• Use lighting to make your backyard water feature truly spectacular.piscine de nuit image by rachid amrous-spleen from Fotolia.com
  
  A swimming pool is often the focal point for the entire backyard. Making use of pool lights in and around the pool area reduces limitations on entertaining after the sun goes down. Having adequate pool lighting adds ambiance to the backyard setting as well as safety for guests, children and visiting family.
  
  

LED Lights

• Many in-ground pools come with incandescent lights built in. Pool owners have been replacing their built-in lights with LED. Aside from being environmentally friendly, LED lights last longer and tend to be brighter. LED lights are more costly than incandescent bulbs, but will save more in the long run, according to ToolBase.
  
  LED lights come in an array of colors and can be placed either below or above the waters surface. Many LED lights have a built-in color wheel, so pool owners have the ability of programming the light to turn colors creating an interesting affect. Many LED lights have a system built-in where the colors can be scrolled through to create a light show underwater.
  
  

Fiber-optic and Floating Lights

• Fiber-optic lights are safe for underwater use as the cable does not have any electricity running through it. There is a generating box that is set away from the pool that the cables are run to. This type of lighting is simple enough that it can be installed as a weekend do-it-yourself project.
  
  Floating lights run on a rechargeable battery can come in a variety of colors and styles. These lights can be projected down into the pool to create an array of circle lights; they can also be projected upward or float freely around the pool. Some floating lights can be recharged via solar power.
  
  

Traditional

• Traditional lights using incandescent bulbs are commonly found at public swimming pools. This type of light is usually installed when the pool is built and is encased behind a waterproof seal. The difficulty with this type of bulb is that it is hard to change.
  
  

Solar Lights

• Solar lights are some of the easiest lights to have in a pool. They are low-maintenance and easy to recharge since the casing has a solar collector on the top. Some come with a sensor so that they instantly come on as the sun goes down. The only issue with solar lights are they do not put off much light and if it has been a cloudy day, they may not have enough power to come on at all at night. Solar lights are unable to be programmed to shut off. Look for solar lights equipped with switches.