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Thread: Live bait tank

  1. #1
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne

    Live bait tank

    Hi all, my question is: in regards to keeping bait alive longer, is it better to have an aerator going full time in the tank or would just running the fill pump continuously and overflowing via the top (overflow outlet) be ok,
    I'm guessing an aerator would be quieter and a smaller motor consuming less amps as well.
    The slimeys only seem to stay alive in the tank an hour or so but I only had time to partially drain and refill the tank once or twice.
    Thanks


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  2. #2

    Re: Live bait tank

    I was told you should have water flowing all the time because the slime that comes of the fish clogs their gills which will kill them. I have seen them last all day like this.

  3. #3
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Jul 2016
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    Melbourne
    Thread Starter

    Re: Live bait tank

    Ok thanks Shaun, that sounds legit. I guess that’s why they call em slimiest ha ha.


    Saltwater fishing, boat mad but has a job that gets in the way.

  4. #4

    Re: Live bait tank

    It's the ammonia from their waste that kills them some fish are hardier than others, yakka seem to have more more stamina than slimimes. We found having a spray at the top fairly useless, supposedly adding oxygen to the water, what we've found was that it was better to have new clean water enter the tank prefer ly near the bottom of the tank, this pushes the stale ammonia laden water up and through the outlet. We started this method when we had to keep fish live on the back of our trucks for the old Fraser Toyota comp.

  5. #5

    Re: Live bait tank

    There's a bit more to live bait tanks than you think, nothing beats water exchange and size, but to be realistic, size is often restricted, a tank with a lot of surface area is better than a tall skinny one, and a round tank is better than a small square one, those little boxes fitted to the corners of new boats, and called live bait tanks are next to useless for anything more than a couple of small yellowtail. Slimies need space and lots of water exchange, an aerator is next to useless, I like to have the inlet pointed down and slightly to one side, this makes a "current" in the tank and pushes the fresh water to the bottom, without the hassle of the tank siphoning dry when the pump is not on like an inlet on the bottom does.

  6. #6

    Re: Live bait tank

    This

    http://baitpump.com/aeratorpumps.htm

    Cheers

    Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
    Boat: Seafarer Vagabond
    Live: Great South East....love Moreton Bay fishing

  7. #7

    Re: Live bait tank

    Inlet at the bottom allows the older water to over flow at the top, this is by far the best method of keeping slimies alive
    Garry

    Retired Honda Master Tech

  8. #8
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
    Thread Starter

    Re: Live bait tank

    Thanks everyone for the information, seems like I'll stick with what I have an just use the existing pump to continuously fill the tank. The tank would hold about 25-30 litres at a guess (thinking of a 20l jerry can comparo in size). The pumped water inlet is at the bottom and the outlet is at the top already.
    I'll give that a go and see how long I can keep em swimming.
    Cheers


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  9. #9

    Re: Live bait tank

    EVO, with a bit of pvc pipe you could make a directional outlet, with mine it does come in from the top but the pvc pipe has a number of holes drilled into it small at the top and progressively get bigger towards the bottom and is angled so that water circulates.

  10. #10
    Ausfish Gold Member 552Evo's Avatar
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    Jul 2016
    Location
    Melbourne
    Thread Starter

    Re: Live bait tank

    Thanks Dignity that's a good idea. I'll stick my head in the tank tomorrow and see what fitting I need or what the outlet looks like.


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  11. #11
    Ausfish Platinum Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Kalbarri, WA

    Re: Live bait tank

    I'll be setting up my own on the new boat. It has a fibreglass compartment on the transom. I've bought the Flowrite kit, water will come in towards the bottom, and go out a standpipe at the top, pushed by a 500GPH Johnnson twin port pump. The standpipe length will be adjusted to get it filling but not constantly over flowing out the top around the lid and getting blown back all over everyone on a windy day. i would estimate the compartment to be maybe 40 litres--2000LPH (500 US GPH) will see full water exchange at just over a minute, theory.

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