Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If you want access to members only forums on HSO, you will gain access only when you Sign-in or Sign-Up .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member. ?

The Bait Tank And Getting Bait Thread!


Shack

Recommended Posts

I figure I would get one started grin. As soon as you know it, the streams will be open and bait will be on our minds.

I would like to know a little more about these home made bio-filter systems? How are they made and what is the benny's to having one?

I know we have some bio-filter guys here grin.

Anyone doing anything new this year? Anyone have plans for a new system this year? Let's see some images of these monster systems out their.

If there is anything better than catt'in, it is keeping and catching bait wink

I did not do it last year, but I am going to get wet and seine this year for sure wink!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 75 gallon tank and a filter that is rated for a 125 gallon tank. I am waiting till the spring to set it up. I don't have any bullies at the time. Otherwise it would be set up. I know guys that have used a horse trough and a water pump to cycle the water. Oh also on the end of the water pump a woman's panty hose to catch anything that my get into the trough. I would know thats what we used to use out in california to keep are fish that we caught or alive till we needed them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where do you guys have your tanks set up? My garage is a sauna, so that is out. Basement is nice and cool, but I don't think the wife will allow that. I imagine they'd get a bit warm outside at times. What do you do?

I keep my bait tank in a carport alongside my house so it gets warm. The trick is to do frequent water changes. I have my tank set up with a sump pump so I can change water quickly and easily. I draw it down (takes just a few minutes) and throw in the hose. Treat the water to take out the chlorine and chloramine and you are all set. Takes me about 15 minutes. I do a 75% or more water change about every 3 to 4 days. I keep about 50 to 75 bullheads at any given time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

we use those big igloo coolers and airators and frequent water changes. I also live next to a lake so I use that as my live well

ace the freezer thing works awsome I used to have on and would use it for minnows would fill it with water and around half full then had an over flow tube in the drain hole. I also placed on the back side of my garage and had the rain gutter dump into it. the water that came out went out to the garden via garden hose. I had no problems keeping minnows alive all season. When I moved the guy that moved in wanted the system for himself so it was on less thing for me to move.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any of you guys have a cool, DIY filter for your tank (aside from John's 55 gallon monster smile )?

Wishing I hadn't gotten rid of my filters when I quit keeping fish, but I've got a pretty good idea how to make a good filter for cheap. I'm just wondering what others are using.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where do you guys have your tanks set up? My garage is a sauna, so that is out. Basement is nice and cool, but I don't think the wife will allow that. I imagine they'd get a bit warm outside at times. What do you do?

Basement would be good Ralph for the consistent cooler temps. Perception is the key...tell your wife you want an "aquarium" for the basement; when they(women) hear bait tank its a reflex thing, they cant but be cross about it laugh .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Semantics are important. "Aquaculture" sounds so much better than "bait tank," at least until she sees that you're raising bullheads. If you could figure out how to grow tomatoes in the runoff, you'd be set, as the bullheads (and their nutrient-rich waste) would be an integral part of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All I can say is that I thought I had a pretty good system... I did have some problems at times, probably just like the rest of us.

After spending close to 6 hours researching on the net recently, I can see that I was close to being in the ball park....... but in reality I was really a Sunday school-er. Between Media filters...Wet/Dry Bio-Filters, Protein skimmers, pond skimmers. There is a lot more to aqua culture/bait tanks than I could have imagined.

Ultimately the goal is to have a low maintenance/highly efficient/reliable/cost effective/kid proof set up.

Big Thanks to WWG for giving a little insite on this hobby.

I have almost as much fun with this as I do fishing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a whole nother world, isn't it Larry? You can drop some serious ching on aquarium supplies.

I'm hatching a plan for a pretty sweet trickle wet/dry filter that should work great and not cost much more than the pump. Won't be as big as some of you guys, but I don't plan on having a 100+ gallon tank.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aquariums are much easier than bait tanks.

The biggest problem with bait tanks is the high population, the constant turnover, the potential for introducing deadly diseases to the tank, etc., etc., etc.

The single most important thing I learned in the last couple years is to quarantine newly caught bait for 36 hours or more in a separate tank to allow them to clear out their feces prior to introducing them to the primary bait tank. Either that or plan on 2 or 3 complete water changes in the bait tank in the first 48 hours (and don't even turn on the filters).

A second important lesson is don't waste money on treatment chemicals to remove chlorine from the tap water for the bait tank. I have added straight tap water on every water change I have done for the last three years and have never lost one bullhead due to chlorine. Chlorine is much more soluble in air than in water and as soon as the tap water starts pumping and being aerated....the chlorine is stripped into the air. Any remaining chlorine will be instantly neutralized by the organic matter in the tank and the filter. Colder water will hold the chlorine a little longer and most experts will tell you to let the water sit for 24 hours before introducing fish for the chlorine to "evaporate" from the water. But even early season when the bait tank stays at 60 degrees I have never had an issue doing a complete water change with chlorinated tap water.

Funny thing about water temperature.....biofilters are designed to grow bacteria fast enough to keep up with the organic load from the bait. Biofilters do not work below 60 degrees unless they are extremely oversized since bacterial growth is an exponential function of temperature. On the other side is that the bait produce less waste at lower temps and the nitrates remain as a higher percentage of nitrite at lower temps which is less fatal to fish.

My filter worked best when the bait tank temp was around 80 degrees. The problem I had was that the aerobic nitrifying bacteria were doing their job removing the ammonia in the tank and converting it to Nitrate......but the anaerobic bacteria that convert the nitrate to nitrogen gas did not have appropriate conditions necessary to keep up and the bait tended to occasionally develop skin lesions and other symptoms of nitrate poisoning over time. I plan to add more water volume in my system this year to provide an anaerobic zone for this.

Most biofilters will act as both when they aren't overloaded....but I guarantee that most of us don't have a large enough filter to provide the anaerobic portion required since we typically have to over-aerate the tank due to the high stocking density.

I have alot to learn on this still......but it makes a fun hobby.

I just need to pick up a couple more tanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boy, I need to really change the way I do things. I simply put 50 gallons of water in a tank with 4 aerators and let them swim. I do change the water every 3 days or so and they are in a tank in the garage. If I have 50-70 in there, its pretty full.

They last for about 3 weeks or so if I don't go fishing. if it gets real hot in the garage, I have milk cartons of ice and I throw a few blocks in the water to cool it off.

This year I want to get a better set up to hold a 100 plus bullheads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now ↓↓↓ or ask your question and then register. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • By The way that didn't work either!! Screw it I'll just use the cellular. 
    • It’s done automatically.  You might need an actual person to clear that log in stuff up.   Trash your laptop history if you haven’t tried that already.
    • 😂 yea pretty amazing how b o o b i e s gets flagged, but they can't respond or tell me why I  can't get logged in here on my laptop but I can on my cellular  😪
    • I grilled some brats yesterday, maybe next weekend will the next round...  
    • You got word censored cuz you said        B o o b ies….. haha.   Yeah, no… grilling is on hiatus for a bit.
    • Chicken mine,  melded in Mccormick poultry seasoning for 24 hours.  Grill will get a break till the frigid temps go away!
    • we had some nice weather yesterday and this conundrum was driving me crazy  so I drove up to the house to take another look. I got a bunch of goodies via ups yesterday (cables,  winch ratchet parts, handles, leaf springs etc).   I wanted to make sure the new leaf springs I got fit. I got everything laid out and ready to go. Will be busy this weekend with kids stuff and too cold to fish anyway, but I will try to get back up there again next weekend and get it done. I don't think it will be bad once I get it lifted up.    For anyone in the google verse, the leaf springs are 4 leafs and measure 25 1/4" eye  to eye per Yetti. I didnt want to pay their markup so just got something else comparable rated for the same weight.   I am a first time wheel house owner, this is all new to me. My house didn't come with any handles for the rear cables? I was told this week by someone in the industry that cordless drills do not have enough brake to lower it slow enough and it can damage the cables and the ratchets in the winches.  I put on a handle last night and it is 100% better than using a drill, unfortatenly I found out the hard way lol and will only use the ICNutz to raise the house now.
    • I haven’t done any leaf springs for a long time and I can’t completely see the connections in your pics BUT I I’d be rounding up: PB Blaster, torch, 3 lb hammer, chisel, cut off tool, breaker bar, Jack stands or blocks.   This kind of stuff usually isn’t the easiest.   I would think you would be able to get at what you need by keeping the house up with Jack stands and getting the pressure off that suspension, then attack the hardware.  But again, I don’t feel like I can see everything going on there.
    • reviving an old thread due to running into the same issue with the same year of house. not expecting anything from yetti and I already have replacement parts ordered and on the way.   I am looking for some input or feedback on how to replace the leaf springs themselves.    If I jack the house up and remove the tire, is it possible to pivot the axel assembly low enough to get to the other end of the leaf spring and remove that one bolt?   Or do I have to remove the entire pivot arm to get to it? Then I also have to factor in brake wire as well then. What a mess   My house is currently an hour away from my home at a relatives, going to go back up and look it over again and try to figure out a game plan.           Above pic is with house lowered on ice, the other end of that leaf is what I need to get to.   above pic is side that middle bolt broke and bottom 2 leafs fell out here is other side that didnt break but you can see bottom half of leaf already did but atleast bolt is still in there here is hub assembly in my garage with house lowered and tires off when I put new tires on it a couple months ago. hopefully I can raise house high enough that it can drop down far enough and not snap brake cable there so I can get to that other end of the leaf spring.
  • Topics

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.