"Submersible" and "rated for wet locations" get used almost interchangeably by buyers, but a fitting sitting in a garden bed getting rained on and a fitting permanently sitting in chlorinated pool water are facing completely different chemical environments. An IP rating tells you the housing keeps water out under a lab test — it says nothing about what the water itself does to the fitting's materials over years of contact.
"Submersible" isn't one spec
IP68 (continuous immersion) is a starting point, not the whole answer. AS/NZS 60598.2.18 is the actual Australian/NZ standard governing luminaires for pools, fountains and garden pools specifically — it requires SELV (separated extra-low voltage), IPX8/IP68 watertightness, and Class III insulation together. A fitting genuinely built to this standard is a different proposition entirely to a generic "IP68 garden light" pressed into pool service because the number on the box looked adequate.
Why the water type matters as much as the IP rating
The same IP68 fitting ages completely differently depending on what it's actually sitting in:
- Freshwater ponds and water features — the mildest of the three environments. The main long-term risks are UV exposure, if the fitting isn't fully submerged or shaded, and biofilm/algae buildup, rather than aggressive corrosion.
- Chlorinated pools — chlorine itself isn't a particularly strong oxidiser of metal, but at pool concentrations it attacks the passive chromium-oxide layer that protects stainless steel — particularly at welds, crevices and fixing points. This is exactly why "stainless" pool fittings still pit and fail over time when the grade or fabrication quality is wrong.
- Salt-chlorinated pools — a common misconception is that salt pools are gentler than traditional chlorine pools. They still generate chlorine via the salt cell, and the added conductivity of salt water actually accelerates galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals — even though typical pool salt levels (roughly 3,000–3,500 ppm) are nowhere near seawater concentration (roughly 35,000 ppm).
Water type should drive material selection just as deliberately as the coastal-zone table in our fitting construction guide drives it for atmospheric exposure.
Materials that actually hold up in water contact
- 316 stainless — still the benchmark, but grade and weld/fabrication quality matter more here than in atmospheric exposure, since crevice corrosion at a poor weld is exactly where chlorine attack starts.
- Marine bronze and brass — the same patina-not-corrode logic as atmospheric exposure applies here too, and both are long used in pool and fountain fittings for exactly that reason.
- Anodised aluminium, resin-encapsulated, and engineered polymer housings — a strong option specifically because there's no base metal for the water chemistry to attack at all. Often the more reliable long-term choice for pool-adjacent fittings than a poor-quality "stainless" one.
- Sacrificial (zinc) anodes — standard practice on pool equipment generally, protecting more valuable metal components by corroding preferentially. Worth a mention even where it's not built into the light fitting itself, since it affects the fitting's surrounding environment.
Neon flex / LED strip jacket material — where jobs go wrong
This is where a lot of pool and water-feature jobs actually fail, and it's a simpler decision than the metal-selection question above:
| Jacket Material | Suitability | Notes |
|---|
| Silicone | Correct choice for water contact | Strong resistance to chlorine, salt, UV and mild acids/alkalis — the jacket doesn't break down and let water reach the LEDs and copper strip beneath |
| Polyurethane (PU) | Splash-zone / exterior only | Tougher mechanically and more abrasion-resistant — fine for general exterior runs getting rained on, but breaks down faster under sustained chemical/chlorine exposure. Wrong call for anything actually living in pool water |
| PVC | Avoid for wet/chemical use | Cheapest and least chemically resistant of the three — the one to avoid for any wet or chemically active application, pool or otherwise |
This is a common, avoidable mistake
Specifying PU or PVC-jacketed strip for anything sitting in pool or spa water — rather than silicone — is one of the more common ways a decorative water feature or pool-edge lighting job fails early. The jacket material matters as much as the IP rating on the strip itself.
Connections must be out of the water — no exceptions
Never splice or join cable underwater, regardless of the connector's own IP rating. This is standard trade practice, not a matter of opinion. Route the cable so it rises out of the water to a connection point above the highest possible water level, inside a covered, weatherproof junction box — not sitting low with a join buried beneath the waterline.
This is the same principle covered in our in-ground fittings guide, taken further: get a cable join wrong in soil and a fitting can fail within a season or two. Get it wrong permanently submerged, and the timeline can be measured in weeks.
Compliance note
Pool circuits specifically are a heavily scrutinised area of AS/NZS 3000 and AS/NZS 60598.2.18 compliance. This is a "confirm with a licensed electrician" area, not a DIY one.
Practical takeaway — the decision path
- Identify the water type — freshwater, chlorinated pool, or salt-chlorinated pool all behave differently.
- Select the base material accordingly — 316 stainless, marine bronze/brass, or a non-metallic housing, matched to that water chemistry.
- If using strip or neon product, confirm a silicone jacket for anything actually submerged — not PU, and never PVC.
- Route and terminate all connections above the waterline, in a proper weatherproof junction box.
- Confirm compliance with AS/NZS 60598.2.18 for anything genuinely going into a pool, with a licensed electrician.