What makes a good kill tank?

[dnej]

What makes a good kill tank,for an aluminium boat.

What are the secrets.
Do you use salt water,or opt for the ice slurry.
Which is the best option?
Any pics out there
David

[blaze]

seen the header and my first thoughts were

fish

[blaze]

just to add to that, in tassie we just use salt water to make the ice slurry
cheers
blaze

[foggy]

seen the header and my first thoughts were

fish


I agree with Blaze but just one difference.


Big Fish

[madmix]

BIG DEAD FISH

[Angla]

I also like to bleed my fish in a kill tub first and then into the ice slurry.

Angla

[Blackened]

G'day
BLOOD and a saltwater iced slurry
Dave

[dnej]

Ha Ha de Ha Ha .
I have been using an esky. Seems to get shoved from one end to the other.
Thought I might build a kill tank,so if you reread my post,you may get the picture.
From a Tasmanian, I would expect a comical answer,but for the rest of you,dont stoop to Blaze,s level.(LOL)

Saw one built as a seat,and fixed to the middle of the boat.That system any good,or is under floor better.Are they insulated,and drained?
Blaze,might see you next year.Coming your way for a holiday.
David

[Getout]

I used to have a centre console with big fish bin under the seat. It was really good. We never had to land a fish on the floor of the boat. Helps to avoid slimey smelly floor. It was removeable so that you could wash it out properly. It wasn't insulated, so ice didn't last long though. That was the one thing I would improve.
In my new boat I have to use an esky. I miss the fish bin.

[blaze]

ok lets get serious
I have my at the back of the boat inbetween the stringers. I think with all smaller boats, less than 6m, you have to take the weight of the full tank in to consideration.
under the seat type box will put extra unmoveable weight on one side of the boat and the higher up the worse it will be.
I think up in the sun it would be better if it was insulated.
what about a smaller 450mm x 450mm x 600mm high box with a cutting board on top bolted toward the rear of your boat, in the centre with walk around capacity.
good to catch up if you get down david
cheers
blaze

[Getout]

Should have been more specific. Mine was sunken into the floor in the middle of the boat behind the console under a double seat, long enough to fit a few monster jewies or spaniish mackeral in one piece.

[steveg1100]

I find mine very practical. It consists of an aluminium container with handle on each side for carrying off boat. It sits within an aluminium lip which is in the centre of the boat. So it can be easily lifted out. The lid is a cushioned seat (lots of padding) with a fair bit of weight which sits over the top.

I find it to be a great bench seat with the only drawback being have to get off it to lift lid to put fish in. Hey if you are catching no one minds.

[nickg]

My tank's situated forward of the console and is plumbed through the hull. It fills automatically
to sea level when the internal bung's removed and can be drained whilst underway. 8-)
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5136/killt1hm7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[dnej]

So nickg,
you are a salt water man. No Ice, by the sounds of things.How do the fish keep?
Thanks for the pic.Did you have it made?
David

[nickg]

No, no ice needed, I'm from Victoria...;D

It was fitted during construction and if was doing again I'd insulate it.

[wethooters]

No, no ice needed, I'm from Victoria...;D

It was fitted during construction and if was doing again I'd insulate it.

Nick, I found my kill tank stayed cooler after I glued the closed cell foam under the lid. Buy a yoga mat from the rubber stores and cut to fit between the lid frames. Works a treat.

Cheers

[nickg]

Good idea hooters! Cheers 8-)

[Mr__Bean]

Mine is the same as NickG's, maybe a bit bigger (hard to tell from his photo).

I have tried using an ice slurry in it, but to no avail. Being made from aluminium it is one of the best metals for temperature conductivity and the ice melts far too quickly for it to have been of any real use.

Even tried big blocks of ice but these soon melted away also.

If you do put one in, make sure you use the really big diameter bung and decent diameter pipework other wise you will have trouble with big scales blocking up your plumbing.

Only other recommendation is to use a flush fitting handle if it is in an area of your floor that you frequent, and make sure it opens towards an area on the floor in which you land the fish. After removing the hook it is just a matter of slipping it into the tank with your foot and getting the next bait down again.

If you are going to fit a gas strut then make sure you use stainless fitings, my cad plated ones only lasted one season.

- Darren

[dnej]

Darren,
Do the fish keep well in the salt water type tank,or would you have preferred to go ice slurry,if you had a choice.
How do you hook up the plumbing.Sorry to be a pain
David

[davez104]

Ice slurry would have to be the go, the pro's do it that way with fish destined for market, so your gonna need something insulated.

Dave.

[-spiro-]

Mr Bean you got a pic of yours? and diameter size?
Chris

[dnej]

Gees Chris,I hope you are talking about a kill tank.
The mind boggles
David


Mr Bean you got a pic of yours? and diameter size?
Chris

[Mr__Bean]

Sorry guys no pics, battery flat in camera.

But here are the details:

1000 long by 600 wide and 450 deep to the bottom of the well.

I has a large 38mm bung like this that has the body mounted backwards so it fits flush onto the side of the tank.

http://www.whitworths.com.au/products/13938_lg.jpg

Behind that is a 25mm (inside diameter) aluminium pipe welded in that goes straight out through the transom.

The tank can be filled by putting your hand in and unscrewing the bung and it can be drained by moving off with the bung out.

Mine is a West Australian boat and over there these are mainly used to store live crayfish as they are brought into the boat. For me it is an initial holding tank until the fish has settled a bit and is then gutted, rinsed off and despatched to the esky in a clean state.

I don't use it to try and keep them live as it has no recirculating water and as mentioned earlier I have had no success trying to use it for a slurry. But when not full of fish it is somewhere to store your buckets of thawing bait and burly etc (all the stinky stuff).

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

- Darren

[dnej]

Darren,
Thanks.So if you didnt replace the bung,it would overflow,yes?
David

[pilchardjones]

david,
my kill tank is same as nickg and mr bean's and it really works a treat. but i would not leave fish long term in it. when we get a fish we bleed it and throw it into the water in the kill tank. after about 20 mins or so we just get all the fish out and put them into an esky. this way your esky stays fairly clean.
the lid of the kill tank is fitted with a spring to hold it open and you just kink the spring to let it close.
this was built into the boat at the time of boat construction.
the kill tank is the one at the top of the photo below.
steve

[pilchardjones]

2

[dnej]

Boy,
Didnt we cover some ground on this one, and ended up with some great info which will benefit everyone. Thanks guys
David

[Mr__Bean]

David,

My floor is about 4-5 inches above waterline when at rest so it doesn't overflow.

It will spill a bit if it is full and travelling through rough water though.

- Darren

[Jitlands]

I hear that down in South Aust they use old 44 gallon drums for thier killin???

[-spiro-]

As stated this has turned up to be a good thread. So thanks for all the info. 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)