Got foam in the bait tank. Good or Bad?

[fishingsurveyor]

Just went out to check on the little guys and noticed I have a bit of foam starting to accumulate on the top I am running a small pool filter with Type A cartridge with a spray bar return this is all set up in an old chest frezzer any thoughts should I be worried. The tank has been running about 2 weeks now water is a bit cloudy but not bad holding about 60+- minnows and approx 80gals water

[DasRottweiler]

 BAD-Foam is an indicator of the water losing it`s ability to hold Oxygen. Up yer aeration with an air pump and an airstone and look for a product called Foam Off-I think it is made by the same folks that make BetterBait/Finer Shiner. Ya may not need it if ya just increase the aeration. I have my pump running to a spray bar also, but I run a 14" airstone in each tank for more O2. 1/3 Water changes will help also.

[TinyTim]

This website has a lot of good info on keeping bait alive. I've used thier products and have been very happy.
http://www.wholesalebait.com/index.php

[chief613]

id guess your problem may be the water is too warm. I'm not sure what happens, but when the water is warm things get messy. I've heard that fish don't eat below 50. Keep your water as cold as possible, below 50. Things seem to go alot smoother when the temps drop. I'm just starting to think about bait. ill wait till i can set traps threw the ice.

[Polarised]

I believe foam creation is an indicator of rising ammonia levels, you may want to do a quick water change out.

[fishingsurveyor]

Well I added 2 aeration stones 1-14" strip and 1- 3" round I also did a 1/3 water change. Water temp a cool 42+- What PH level should we be looking for

[DasRottweiler]

I don`t test for ph- I suppose I could use my pool test kit to check. I use lake water in my tanks and keep 50 gallons or so of lake water on hand for changeouts. I tried the town water and additives but the town is notorius for water problems and additives-hard water ,metal etc. Killed alot of baitfish b4 switching to lake water. My water temps are about 40F and won`t drop to freezing til we are fishing on the hardstuff, because the pump generates a lil bit of heat(submersible 550gph). Then I use a standard aquaruim heater on a timer. (you can only turn down the heater to 70F) comes on maybe an hour or so then off for 3, back on for 1 etc. Keeps the tanks just above lock-up, which is where ya wanna be. Are you on town water or a well?

[fishingsurveyor]

Well Water here
DAS I got 1/2 doz of monster shiners in the tank (6"+) and close to 6 doz total am I pushing my limits on tank capacity

by the way hows your wax worm breeding coming along

[DasRottweiler]

Waxworm project failed-I`m gonna buy a kit during this summer coming and start new with viable larvae instead of the crapshoot refrigerated ones. As far as tank capacity, I have 10 dozen chubs and a dozen 5" suckers in a 55 and 8 dozen or so shiners in a 35. Could add as many as 6-8 dozen more, now that water temps are low.  Has alot to do with water quality and aeration as well as how big yer pump/filter is. I have a 550gph pump with about 75 gallons of usable fish water so, that cycles the dual tanks 176 times a day. Well water is way better than town water and its chemicals, but is known to be low in dissolved oxygen. Your airpumps will remedy that. I had wellwater b4 I moved to where I am now, and the bait did well . Upon moving , I set my tank up with town water and watch 8 dozen minnows do teh heavy metal headshake on their way to the great beyond. What a waste. Switched to lake water as mentioned and now I have 300 or so happy fish.

[rockhound57]

I believe foam creation is an indicator of rising ammonia levels, you may want to do a quick water change out.

   F.S. - that's what I'd be most concerned about, I'd definitely recommend an ammonia test kit and neutralizer.

  Das., If your water is chlorinated, if you store spare amounts in open buckets for a day or two, the Cl will evap. off, then don't add too much at a time, you'd probably be fine

[DasRottweiler]

  Das., If your water is chlorinated, if you store spare amounts in open buckets for a day or two, the Cl will evap. off, then don't add too much at a time, you'd probably be fine

Town water is chlorinated , have used dechorinators and left water for several days , open 55 drum., but the metals in the water are what is killing the bait. Town is known to have crap water. The switch to lake water is what it took to eleviate the problem. I lost dozens with treated town water and only a few since the switch. I haven`t lost a baitfish for weeks now.

[rockhound57]

Wow, never had to deal with heavy metals before, that's something to remember!

[Mainehazmt]

metals in water   hmmmm   time to call dep!!!

[Dags Bait Maine]

foam buildup on the surface of the water is caused by an excessive amount of protean in the water. protean foam often occurs when large amounts of fresh bait are added to a system or there is an excessive load on the mechanical filtration. you can use surelife foam off to remedy this. in my tanks that don't have overflow i use a plastic cup to skim the foam off when it occurs. besides being unsightly the only problem directly related to protean foam is the inhibition of the water to gas off. ie O2 doesn't go in and CO2 doesn't leave.

-dylan