home made minnow tank w/ aerator

[jwmiller33]

i bought a aerator from the big C store yesterday that plugs into the wall (110v) along with a few dozens minnows in an attempt to make a home made minnow tank that will keep minnows fresh so i can just take some as i need some to go fishing without having to stop at a bait shop. i have seen a few cat guys on here have made their own home tanks out of garbage cans for their bullheads and whatnot. i plan on keeping about 3-6 dozen minnows in the tank max at any time. right now i have a 5 gallon bucket set up holding the minnows and aerator. the aerator i bought says it works for a 5-10 gallon tank.

my questions are; is this 5 gallon bucket going to be sufficient (big enough) for the number of minnows i am wishing to keep alive? should i up it and use a garbage can or something bigger along those lines? if i used a garbage can, my aerator capacity of 5-10 gallons would probably be reached and i dont know if that aerator would be sufficient for that size of tank.

also, should i be leaving this aerator on 24/7? or should i put it on a timer to go on like every other half hr or something like that? it seems like when i leave it on in the 5 gallon bucket right now, after about 20 minutes there gets to be a lot of bubbles on the water surface and it seems like the minnows do a little better when i shut it off for a while... can somebody give me some input here? thanks much!

[BobT]

This can work but minnows are not as hardy as bullheads so you'll need to refresh the water a lot. Bullheads can handle warm stagnate water better than minnows and are therefore easier to keep alive.

[bikeoutback]

I'm not sure how this works and am no expert, I can only give the information on what I did last year during ice fishing season.

I did the same thing, 5 gallon bucket, small $8 aerator from wally world for 5 to 10 gallons I think. I kept it plugged in all the time non stop. I also placed my 5 gallon bucket in my parents garage which was heated but I put it in a corner that was always cooler so water stayed relatively cold but wouldn't freeze at all. And lastly I changed about 1/3 of the water every other day. I was running it through a brita purifier and melting snow to avoid chemicals from city water. Eventually I gave up and just started using tap water, it had no effect either way which water I used. My simple plan was keep the aerator running, exchange water regularly and keep the water cold but not freezing.

I was able to keep shiners for about a week, suckers for while longer but only ever kept about half dozen to dozen of those at a time. Mixed in with those was usually 2-3 dozen crappie minnows and they kept along time. Would have to skim off a dead one or two when changing water but they kept just fine this way. I'll do it again this year but in my new house have to find a cool spot to keep them, garage is unheated.

Oh and I use that same 5 gallon bucket as my bait bucket with battery operated aerator and a lid on it. Works and no water spilled in the truck but does freeze faster if out on lake all day long than traditional foam bucket so have to watch it.

[jwmiller33]

yes i am keeping it in the unheated garage and the water temp is staying very cold... this should work well for at least another month or two in terms of the ideal temp being very cold but not frozen.

so replacing with tap water worked just fine? thanks for the advice!

[Ryan_V]

as long as you have the aerator running, the water shouldn't freeze anyway. I keep mine in an unheated garage with an aerator and never had it freeze solid. it would build ice on the sides once in a while when it got well below zero for a stretch, but then I just brought them inside overnight and they were fine in the morning.

[island guy]

I use a large, old cooler. It has a drain plug on the bottom. I keep it in the basement where it is cooler. It sits over a twin laundry tub. I drain out at least 1/2 the water every two-three days and replace it with non-chorinated water. Minnows foul the water fast.

[bikeoutback]

so replacing with tap water worked just fine? thanks for the advice!

I can only say I noticed no difference as in I didn't have them going dead by the dozens the next day or that week even so it appeared that it worked fine to put in just regular city (Apple Valley) tap water.

some say no tap water, some say purify it with a purifier or treat it with that chemical to treat water for fish tanks to balance it, others melt snow. I gave up and used tap water. I got lazy and decided the effort wasn't worth $15 in minnows but I had no issues. Take it for what it's worth, your experience may be different.

[PierBridge]

They'll die quickly from the chlorine in your St Paul tap water. So you'll need some Water Purification Drops or you can just let water sit out for a few days before using it in order for the chlorine to evaporate.

Go Twins!

[jwmiller33]

i live in coon rapids now pier. no more st paul for this guy

[PierBridge]

Sorry to hear that....

Probably the same deal in Coon Rapids as far as the water goes.

[Sherpa]

JW, I keep my minnows in a 40 gal aquarium in my basement. I only run a small aerator. But I also use an aquarium filter. The filter is not rated for 40 gallons but it has worked fine for me. I run both constantly with no problem. I did use de-chlor on the main batch of water at the start. Since then I have been just adding water as needed without treating it. I have been running this system all summer with no real issues. I think a cheap $25.00 aquarium filter will help your setup a lot. I would also consider Island Guys' idea and use and old cooler or even a 10 gallon aquarium. The more water in the system the better IMO.

On a side note, I did keep some shiners alive in a 5 Gal bucket for over a month once just by changing the water once or twice a day.

Good luck with your setup. I love mine. It saves me plenty of trips to the bait shop.

[Tom7227]

Go to a garage sale and buy and aquarium and an aerator. Set it up, let the water sit for a couple of days with the rig running and you're good to go. If you buy some fish food and feed the crappie or fathead minnows every other day or so they will last until you use them up. You can have them right in the house. Kids might get a kick out of seeing them.

[chris63]

Sherpa has given excellent advise!Get yourself an aquarium with a filter.Make sure to acclimatize your minnows to their new environment.Let the temperature equalize before adding to aquarium.(Especially shiners)Winter time (sub-freezing temps)it would be better to stay above freezing but it won't freeze up your filter/pump until around 20f or so.Good luck happy fishing!c63

[Cicada]

If you want a larger volume of water, try checking with your local appliance stores. They may have an old chest freezer that they are recycling for a customer and you may get noe for nothing.

[Surface Tension]

If you go with the 5 gal bucket and aerator, come time to change the water just have another 5 gallon bucket sitting next to the the other one. Fill it up a couple days before you change the water. The temp will have equalized and the chlorine will have dissipated. A large rectangle shaped aquarium net will make scooping the minnows out easy.

If you want to prolong the periods of changing water use a self contained cartridge type filter with charcoal.