Bait Tank Help?

[papaw714]

I'm wanting to make a bait tank for the upcoming season. I was just wondering what kind of ideas ya'll have for a practical setup, I already have an industrial little giant pump. I've got some ideas, but would love hear from ya'll on this matter.

[ducky]

I use a old deep freezer, best tank i have ever had, drill a hole at the bottome put a kitchen sink drain in, and then you can use a 90 degree elbow below that and put a old hose or 2 10 ft pieces of pvc pipe on the elbow to drain the water, the insulation in the freezer helps keep the water cold in the summer and if the freezer still works like mine you can plug it in for a couple hours to cool the water, i keep pounds of goldfish and other baits alive all year round with it. just dont forget to unplug the freezere or you may have to drill a hole and ice fish for your bait ;D

[papaw714]

Thanks Ducky,
Do you use some kind of circulating pump and or aerator on this setup? Icefishing in summer sounds interesting.LOL

[NorthportTroller]

Mar 9, 2011 17:54:02 GMT -5 ducky said:

..... dont forget to unplug the freezer or you may have to drill a hole and ice fish for your bait ;D

Hahahaha....

Here is a pic of my cheap setup, works good unless it gets really hot out, like in the 90's. Just a pond pump with a homemade spray bar and a tub from wally world, holds about 15 gallons. I drilled holes in the lid for ventilation and keep a weight on top of the lid so the jumpers can't knock the lid off. I also have an air stone in there, teh hockey puck one that Frabil sells for 5 bucks, that works reall good. I have kept up to 40 baits in this rinky dink for up to 2 weeks at a time.

I used a marker to mark the spray holes so they are easy to find and poke clean if they clog up, and I built that homemade strainer the pump is sitting in out of window screen.

[Smoothkip]

Good ideas guys. I need to get one setup also.

[catalac]

me too! i also have been looking for a smaller style deep freezer to set up as a tank. with the same concept as above with aerating with pvc pipe.

[bigcatpat]

Stock tanks are sturdy and reasonable.I use 2 pumps-1 for the spray bar and another for a pond filter.I can keep 40-50 for several weeks once the filter gets established for the year.

[bigcatpat]

[bigcatpat]

[papaw714]

Thanks for the great ideas guys. Ya'll have got my gears a turning. Keep the ideas coming I love hearing them.

[ducky]

i just use a 110 plug in areator from wally world for goldfish tanks the ones with two hoses and 2 stones is what i been using for years, they last forever and that is all you need for the amount of water in there, in reality i dont think you would even need a areator due to the amount of water a deep freezer holds but i do just to be on the safe side, we had around 300 minows and small crick chubs in there from last year had the lid closed all winter with junk piled on it and a week ago when i lifted it up there was only a few dead, alot of the minows were very skinny and some of the crick chubs were very fat, i think the chubs were eating the minows the last couple months. ;D

[NorthportTroller]

Mar 10, 2011 1:22:19 GMT -5 bigcatpat said:

;D

[katfish]

I don't keep a bait tank because I can usually obtain
fresh baits or at least dip them out of Chads tank ;D

I just wanted to make a suggestion.
If you plan on keeping shad there are a couple of
things to think about.

You should use a round tank because shad are constantly
in motion and wear their noses out in square tanks. Round
is better for any bait tanks that hold baits for a long time.

If you keep shad make a catch basin under one of the
sprays equipped with scotch brite pads. This homade
filter will remove any scales the shad lose. Without it
the shad breathe scales into their gills and damage them.

Water conditioning should be added but if you don't have
it a tablespoon of epson salt in the water will help toughen
your baits so they don't loose scales so easily.

A few crawdads in the tank will help keep the water cleaner
and reduce the workload for your filter. They eat the fish poop.

I'm waiting till I can make an effortless foolproof bait
tank.Something like a stock tank with a windmill pump
to renew the water. I've looked around for a spring
that runs year round but haven't found anything close to me.

I had an artesian well by my old house but the water had
so many minerals it killed the fish. I thought I had the
perfect deal with endless supply of cool water but the
fish didn't survive in it.

[Seanstone]

[quote.Something like a stock tank with a windmill pump
to renew the water. I've looked around for a spring
that runs year round but haven't found anything close to me.
[/quote]

A few years ago we developed a watering system for our cattle in which we used solar panel, 12 volt deep cycle marine battery, 12 volt submersible pump, a 2' drain tile, pvc pipe, and some plywood to make a semi-sustainable watering system. Essentially this is how we made it: dug a hole about 12' deep to get to ground water; put the drain tile in vertically; added gravel to the bottom of the hole to cut down on sediment; attached pvc to the submersible pump and then brought it out the side of the drain tile about 3' above ground; we then ran the wires from the submersible pump to the battery; built a housing unit that sits on top of the drain tile that holds the battery, installed the solar panel; added a pedestal pump switch and a toilet bowl float (which kicks the pump on when the water level falls). This system cost us about $400. Altogether its been 3 years and we haven't had any problems. You could add a drain to your holding tank, which will allow the pump to kick on periodically, refreshing the water and keeping the water cool.

Attachments:

[ducky]

heres a few pics of my bait tank
the draining pvc