Lighting assemblies are provided for visual indicators which indicate the level of fluid in a container. One such assembly comprises a backlighting assembly for a visual fluid level indicator having front and rear transparent viewing windows for viewing the level of a fluid contained therein, comprising (i) a substantially flat fiber optic panel located proximate the rear transparent viewing window; (ii) an attachment mechanism for attaching the substantially flat fiber optic panel to the visual fluid indicator proximate the rear transparent viewing window; and (iii) an illumination source optically coupled to the substantially flat fiber optic panel. The illumination source is a gas filled light source operating at less than 25 volts A.C. which is enclosed in a waterproof and explosion-proof enclosure, and which is optically coupled to the fiber optic panel by a fiber optic light cable. The lighting assembly may also be used for directly illuminating a magnetic fluid level indicator which indicates the level of fluid in a container to which it is attached.