at home bait tank

[fisherman_chuck]

Looking at building a bait holding tank for when i have left overs, looking to keep in a holding tank till the next weekend or so. Pictures would be great. Thanks

[Artjr]

A small cattle wattering tank works well or if you go with a little bigger on you can even put a electric heater in it so it don't freeze up when it gets too cold.

[icefishindaddy]

type ' bait tank'  into the search area at the top of home page and there are lots of ideas.

[rdhammah]

Looking at building a bait holding tank for when i have left overs, looking to keep in a holding tank till the next weekend or so. Pictures would be great. Thanks

5 gallon bucket with filter or a cheap 10 gallon fish tank
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[Kevin23]

Holding for a week all you really need is a 5 gal bucket and a 10gal aquarium filter. Or you can fork up the $10 for a 10 gal aquarium if you feel like it. Do just what is in the picture above. They will be fine for a week, assuming you are not trying to put hundreds of minnows or dozens of suckers in there. Keep it in the coldest place you can find where it wont freeze. Closest to 32º as possible. In a garage is probably the best until it gets super cold.

If you are planning on catching your own bait, or buying bait in bulk to last a few weeks you will need to set up a tank. A cattle tub, a plastic drum cut length wise, anything like that.. something that will hold 30 gallons of water minimum. You will need a pressurized filter or a bio filter set-up, plus run extra oxygen.

[BaitBucket]

Holds about 600 when full. Only about 300 right now.

[FRESHBAIT]

You should check out the section about live bait and plastics here on the shanty.  Tons of Bait info in there.     I've done alright for years as a kid with just a bucket and a small airation style filter, then I moved on to rubbermaid totes with the hang on Whisper/tertra style filters, then I moved on to 500gal bait tanks that hold a couple thousand.   My bait tanks have increasingly gotten bigger the more my obsession with ice fishing grew. 

[rdhammah]

You should check out the section about live bait and plastics here on the shanty.  Tons of Bait info in there.     I've done alright for years as a kid with just a bucket and a small airation style filter, then I moved on to rubbermaid totes with the hang on Whisper/tertra style filters, then I moved on to 500gal bait tanks that hold a couple thousand.   My bait tanks have increasingly gotten bigger the more my obsession with ice fishing grew. 
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ok. repeat after me.....I have a problem..."

[rdhammah]

5 gallon bucket with filter or a cheap 10 gallon fish tank
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these guys have been in here for 3 1/2 weeks at least. have lost only 4. change water each wek

[kylerprochaska]

Been wanting to do the same thing, found some good vids on youtube that used a 500 gallon bilge pump and pvc.  Only problem is converting the bilge pump over to AC power.... anyone good with electronics know how to achieve that goal?

[topwaterbait]

A 12 volt converter will work.

[FRESHBAIT]

Oh yes, my addiction gets worse and worse every year.  Mostly b/c of this site     

Food for thought on using a bilge pump.  They were never designed for continious use and would most likely fail after a while.  I've used them before just for a livewell setup in my boat, but I never had one setup for the bait tank where it constantly runs.   A 12v power supply will power the bilge pump. 

 

[pikeking]

150 gallon Stainless tank in my basement with Filstar canister filter.

[Chris338378]

A cheap and easy tank, at least in my opinion, would be a plastic slop sink with an airerator pump.

[tinyfisher]

I would not use a glass aquarium if there is any chance of freezing at all, or you could have a mess on your hands.  I like using an old cooler and just drill out the lid to accept airline tubing or any filtrations you may use.  Not enough to store tons of bait for the season, but works great for a week or 2 supply.  Much more room than a bucket, and it's insulated and dark with a tight fitting lid so no jumpers.

[fisherman_chuck]

Any one have picture of a cooler converted to a bait tank?

[Kevin23]

Been wanting to do the same thing, found some good vids on youtube that used a 500 gallon bilge pump and pvc.  Only problem is converting the bilge pump over to AC power.... anyone good with electronics know how to achieve that goal?

Buy a pond pump, mount it in your tank and then a 3/4"-1" line going to your filter. A bigger line coming off that and into a spray bar or just dumping back into the water if you are going to run extra aeration. Pond pumps run on AC and are made to run 24/7/365.

[da man cave shack]

I am thinking about makeing a tank out of an old water softener tank should it work and how big of an airator wold I need. thanks.