My new bait tank!

[ICEHOLE]

So for the last few winters I have been running a 10 gallon glass aquarium, and small heater for says under 20*, and a small hang on filter...When its subzero it does get hard to keep the water flowing but has always served me well, and saved me LOTS of money. Especially considering I started catching my own bait last year.
This year I was inspired by a few YouTube video to make my own larger, winter friendly bait tank. Heres what I did
Put an Ad on craigslist looking for FREE non working chest freezers. Within 2 days I had a guy a couple miles from my house asking me if I wanted his DONE.

I removed the racks and the compressor to cut down on weight when not filled.
drilled three 1.25" holes with a hole saw in the back of it. (one for pipe in, one for pipe out, and the third for pump cable and air hose)
Bought a 5 Gallon Igloo water cooler and removed the spout at the bottom and replaced with a bulk head fitting  to make the hole bigger and water right.
After various bends, valves and installing a submersible 790 gallon pump,  and figuring out the water levels and right height for the filter, I have  a really cool bait tank perfect for my small patio outside. Already a couple dozen jumbo goldens waiting for first ice . I havnt figured out photos since photobucket scam so here's a couple youtube clips
https://youtu.be/mYs4f_-uwt4
https://youtu.be/PEBpMomh7sQ

[prospector]

Looks good! Do yo have any media in the filter?

[Maineguy93]

After getting into ice fishing last year I wanted to put together an old fish tank in my basement for this season as it got tiring going to the bait store every weekend to get bait for the day. I will have to do some research on how to set this up and take care of the bait.. but bait that you are catching (or buying?)  now will live long enough for first ice? Must be over a month away?

[ICEHOLE]

Looks good! Do yo have any media in the filter?

yea what i did is got a plastic wedding cake teir platform thing 10" and drilled two holes for the pipe in the canister and a bunch of 1/2 holes so water would not be restricted but it would keep media away from the spouts on the bottom so it could still "swirl" then layered it with about 30 plastic pot scrubbers from dollar store, then i nice layer of batting material (poly quilt or pillow filling) then a bunch of lava rock and two legs of panty hose full of activated carbon to top it off! It is definitely doing the job.

[ICEHOLE]

After getting into ice fishing last year I wanted to put together an old fish tank in my basement for this season as it got tiring going to the bait store every weekend to get bait for the day. I will have to do some research on how to set this up and take care of the bait.. but bait that you are catching (or buying?)  now will live long enough for first ice? Must be over a month away?

should not be an issue keeping them that long. water temps changing is the biggest enemy when keeping them i think. they love the cold. unfortunatley i am learning this submersible pump gives off some heat and my temps are sitting in the low 70's, but its 37* outside this morning.They dont seem to mind the water temp but I am hoping winter temps will cool it gradually and keep it there but if it tends to stay warm im gonna have a problem as soon as i drop them down a hole. Tough regulating temps in a non working freezer

[rdhammah]

After getting into ice fishing last year I wanted to put together an old fish tank in my basement for this season as it got tiring going to the bait store every weekend to get bait for the day. I will have to do some research on how to set this up and take care of the bait.. but bait that you are catching (or buying?)  now will live long enough for first ice? Must be over a month away?

I have a 40 gallon tank in my basement with one of those filters that hang on the edge. I use to buy 2 days worth of bait. what I did not use on one day, went into the tank for the next day. before the bait shop closed, I'd buy bait for 2 more days. Never lost any. I have one shiner left over from last winter and one from 2 seasons ago. I now have a bait tank outside

[wbfishboy]

very cool

[tbern]

Looks nice! let us know how it's working after a good test and if you plan on any changes or things you might have done differently.

[lowaccord66]

Matt I have a bait tank issue.  Wife says the herring are taking up too much room in the freezer!

[ICEHOLE]

sounds like you need a working chest freezer...

[lowaccord66]

sounds like you need a working chest freezer...

Yes for sure.  I saw skim way south of me in CT today...almost time.

[BogMan]

Wow you guys do overkill. But nice!!!  Got a 55 gallon drum and built a stand to keep it on its side and up about knee high. Cut a 16x16 access hole in the side. Have the cap on the bottom fitted with a spigot for draining. Fill it with about 35 gallons. I took one of my fish pond pumps 250 gph and run the water thru a 3/4" pvc tube with some holes for aeration. it sprays so hard it creates all sorts of splash for them to have. Drain a  5 gallon pail of water every week or so and refill it with another that has been sitting over night. Have had at the beginning of a season 400+ shiners and might loose maybe 10 over the whole season. At the end of the season it gets put back outside in the corner of the yard and my garage has a bit more space.