A nearby garage, or shed is ideal, but not a greenhouse. This is because the transformer may overheat. Another alternative is to build a small brick box to house the transformer, then place a slab over the top to keep it dry and make a seat out of it.

Pond lights come as sets of 2, or 3, or singularly and in a wide range of colours. Some are weighted and others have to be weighted to stop them floating. This can be done quite simply by drilling a house brick and screwing the light to the brick by the use of a small bracket. Do use a brick and not a concrete block as the lime in the concrete may poison the pond.

Well-placed lighting on a fishpond can have a quite magical effect especially on a sparkling fountain. Lit properly the fishpond will become the focal point of your garden in the evening and the envy of all your friends.

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