I have a 18 gallon bait tank and I have a Mr. Bubbles areator going to it. Also the water pump is a 800 g/h Tsunami pump but still I have shad dying quickly. I am pumping the fresh water in constant and the areator pump runs all the time. I heard putting table salt in the tank will help keep the scales on longer. I am thinking about putting a recirculting pump with a homemade cotton filter on it also to keep the water clean.
Is this the right solution or does anyone have a better path to follow? I would really appreciate all advice you could give on this matter. Also I have no room for an after market tank either.
Seacat:
If you're pumping in water from the lake all the time, then it's probably staying too hot. You can actually have cooler water in the bait tank by re-cirulating and having a good spray bar (be sure to leave top cracked so warm air escaping from the water via the spray bar doesn't get trapped and act as a steam bath. You can then change this water every few hours and keep your bait fresh.
Seacat...what KLK said and a few extra items:
- add .8 cups pure non-iodized salt to 20 gallons to get a 3% solution
- table salt is wrongo-rino...it has iodine in it and is poision
- you gotta build a filter to catch the poop & scales. You'll be beter off to use polyfoam than cotton...its not expensive if you buy it bulk.
- Lastly, with only 18 gallons use a very low bait count until you et success, then increase count as you learn
Good luck, let us know how it comes out...jfo
Another way to keep your water tempt down is to freeze 2 liter bottles of water and keep them in A cooler onboard, And placing them one at A time in your tank as needed. With only an 18 gallon tank, You may want to downsize to A 20oz bottle instead. Hope this helps... FishFinder...
I have always heard that iodized (table salt) is toxic to fish. The iodine that is. That being said, I do know a few people that use it with no problems for short periods. I will not use it. I use the Morton pellets for home filtration systems...it is 99.5% pure and 40# bag is like 4 bucks. If you are recirc lake water in right now, you are pulling 80 deg water into your bait...absolutely deadly, and whatever salt you are putting in is gone is seconds cuz it can't stay in there. 4 essentials for holding bait in Summer, good insulation, lots of salt, good areation and good filtration. And you need to start with cooler water, maybe get a 20-25 ft hose to drop down and pump yur water into tank to start. I fill mine 1/2 full of well water before I leave for lake. Don't use chlorinated/treated water...you will be sorry quickly! I know yur not going to want to hear this, but go ahead and spend the $$ and get a good insulated tank, If yur just gonna fish in 50-65 degree water, you can get by with less for short periods but you will still have to have salt, aeration and filtration.
Also, downsize the pump to a 360 with an 18 gallon tank. Keep the water cool and as mentioned before not recirculating constantly from the lake. You lose all your chemicals. I use iodized salt with no problems. The non iodized is probably better. If need be use rock salt. The ice or tank temp along with bait saver, salt and foam off are essential. I also like to use a long hose to sink to around 15 feet to fill the well with. Keep experimenting until you hit the right formula. Oh, as mentioned by others don't overcrowd. I would not put more than 18 to 24 baits in there if you want them to stay alive.
Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck.
Well I would like to thank all for the responses and I will give them a try. It is nice to get a response from people who have been where I am now. So again thanks everyone!
