I have a grayline bait tank and was wondering what you all use to clean it?Mine is getting a little bit of a rank smell and just water isn't working for it.I am scared to use just any chemical on it because I don't want to kill next batch of bait I put in it. Thanks Law201

you will get several different answers on this...trust me. I use organic soap with a sponge just like I wash a car with. I rinse it real good and I rinse my charcoal really good till it runs clear and fluff it a couple times till it's all dry. Also, I leave lids cracked at all times just by the latches turned around. I have never had a problem. Heard recently about baking soda and water......may try that next trip.

I have a greyline also and rinse mine out when needed with bleach / water. Let it sit for a day or two and rinse it out again with just water. Never had a problem with it harming the bait afterwards.

Law...here's my view. If you're getting a rank smell there is something wrong that need's fixing. I never, never put anything into my tank in form of detergent, clorox or the like. Catfish skin is closer to your tongue than to your skin in terms of the number of taste sensors. It's kinda like handling bait with sunscreen on your hands only less. I have a big sponge in the boat and when the last set goes into the water I drain the bait-tank and sponge it dry with lake water so its always stored dry. No smell, no fungus etc. Every so often I have to snake a rag thru the pump pipe to remove scum buildup in that tube. cu on the lake...jfo

Hey,I have used baking soda,water and a sponge for twenty years and it works great. Be sure the sponge is a clean one, I dont use a sponge that's been used for anything but cleaning the tank. Good luck.

Get a never used green scrub pad and a box of baking soda and clean it and rinse with plain water.

i totally agree with jfo, catfish are known for there taste sensors, they dont even like the smell of bug spray, and sunscreen, if it comes off your hands. i wouldnt put detergent or anything else in my tank eithier just to be safe.

good luck

Just a thought.....I have a grayline bait tank also. The activated carbon should be cleaned and dried between usage. I found it would not dry well left in the tank and also a chore to clean when put in tray loose. I bought a couple of 4” x 8” filter bags from a pet shop to put the activated carbon in so that is not loose in the carbon tray. The bag is a little to long for the carbon tray so I just tied a knot in the end of the bag rather than using the drawstring. When cleaning the tank I rinse the carbon out (always leaving it in the bag) in the lake and hang it up in the tank leaving the top open. The latch for keeping the top tight works well to hang the bags on.

My bait tank pumps water in through bottom and out overboard from the top I run it on and off when still and run it the whole time Im moving,if I think it needs more air I drop a large airstone over in it and let that run,the constant water swirl from bottom to top keeps foam off keeps water temp same as lake and i loose very few shade,just dont put to many in it!!