How to Make a Backyard Pond Shine at Night

Pond lights are a good way to add nocturnal ambiance to backyard water features. There are many available illumination options that change dark and uninviting locations into secure enclaves by illuminating waterfalls, fountains, trees, decks and pathways with an almost magical quality. When adding pond lights to a landscape, safety must always come first. Water and electricity don't go together and the consequences of a mishap could end up being fatal. As a safety precaution, only use solar powered or low voltage fixtures when working near ponds or other water features.
Pond Lighting Technologies
Light bulb efficiency measures the cost of producing units of light. Electrical costs for lamps are a direct function of the total wattage of the bulbs that are being lit and the light emitted by these bulbs is measured in lumens. The other major factor in efficiency is the cost of the bulbs themselves and the mean time to replacement. The most efficient lamp would produce the most lumens for a given wattage; have a low purchase price and the longest life before burning out. Unfortunately that bulb does not exist yet.
Let's compare 2 basic low voltage lamp alternatives -- Halogen and LED. Halogen lights have a lower purchase price, but will burn out faster and use more electricity. LED costs more upfront, but consumes less energy and has a much longer meantime to failure.
A typical low voltage halogen lamp produces 15 lumens per watt and has an expected life of 5000 hours. In comparison, a similar LED produces 50 lumens per watt and can last as long as 50,000 hours (almost 6 years if left on 24 hours per day) before needing replacement. So in this case the LED is 3 times more efficient and lasts 10 times as long as the Halogen. A 10 watt halogen lamp costs approximately $6 vs. $15 for a 3.5 watt LED. As LED technology improves and more manufacturers begin adopting this product, the purchase price should drop significantly and low voltage LED should eventually dominate the outside lighting market. There are 3 common classes of pond lights that utilize both these lighting technologies, submersible, floating and land based accent lights.
Submersible Pond Lighting
As the title implies submersible lighting are located underwater within the pond. Submersible pond lights are meant to give the pond water a glowing appearance and highlight and fish and plants. Nevertheless, submersible pond lighting also illuminates "anything" that's in the water. So unless the pond is extremely clear, submersible lights can make the water appear cloudy. As a substitute, a light pointing down in the water from overhead will illuminate the actual pond without negatively impacting the appearance of water clarity. In particular, should you keep colorful fish within the pond, such as koi, lighting the pond from above will make the fish standout throughout the night against an opaque dark background. Submersible lighting is singularly magnificent, though, in illuminating waterfalls and fountains. Submersible lights can include different color lenses and may be located at the rear of waterfalls or under fountains to produce wonderful after dark light shows. Submersible ring lights are specifically effective with fountains.
Floating Pond Lights
For additional lighting effects within the pond, you can also include floating lights. These lights are fun to watch because they move in irregular patterns with the prevailing current in the pond. There are many kinds of floating lights available including lights which change colors progressively. These lights are generally constructed in the shape globes or water lilies. Whatever style you select, solar powered fixtures are well suited to this role since they will float freely with no power cords attached.
Accent Lights
Regular landscape accent lights are the third class of lighting to make ponds and water features shine through the night. This type of lighting may be used to frame the borders of the pond and to accent selected backyard features such as rocks, trees and shrubs. If a waterfall isn't lit from behind with a submersible light, a land based spotlight from the front creates a pleasant shimmering effect. To ensure safe walking, paths close to your pond or in the backyard generally, should be well lit through downward directed lights. Accent lights are widely available in low voltage and solar powered fixtures for places where electricity isn't easily accessible.
An effectively illuminated pond is unquestionably beautiful at evening and provides a means to enjoy your water garden whatever the hour.

To learn more about alternatives for back yard landscape light click on the links to visit Professional Outdoor Lighting Concepts and Spot Lights and Flood Lights

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Landscape Lighting Can Make a Fountain a Centerpiece

With landscape lighting, water features such as fountains and pools can be greatly enhanced with amazing effects. You can make a fountain glow, illuminate an pond from within or accentuate a reflecting pool. But choosing the right lighting for your water features can be the difference between having just a mundane landscape component and a stunning focal point of the garden.
The most common and popular choice for fountain lighting is the submersible light. Submersible lights are placed underwater and up light the fountain creating a shimmering effect. In addition to illuminating the fountain, the submersible lights illuminate the streams of water as they flow in to the basin. Many of these lights come with color filters that allow the user to experience vibrant and get creative with the effects of the lighting.
In addition to submersible lights, landscape lighting can be up-light with solar, LED or incandescent lighting. Solar lighting is becoming the choice for many people simply because there is no ongoing energy cost associated with solar lighting after installation. Also, solar lighting is very easy to install. LED lighting offers a great deal of creativity due to color options available and also the bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs. For larger fountains, a new option that is available is the moonlight globe. The globes are battery operated, come in various sizes and colors and can float in the basin of the fountain. In the right setting, smaller globes could be permanently installed around the base of the fountain to add lighting and color. They also are available with speakers in them for additional ambiance.
Some water features, for instance a water wall or a floor fountain, would benefit from overhead or down lighting. In this case, the landscape lighting acts spotlights on the water feature. There are many different applications available here. Some lights can be incorporated in to the design of the fountain (if it is custom made) so that the lighting is obscure and non-intrusive while other fountains will require over head lighting to be attached to surrounding trees or other structures such as a building, pergola, or lamp post.
Choosing the correct lighting techniques for your fountain will take a little planning on your part. You will want to experiment with a flashlight at night to see exactly the locations that will best serve you for your fountain lighting project. (If you are considering hiring someone to design a landscape lighting system for you, be sure and ask if they have a temporary kit that you can use to experiment with for a few days. Many are now offering these to their clients.)
Many times fountains are designed to be the centerpiece of the garden and need to been lighted more heavily. My advice is to choose fountain lights that will accentuate and illuminate your fountain without overpowering the surrounding landscape. Do a some research on the different products available on the market and plan out how you want your fountain to be presented prior to starting the project to insure that the results are what you desired.

My name is Carey Dodson and I am a landscape designer with over 20 years of experience in design, installation and maintenance of landscapes. Learn more how landscape lighting can impact your outdoor spaces and increase the value of your home.

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Tips When Using a Submersible Utility Pump

1. Use the handle on the pump to lift, move, or position it. Do not use the attached hose or the electrical power cord to do these tasks. Doing so may damage the electrical cord connection or the hose adaptor.
2. Do not allow your pump to "run dry" (that is, be sure and disconnect the power cord from the wall outlet when the pump is no longer pumping water). Allowing a pump to "run dry" can cause damage. The reason is that most utility pumps depend on the water that is being pumped through them to help cool their motor. Some pump owners use automatic timers to remind them to check on the standing water level to make sure the pump is not running dry.
3. If your pump has a removable intake screen (almost always located on the bottom of the pump and usually held on by several screws), periodically check the screen to see if bits of leaves, roots, etc have become lodged in the screen. (NOTE: Be sure and unplug the electrical cord from the wall outlet before performing any maintenance.) If the intake screen needs to be cleaned, remove the screws, clean the screen, and reinstall it on the pump.
4. Use a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) when you use your utility pump (or for that matter any other type of appliance). A GFCI is an inexpensive device that can help prevent severe electrical shocks. Ground faults occur when electrical current is leaking to the ground. When a GFCI device senses that electrical current is flowing to the ground, the GFCI automatically switches off the power. There are several different types of GFCI devices. Probably using a portable GFCI is the easiest way to go. One type of portable GFCI device plugs into the wall outlet and then the pump's electrical cord plugs into the GFCI device. The other type of portable GFCI is a short electrical cord with a built-in GFCI. Either type should work well for you.
5. Always unplug your electrical cord when lifting, moving, or positioning your pump to prevent possible electrical shorting.
6. Do not use your pump to move sewage, flammable liquids, or chemicals. These substances will cause damage. Similarly, do not use your pump to move hot liquids which can also damage your pump.
7. If you need to use an extension cord to connect your pump to an electrical wall outlet, use a heavy duty grounded waterproof type of extension cord.
8. Almost all utility pumps require a certain level of standing water (e.g., 1") to begin pumping and will only remove the standing water down to a certain level (e.g., 1/8"). If your pump is not starting, this may be the problem. Other reasons may be an unplugged electrical cord or a tripped circuit breaker.
9. Be sure that your pump is powerful enough to provide enough "lift" (that is, raise the water high enough) to move the water where you want it to go. (For example: If you are removing standing water in a basement you will need a pump strong enough to raise the water up 10-15 feet.)
Submersible utility pumps are really simple and very handy devices to use. Hopefully, these tips will make using a pump even easier and safer for you!

For more information on utility pumps, you will want to check out this article on the submersible pump.

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Reef Aquarium Maintenance - Lighting

Many reef aquarium enthusiasts are well aware and keep a rigorous schedule of doing weekly and even daily maintenance on their reef aquariums to keep the water quality in check. From daily dosing of calcium and ph stabilizer to keep the alkalinity, ph and calcium levels at a level for optimum coral growth, to weekly water changes to keep nitrates and nitrites in check and add trace elements.
We all know about keeping the mechanical filters cleaned to keep from depleting oxygen levels. But may people forget about the importance of maintaining the lighting on their reef aquariums. It is not something that is noticed by the human eye because the change in intensity and color happens at such a gradual pace. The gradual deterioration of the lighting can be evident in several ways in the reef aquarium. There seems to be something wrong. The corals are not opening fully like they used to and some may even start to regress. There is suddenly growth of unwanted algae with seemingly perfect water quality.
You would not think of waiting until ammonia and nitrates get out of hand to start doing water changes, so why wait until the lighting has deteriorated to change the bulbs. Many aquarium light fixtures have a glass or plexiglass cover that over time will build up a fine coating of dust reducing the amount of light reaching the corals. This cover should be cleaned on a monthly basis.
The manufacturers for metal halides recommend changing the bulbs every six months. Fluorescent bulbs such as VHO, power compacts, actinic, and T5s recommend replacement at 8 - 12 months. Many studies have concluded that metal halide bulbs can loose up to 50 percent of their original intensity and color temperature with in 1 year. In other words, a 14,000K HQI bulb after a year could have a color temperature of 7,000K.
This would explain the algae growth since plants tend to utilize more of the red spectrum, while the zooxanthellae found in the coral tissues thrive more on the blue part of the spectrum. In simple terms, the higher the color temperature, the higher the blue part of the spectrum is visible and the lower the color temperature, the higher the red part of the spectrum is visible. To simulate the lighting for the reef aquarium we need to understand the light that occurs naturally on the reef with sunlight. The ocean has a blue color because it is the blue part of the spectrum that penetrates the water the deepest and the red and yellow are filtered out.
Color Shift and Variation
New metal halide bulbs need to have the arc tube chemicals "burn-in" for approximately 100 hours before they reach their optimum color and light level. This is why new lamps can sometimes be unstable or vary in color. Many manufacturers "burn-in" their bulbs before they are sold. As the lamps age, chemical changes occur in the lamp causing shifts in the chromaticity of the lamps. Different lamp designs shift in different ways, and different lamps from the same group may shift in different amounts.
Generally, over the economic life lamps will shift 200K to 300K in color temperature. As a group of lamps ages together in a facility, the lamps will generally shift at the same rate causing very little color variation from lamp to lamp. However, if new replacement lamps are introduced into the group of lamps, color differences may be more noticeable, because the new lamps have not aged and shifted with the remainder of lamps. This is just one of the reasons why many users prefer to group relamp as opposed to spot relamping.
Although Fluorescent bulbs do not have a burn-in time and last longer they tend to build up a coating on the tube, reducing the intensity and color temperature.

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High Quality Submersible Lamp

The lamp is submersible and water proof. It brighten the aquarium and also promotes the growth of the plants and bring out the colour of the fish.
Important
Do not use the submersible lamp if the glasses is broken
Cut off the current if the water run into the lamp casing