Lighting the inside of a cave?

[jtech1]

I am trying to figure out the best way to light the interior of a cave with a waterfall coming down in front of it. Mainly I want a cool look at night behind the waterfall.

I have three Pentair 5g LED pool lights... one at each end facing each other, and another in the middle facing the cave from the other side of the pool (17 ft). I think the pool lights will provide enough under water light in the cave for safety.

I am debating between installing a Savi PVC sleeve type light under water in the cave, or something above water... I have looked at a Pentair landscape 12V light facing the back wall of the cave but that would be hard to conceal. I would love to find out more about any fiver optic solution for lighting the inside of the cave more evenly without any one big point source for glare. Or do any vendors make the PVC nichless sleeve type light that does not have to be under water?

I would greatly appreciate any feedback from those of you who have done this... and what works best. I will have gunite shot next week so I need to account for any sleeves or conduit prior to that.

 

[dtlight]

It might be cool to put a smaller 5G spa light in the floor of the pool pointed up to illuminate the falling water of the waterfall.

 

[CraigMW]

I'd probably use some sort of programmable LED fixtures and, to avoid glare, have them pointed toward the cave surface so that the reflection from the surface is what lights the cave. The fixtures themselves could be tucked under "outcroppings" of the cave ceiling. The Pentair landscape fixtures would work for this purpose, but are expensive. You could also use MR16 fixtures with color changing LED bulbs. The bulbs come with a remote control and are cheap. Lastly, you could outfit the cave with something like this, though you would need to make certain they don't get wet:

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/led- ... QgodtGQA5w

 

[jtech1]

Great ideas... I think I read somewhere that the regular pool/spa lights are not listed for in floor use... I am using a few color cascade bubblers in my shelf, but they are not bright enough to light up the cave from 4' under water.

I think I will need to go with concealed lights shining on the cave walls... I think that will give the look I am going for without a direct light point shining out from the cave. I'll have to find a way to conceal them...

 

[dtlight]

If you live in an area where the NEC is the code, you can't install anything electrical within 5' of you pool other than listed underwater pool lights. There are some fiber optic options, where the illuminator is installled outside the 5' boundary.