DIY Live Bait Tank

[Lucky_Phill]

Live Bait Tank for a Small Tinnie

During my time fishing I have always tried to use the best possible bait, and this was ‘ live ‘. I have tried Aerators in the past, and while they do a good job they are not the best. So it was decided to “ plumb” a live bait tank into Skanky Hoe.

The budget was unknown, but an allowance of $200 will see a very good unit in place as opposed to having one welded in.

I have utilized the experience of Agnes Jack in adopting certain procedures. This was a self draining tank that picks the water up from the bottom of the tank. Reason being, that is where the “ ammonia “ settles, killing off the other fish in the tank. A further drain plug and tap is fitted to drain tank once the trip is over. With the amount of water that will “ pass through “ the tank, I can keep it FULL of livies for as long as I want. Another tip passed onto me, was to keep all metals away from the water supply.

I used h/duty poly components that increased the cost, but I want this to last. I have used a 19mm inlet hose that will be connected to the 360gph Rule bilge pump that sits on top of an Alloy water pickup. ( stainless steel was ruled out on two parts, cost $45plus and electrolysis ) I know you can use methods and products to stop this, but I am not taking the risk and alloy is cheaper.

The self draining hose is Pool cleaner hose and 35mm. This gives a decent flow out as there is a difference in pickup between running the pump and utilizing the water pickup at speed. That is where the tap on the inlet comes into play, to regulate the intake of water.

Apart from the items for the tank you’ll need :-

hacksaw, texta, drill and bits, file, sandpaper, silicone, screwdriver, Saddles, Cable ties, knife, vacuum cleaner, cold drink and about 4 hours.

I laid out all pieces ( except for the water pickup, as it has not arrived yet ) and looked at the plans. I started to cut hose to length making sure that I only joined the hose to an elbow or tail when I was sure it was the right length and ready to be attached. I assembled the ‘ intake ‘ completely. It is advisable to add silicone to the pool hose fittings as it does not seal 100%.

The following photos are a step by step guide to what I have done.

[Lucky_Phill]

Transom Elbows

[Lucky_Phill]

Transom Elbows Cut

[Lucky_Phill]

Transom Elbows Joined and Ready

[Lucky_Phill]

Intake Hose joined and completely ready

[Lucky_Phill]

Intake ready to cut out

[Lucky_Phill]

Intake over Transom, close up. Nice fit.

[Lucky_Phill]

Intake Elbow fitted to Tank

[Lucky_Phill]

Tarnsom view, Intake complete

[Lucky_Phill]

Intake Hose at Transom With Tap.

[Lucky_Phill]

Outl;et Hole ready to cut

[Lucky_Phill]

Outlet Hose and Gutterguard ( stops little fish being sucked out )

[Lucky_Phill]

Outlet Hose, coupling and gutterguard.

[Lucky_Phill]

Tank showing Inlet and Outlet

[Lucky_Phill]

Strap in place ready to tie off.

[Lucky_Phill]

Transom showing Intake hose, Drain Hose #and Outlet.

[Lucky_Phill]

Tank Strapped in Inlet Side showing.

[Lucky_Phill]

Tank strapped in, Outlet Side showing.

[Lucky_Phill]

Internal view of Outlet in Transom.

[Lucky_Phill]

External View of Outlet.

[Lucky_Phill]

Plans. rough but necessary.

[Lucky_Phill]

Water pickup, Bilge pump and wiring, in the next instalment. Stay tuned.

Cheers Phill

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Looks good Phil!

Cheers

Dave

[fastmantis]

What a great idea very nice can't wait to see the rest installed

Mantis

[mcsalty]

Thanks for that great idea phill. Reckon I'll be one of the first to copy off you.

[magicpudding]

Looks good phill. We had a similar setup, but I modified it so that the inlet goes into the bottom of the tank with an elbow, tangential to the side and the outlet was simply a skin fitting at the top of the tank with some gutter mesh. This way, there is nothing obstructing livies from swimming around in circles and it keeps them up off the bottom. The tank is probably around 400mm diameter and holds maybe 50L of water. On a recent trip, it kept about 50 livies going all day, with only 2 deaths :D
Not having anything obstructing the fish has made all the difference, as previously it would only hold around 20-30 livies.

CJ

[Burley_Boy]

Thats cool mate.

I made a similar unit that sits over the well in the Haines.
The intake is a bilge pump on the outside rear of the transom, always on and feeds into the bait tank with a pipe taking the water to the bottom.
The outlet just has an overflow pipe at the top that spills into the well and goes out the back. Works a treat except I have to switch it off to use the radio (noise) so if I forget to switch back on I get floaters :(

Naturally if I had to have it on the floor I would have had to do a similar rig to you.

I used quick connect hose connectors to ensure that I could remove everything for a day with the family leaving very little in place.

[gogecko]

Looks good phil. Where do you buy the hose elbows?

[Bashir]

you should put the inlet at the bottom of the tank, the way you have it now, the good fresh water goes into the tank and pretty much straight out the outlet. Won't matter with heaps of species but with some it can mean all the difference.

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

The outlet is drawing from the bottom, not the top. And that is a good way to dispose of the ammonia which is primarily what kills fish in bait tanks. Fresh water into the top, old water out of the bottom.

Cheers

Dave

[Dirtysanchez]

So how does the home brew taste after you had all them fish in there ? :P

Seriously though, a good idea and one I might have a go at myself, I have an old home brew barrel in the shed !!

Thanks ;)

[Gazza.Boyne]

You've inspired me Phill, I've been thinking of converting my home brew keg into an LBT for a while now, but been a bit slack with making a start. Think I might just start this weekend, Looking forward to the next installment & seeing the final set-up.

Where can you get hold of an ally water pick-up, all I can seem to find are stainless ones?

Cheers Gazza.

[7dan7]

bump

[Sportfish_5]

How about one of these :o :o :o

[-Henno-]

Bugga! I just bought a stainless pick up from whitworths today. I didn't even know ally was an option.

I second Gazza's question. Where can I get an alloy pick up?

Burley Boy. Quick disconnects were my question today as well and they didn't have any. Where did you score yours?

Mark

[Lucky_Phill]

I will keep you informed on the alloy pickup.

Further, I will be fitting mine this weekend, so a reprot with pics, should be on the boards Monday.

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

OK, I have fitted the pickup. The wiring is not completed.

First pick is fitment. With alloy pop rivets.

[Lucky_Phill]

Note in previous pic, that the bilge sits well under the waterline..

This pic of bilge holder with the centre drilled out to accomodate the water from the pick spout.

[Lucky_Phill]

Side view showing, where the spout enters the water and angle of the bracket in relation the the angle of the transom.

[Lucky_Phill]

Close up of the pickup and bilge. unpainted area on transom, is waterline.

[Lucky_Phill]

Standard view also showing the position and where I have zippy'd the wires for power and the transducer cable.

I may post pics of the wiring. For now, I will be connecting to the acc power switch I have already on the switch panel.

Cheers Phill

[Seahorse]

phil, have u finished the inside. like to see pics. looks real good so far

cheers
greg

[Jaffo]

Just one thing you should keep the power cable for the pump away from transducer cable as it may cause interferance (emf) to the sounder.
(emf) Electromotive force

[Lucky_Phill]

Thanks Jaffo, and yes you are correct and good spotting !!!!

On most boats I wire up, I even run the transducer cable Port side and all other electrics on the starboard.

I went out today after wiring the thing up. Tested her at top speed, troll speed and stop. Sounder working good.

Also once the tank fills to the brim, the gravity fed overflow effect takes hold and water drains to the right level. It keeps up with the spout at top speed as well as at stop with the bilge running. I did notice that when at troll speed, the pick-up only allows a ' drible ' in, so to keep up with this, the bilge is activated. ( although the water only drains to 1/2 ).

All working a treat.

BTW, I used twin core 4mm tin coated wiring for the bilge. Soldered and heat shrinked for security ;)

Now, I could have NOT used the elbows in the Pool Hose, as it will not kink, thus saving a few bucks there. Apart from that, if there is a pool hose type hose, that comes in 19mm, that will also save bucks due to less elbows, but then again, the 35mm pool hose was about $9 / mtr.

This model/ unit I made was done thanks to Tony Lunn at Agnes Bait & Tackle. Always willing to assist fellow Ausfishers and the general fishing public at large.

NOW, Tony, let's head to those ( :-X ), spots to catch them reddish/ spottie fish from the little boats ;) ;)

Inside is finished and pics are at the beginning of this thread ! I thought they were, anyway ???

Next pics I'll post should have some , soon to be trouted , livies swiming thinking they are safe ;D ;D ;D ;D

CHeers Phill

[Custaro]

Good work with such an informative post Phil!

[agnes_jack]

No worries Phil!!
As soon as this bloody wind goes away, we are out there to catch trout and reds in the tinnies!! ;)
Still havn't got an 8kg trout in the tinny yet :(
Got to get a marlin in the tinny this year too!

Come on the weather!!!!!!!!!!!


Regards, Tony :)
PS.....Did that angle on the bracket suit your boat OK???

Good job Col ;)

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

How do the pick up's take it if the boat is left high and dry at low tide? And do they tend to pick up sticks etc when you are prowling around up in the shallows? I thought about putting one on my boat but balked because of these two points.

Any thoughts or advice with this, Phil and Tony, or anyone?

Cheers
Dave

[MagicRik]

Am i right in thinking that the outlet runs off into the boat?
Thats a cool live bait tank Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

The main outlet runs to the outside of the boat, but the small drain runs into the hull. That would only amount to about 1 - 2 ltrs.

Reel Nauti, never thought about leaving the tinnie high and dry, but now that you mention it. As long as the boat was fairly stationary as the tide receeded, I cannot see a problem. The ' tube ' is solid and narrow, so, I would suggest it will sink into the sand / mud etc.

AS for sticks, well again it is a solid unit, but I understand your concern. I have the same concern with my transducer, so I don;t tighten it up to tight, and if something hits it, it simply flips up. But, as for the pick-up, ???? Let's just hope I miss the ' sticks '. ::)

The vast majority of my fishing is offshore anyway.

Yes, Tony, the angle is perfect.

Cheers Phill

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Thanks Phil for answering.

Your answer is what has stopped me so far. The pipe is strong and solid, and as the tide receedes and it begins to touch the bottom I wonder how much stress would be put on the rivets. Also, if it does fill with mud, it would probably mean removing the pump and cleaning it out. This would probably be easier said than done if it is not noticed until your scooting along. If your boat does become high and dry I would really appreciate any feedback you may have on problems etc?

Thanks again
Dave

[Lucky_Phill]

Will keep everyone posted. But if you were aware of being . high and dry, the pick-up would probably be uppermost in your mind, and therefore a clean out of the pipe, simply by unclipping the bilge pump, travel a short distance, and then replacing it would solve the " mud-in-the-hole problem ".

I reckon one would be surprized at how strong the pick-up would be, in regard to the pop rivets.

Just realized, this post myabe should be in " Boating Chat ".

Phill

[Geoff_Atkinson]

Phil,

How well does the outlet work?

I mean, it goes down and then up again, just allowing the water to flow freely. Does the output keep up with the input?

You have done a great job and I am thinking of doing something similar and that is my only concern, so if you have 360 lt/hr going in, you have to have that going out.

Cheers

Geoff

[Fishing_Freddy]

bump

[pilchardjones]

thanks for a great thread phil - very informative.
i will be copying some of your ideas in the very near future.
btw what sort of livies are you planning on using for trout? we have caught them on little stripies and things you catch at the reef (townsville and mackay), but i have never pre-caught livies especially to target them.
steve

[Spaniard_King]

Hi Phill,

I have been down this track before. I have but one criticism of your setup, please don't take this to heart. I have found that a bottom feed to the live bait tank to be many times better at keeping livies living(hope the terminology hasn't thrown you)

You see if the feed water goes into the top and the overflow goes out the top, the majority of the good feed water will go straight out the overflow.

if you feed the water into the bottom and take the exess(used water) out the top, you are maintaining a flow thru the tank somewhat. I have found this method to greatly increase the life expetancy of the live bait.

cheers

Garry

[DaveSue_Fishos_Two]

Hi Gary

I think in Phil's set up the outlet is drawing from the bottom. The outlet pipe is coming out near the top of the tank, but inside goes to the bottom. This should work OK with the inlet going in the top. This is similar to the setup I use and don't really have many probs.

Cheers
Dave

[Spaniard_King]

Hi Dave,

your right :-[ I just feed mine direct from the bottom, means you have to have pump on all the time when livies onboard and drains well when you turn it off

cheers

Garry

[murf]

Spaniard_King
Hi Garry
would putting a check valve at the pick up/pump work?
it would stop the water running back out through the pump and leaving the livies flapin around without water.
when traveling in a mates boat we turn the pump off but sometimes forget to turn it back on when we pull up for another fish and it self drains. :( :-[
to drain the tank with the one way valve in it just put a Tee in line with a valve on the Tee

anyone tried this method? or any comments against?

with reguard to the bent pipe pick up, we skull drag the boat up the beach every launch plowing a trail with the pick up pipe and have had no worries. the sand just dries and falls out or washes out when you first put the boat back in the drink. Mud might be different though. never had a problem with catching sticks etc with it. would have to be unlucky (Murphy's Law :))
I am putting the pick up pipe on my boat on the side that is naturally high ie boat sits on the other side when draging it up the beach.
Cheers Murf

[murf]

oh sorry Phill
great thread with good detailed info ;)
thanks Murf

[Barnacle Billy]

I am after this thread with all picis - is this possible?

[murf]

Hi Barnacle Billy

a few phots of the tank I just put in.

Cheers Murf

[murf]

some photos, I should read more before I do but I am an Auzzie bloke :)
Murf

[murf]

another
Cheers Murf