Pond lighting

[Meyer Jordan]

In the past there have been several discussions on pond lighting and its potential impact. Here is an article worth reading especially if a wildlife pond or even eco-pond is the hobbyist goal.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00061/full

 

[Faebinder]

Light = More fliers and less ground dwellers... got it.

Nice article.
I should reduce light time during the evening to get rid of mosquitoes.

 

[Lisak1]

Interesting! I know the frogs that live in our pond figured this out a long time ago - they all station themselves in prime locations right before the external pond lights go on. We have ours set to be on for two hours past dusk.

 

[MitchM]

Another example of how our ponds are more than just water, fish and plants.
Artificial light is just one variable that can alter the ecological balance of our ponds.

 

[Nick83]

I had no idea how lighting would affect the pond and its surroundings. Originally when I added a light I was only thinking about the fish and how it could effect their sleep so I added a timer to shut off the light after 3hrs after the sun is gone so it wasn't running all night. Its a blue underwater LED that only lights up a small corner under the waterfall plus the pond isn't exactly out in the elements.
This thread has some good information you wouldn't normally consider when adding lighting. I will definitely keep this bit of info in mind for my next pond build.

 

[MitchM]

The study also has a number of links that refer to light spectrum studies, and I remember people buying bulbs that are yellowish "bug lights" meant to discourage flying insects from swarming around porch lights. Many of the pond lights available are of the spectrum closer to an LED blue colour, so I plan on reading those lighting links.

 

[Abe]

Any commercial flower growing operation use lights to trick the plants into thinking day light
hours get longer and to trigger buds to turn to flowers. Lights could be sun simulation bulbs that
almost blind you and cost a lot to set up and operate or cheap simple 60W indecent bulbs, and farmers
don't even have to use it continually - pulses of few minutes duration that get more frequent do the trick.