9 Pond Lighting Ideas for an Amazingly Bright Pond

by Tory Jon | Last Updated: August 05, 2022

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Pond lights can be used to create dramatic effects in your pond and highlight certain features like waterfalls and fountains.

They can also be an important safety feature, helping to illuminate your pond and walkways, ensuring people can safely navigate around your pond at night.

So, let's look at a few inspirational pond lighting ideas to help you light up and brighten your backyard pond!

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Pond Lighting Ideas

From waterfall lighting to underwater pond lighting to koi pond lighting ideas, you'll find the inspiration you need to make your unique pond shine!

Pond Lighting Idea 1 — A great example of using upward lighting to illuminate a bridge over a pond.

Pond Lighting Idea 2 — This pond features a good mix of underwater lighting to illuminate the fountain and reflective lighting from the tree lights.

Pond Lighting Idea 3 — The downward lighting in this pond is used to not only illuminate the landscaping but also the pond itself.

Pond Lighting Idea 4 — This modern koi pond features underwater lights, illuminating the deepest part of the pond and the dock edge. Plus, the pond perfectly reflects the lights on the side of the house!

Pond Lighting Idea 5 — An example of using lights to highlight a small fountain. A great way to bring smaller ponds to life!

Pond Lighting Idea 6 — Even the smallest ponds can get a dramatic upgrade with a little underwater lighting.

Pond Lighting Idea 7 — I love this pond! Great use of the various lighting techniques, including waterfall lighting, fountain lighting, underwater lighting, and perimeter lighting.

Pond Lighting Idea 8 — A great mixture of waterfall lighting with underwater lighting really gives this pond a clean yet dramatic look. The water almost looks like lava flowing down the rocks!

Pond Lighting Idea 9 — You don't need a lot of lights to achieve a dramatic lighting effect. Simply highlighting the bottom of a waterfall with an underwater light is sometimes all it takes.

Want more pond ideas? Check out our huge list of 48 Cool Backyard Pond Ideas for more inspiration!

Pond Lighting Guide

How Do You Illuminate a Pond?

Illuminating a pond is more art than science. Still, some popular techniques include underwater lighting to highlight edges, waterfalls, or fountains, upward lighting to highlight bridges, downward lighting to create a reflection, and perimeter lighting to outline your pond.

Do Pond Lights Bother Fish?

Pond lights do not bother pond fish. Many people report that fish love to swim around the lights when they are on. If you're still concerned or want to save electricity, set your lights on a timer allowing your fish to get 8 hours or so of darkness each night.

Should Pond Lights Be Turned Off at Night?

Whether you turn pond lights off at night or leave them on is a personal preference. Some like to leave the pond lights on for safety purposes to prevent people from accidentally falling in. Others shut them off to save on electrical costs. It's completely up to you.

How Do You Add Lights to a Waterfall?

Placing submersible lights below where the water flows into the pond is a great way to illuminate a waterfall. Another technique involves placing spotlights behind the waterfall, illuminating the water as it falls. Color-changing lights are a fun way to create a more dramatic effect to any waterfall!