Aerator Improvement

[20lbSloughShark]

I have been using the cheap aerators for a few years now. The first was the "hush bubbles". I never did anything to it, and it lasted a year and a half. Eventually they get weak until they cant pump air. I then got the cheapest Frabill. Out of the box the thing would not pump air with a hose. Rather than taking the $8 aerator 30 miles back, I decided I would try and make it work. Its so simple. You open the top cover and pull the pump out. Take the plastic peice that the motor connects to and drill it one size larger. Put a bit of grease on it and put it back in. That's all it takes. Not only does it make the pump run stronger, it more than doubled battery life. I used to get 2 days at best on 2 D batteries. I'm probably on day 4 and its still going. The only draw back is it makes it a little louder.

[muskie hunter]

get an areobait by magic worm inc in wisconsin have 3 and one is 3 years old and still running like a champ.

[20lbSloughShark]

You get what you pay for. I choose the $8-$10 aerators, so some don't work. With this mod they will last over a year, and have good battery life.

[expl]

Change the water once a week and dont overcrowd your bait bucket and no need for an aerator.Pretty sure I have a couple minnows still in my bucket that I bought in Dec.no way to know forsure. I dont buy big minnows tho either.

[20lbSloughShark]

The bigger the minnow the more air it needs. I use some big minnows. I change the water once a day. In the summer, they will die without an aerator. In the winter, the bucket will freeze without an aerator. In the house I use a cheap plug in one to save on batteries. I am looking to build a big tank from a 55 gallon drum.

[Iceboy]

I have a reverse osmosis system for my house which makes my drinking and brewing water fantastic! And as an added bonus, I can use it for minnow water that I know won't hurt them with chlorine. I change the water every few days with water from my RO system that I leave out in my garage with my minnows so it's the same temp, and I have minnows that last all season that way.

The only thing I've had to worry about is them freezing, which has sadly been a problem this year.

[fsnrod]

I use a big 7 day cooler every other day or so I put a shovel full of snow in it have kept minnows all winter.