Bait tank filters

[Brookieslayer20]

Just wanted to see what some of you guys are using for filters on your bait tanks, I've got a big horse water tub that I'm using this year, suggestions for filters?

[COLD-AS-ICE]

Do a search on here. There are plenty of threads on bait tanks

[chillywillie]

I just use a carbon aquarium filter.

[APJ]

If your looking for cheap but effective  buy a whisper filter from Walmart and the carbon refills.
Here is a picture.

[moosehunter]

i have 2 of the whisper ones. seem to do a good job.always alot crap in the cartridge.

[The Rusty Crab]

If your looking for cheap but effective  buy a whisper filter from Walmart and the carbon refills.
Here is a picture.
(Image removed from quote.)

Is your wooden frame secured or just a tight fit

[LINGUINI]

PILLOW STUFFING  WORK GREAT

[GasBlaster]

lots of great ideas and info here .

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=202328.0

[Dags Bait Maine]

Small magnetic drive pump in the bottom of the tank, fed to the top of a gravity filter built out of 5gal buckets, stuffed with whatever media and stuff I want at the time.

-Dylan

[jacksmelt71]

thats the same set up i have. only problem is getting the right ratio of media, stone and bioballs in the pail so the water goes thru smoothly without clogging up every few days. what do you guys use and in what order? how do you keep them separated? pm me if you want.

[GasBlaster]

this one has been working for me . I needed a compact deal so i could close the top some and keep the heat in .  This is what I came up with and it works well

http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=89456.msg878590#msg878590

[blacktrap]

thats the same set up i have. only problem is getting the right ratio of media, stone and bioballs in the pail so the water goes thru smoothly without clogging up every few days. what do you guys use and in what order? how do you keep them separated? pm me if you want.

I use 3/4 of a 5 gal bucket of bio balls with cut up floor buffer pad on top to fill it out.  Once it get started that keeps my 150 gallon tank crystal clear with no water changes all winter

[APJ]

Is your wooden frame secured or just a tight fit

Its just a tight fit   wood will swell to make it tight.

[Dags Bait Maine]

thats the same set up i have. only problem is getting the right ratio of media, stone and bioballs in the pail so the water goes thru smoothly without clogging up every few days. what do you guys use and in what order? how do you keep them separated? pm me if you want.

I use screens cut into circles to keep things at different levels. Womans nylon stockings to hold carbon in. Drill lots of holes and the filters wont overflow. If it overflows drill more holes. Can't have too many holes unless the bottom falls out of your bucket.

-Dylan

[jacksmelt71]

my problem is getting enough fine filtration without the media on top plugging up. no problems w/lower drainage. I've used the cheap scotchbrite pads but still had real stained water. have carbon mixed in my river gravel. tried fiberglass insulation but plugs up quick. does catch a lot of gunk tho. no problems w/ fish losses just w/ stained water. did a half water change last month and helped some but still really stained. could be caused by bacteria built up in the gravel i have in the bottom of the tank. guess ill just deal with it. this tanks been running non stop for 2 years now and i can count on 2 hands the loss of bait in the last year and i keep mainly smelts that i catch. thanks for the info.

[jethro]

This is my setup, 100 gallon stock tank with a 13 gallon kitchen trash bin gravity filter:


The filter is a simple spraybar onto the media which is dollar store kitchen scrubbies at the bottom, a thick layer of polyfill in the middle, then a 1" thick pad of aquarium filter media:


Seems to work great, never clogged all last winter. There is probably 20 or 30 of those dollar store scrubbies in the bottom. A good 8" worth of them.

[lobsterman]

i find the a good activated (rinsed) carbon layered in with the stuff that they make blankets with works great

[jp]

this is what i use. 

[BrownTroutBoy]

What did you guys use for a pump, looking to make a set up like this.

[The Rusty Crab]

pond pumps or a submersible subpump would be my guess

[lobsterman]

you can get a decent pond/fountain pump at lowes for about 35-45 bucks they last along time and will pump anywhere from 200 GPH to 600 GPH

[Mainesalmonslayer]

I run a 5 gallon bucket full off poly fill and some.bio balls.works well in a 100 gallon tank.i change poly fill 3 times a season.once your bait stops eating they will stop producing waste and should be real clear.

[jacksmelt71]

yeah i feed my bait very couple days as I've had them since oct. probably why i can't get clear water

[jp]

What did you guys use for a pump, looking to make a set up like this.

i started out useing a pond pump but now use a submersable pump.  the pond pump worked good but it was hard to connect different size tube to it. i am in the process of getting it set up this week so i will take a pic of it when i get it all up and going.

[jacksmelt71]

i too have a pond pump. its 10yrs. old and still kicking'. it is a pain to connect it to anything. had to jerry rig mine w/ garden hose and pipe clamps.

[jp]

the submersable is nice because it is threaded for a garden hose. I am redoing it to be rigid with some pex pipe and valves to make it easier to drain and add water.

[Dags Bait Maine]

my problem is getting enough fine filtration without the media on top plugging up. no problems w/lower drainage. I've used the cheap scotchbrite pads but still had real stained water. have carbon mixed in my river gravel. tried fiberglass insulation but plugs up quick. does catch a lot of gunk tho. no problems w/ fish losses just w/ stained water. did a half water change last month and helped some but still really stained. could be caused by bacteria built up in the gravel i have in the bottom of the tank. guess ill just deal with it. this tanks been running non stop for 2 years now and i can count on 2 hands the loss of bait in the last year and i keep mainly smelts that i catch. thanks for the info.

More scotchbrite pads or more GPH would be my suggestion. scotchbrite type materials are adequate to do fine filtration.
The first month bait is in captivity they produce a lot of waste. There is a real turning point 3-4 weeks in where I can stop doing water changes and have crystal clear water. I don't think your media is wrong I just think your bio load is over-running your filter.

-Dylan

[troutaddict]

I keep a separate tank that I purge my bait in for a few days before putting them in my other tanks it cuts down on a good amount of waste