Building a Bait Tank 3 Stage Filter
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 08. 2024
- I had a bunch of folks asking me to show how I build my 3 stage filters for my bait tank. I tried to make these as compact as I could while making them to where I could easily move it between tanks without a hassel. They are not hard to do and don't take that long when you get everything together. I cut the lip off that one drain fitting with a grinder with a cutting wheel on it but you could easily do it with a sander too. It you have questions, I am C Worthy out on the TFF at texasfishingforum.com. I use my filter in fresh and salt water.
Thanks for looking
man I have watched so many filter tank build videos looking for 'the one' and I think I've finally found it! Thank you!
We built this system and tested this weekend. We kept the Shad alive for 48 hours and it worked GREAT.. Thank you for sharing.
When the unit is setting inside the tank, most of the pump is in the water usually. The "best" scenario is that the tank depth will allow the pump motor to remain out of the water while the pump itself is below the water line. That way the motor is not transferring heat to the water. I hope this helped.
Great video the only problem I see is you have to use a very tall live well to be able to fit it into. I'm thinking keep the pump outside and plumb it into the live well directly to the air bar.
To have a biological filtration you have to have the filter up and running with a biological load on it for a few weeks... the bacteria that eats the ammonia and other fish wastes takes a while to colonize the floss material... at 48 hours it’s nowhere near a biological filter. The activated charcoal is doing all the work. The other thing you can use is “ammonia chips”, a material that looks like white charcoal and is specifically designed to neutralize ammonia.
A very nice build sir. I think I will try it. Thank you!
bell trap drain. brilliant! Thankyou so much seaworthy! you just solved my problem.
:-) Necessity breeds invention..... When you can't find it - you build it. Good Luck
Great video. I've been thinking about how I plan to do something like this for my live well on my boat. My pump must be submerged and it takes in air via a 1/4" tube so my plan is currently to get a long tube and submerge that in an ice bucket to cool that pump down and keep the chlorine out that is added to ice cubes anyways. I'm also planning to add ammonia chips because there's no way I could develop a bio filter over the course of a long weekend. I was really surprised to see this video on You Tube as I had already been thinking along these lines myself. Very helpful. Thanks
You are very welcome. Also, when it comes to cooling a bait tank, try looking at something like this. www.amazon.com/AGPtek%C2%AE-Aluminum-Exchanger-Radiator-Computer/dp/B00CFDS3JA/ref=sr_1_3?crid=21SQBMCQM349V&keywords=computer+cooling+radiator&qid=1563825944&s=gateway&sprefix=computer+cooling+rad%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-3 This is a small computer heat exchanger. You could install it in a cheap plastic container with holes in it, and put it in the bottom of your ice chest. Then you could circulate the water from your bait tank through it with a small pump. (That way you are not mixing the waters) You would need to be able to turn it on and off because these little dudes will definitely cool the water down, too much if you aren't watching it. Good luck.
If I had to guess since it has been awhile, I think it was like $60 -$75 with pump because the pump was around $45 I think.
I got the drain at Lowes. I think it was called a PVC bell drain.
Awesome. Anyway to list what materials you used ? So I dont have to keep pausing the video ?
Awesome..
I've used this type of pump in a tank.. But it heats the water up and has killed my bait.
You would be absolutely correct, if the pump motor is allowed to be submerged, it will kill the bait. That is why I designed it to be above the water level with just the pump prop below the top of the water. The motor should not be submerged as it will indeed heat up the water. Great comment Joe.
How much did whole system cost including the pump?
Having trouble finding the drain. What is it called ?
Would filtration like this work for a cooler bait tank that would be used up to 10 hrs at a time a couple times a month? Or would it be over kill?
Overkill would depend on how hard it was to get the bait or how much it cost. If you plan to use it regularly, I don't think that it would be overkill, but remember it takes time with water circulation and bait to create the environment needed for the filter to work at maximum efficiency. I you are using shad in the summer, you almost have to have some type of system like this to keep them alive. They stress out and die so easily. Hope this answered what you were asking.
I realize this video is old but came across it and thought what a great filter this would be for a live shad bait tank. Just curious as to how you have this system secured in your tank?
+terry mise Hi Terry, since none of the filter will hold air, it basically sinks. The bell drain is large enough across the bottom to make it stable. With the water jet tubes on top spreading out nearly to the edge of whatever tank you use, it pretty much prevents any tipping over action. Hope this answered you question.
Yes it did Gary thanks! I've got a 26 gallon Moeller bait tank I'm going to try this with. Curious as to what GPH pump you use or would recommend for a 26 gallon tank. I'm thinking a 500 GPH would be good as I don't want the baitfish fighting against the current. On a lot of occasions I will be just using minnows and shiners.
Terry, depending on what type of bait that you plan on using, you might want the bait to fight the current as you say. Shad, really need to be forced to swim against the current because if you don't, they will find a corner or a spot and keep banging their noses into it until they damage themselves. To solve for minnows, etc., just turn the water nozzles down so they aerate but do not create a current. I used a 750 gph pump but I think that a 500 gph would work.
I made this but my pump barely pumps. Any suggestions? Thanks
I would most likely guess that you don't have enough of the pump in the water. The actual pump (just like a bilge pump or live well pump) has to have the pump section completely below the water line. Try adding water to just below the motor section of your pump.
How often do you change the activated charcoal?
Wow, hard question :) I guess you should change it every 7-10 uses but I just changed it when I had the feeling it needed to be changed. Vague answer I know but it really depends on how often you use the tank and how many shad you are keeping. Like everything else, the charcoal can get depleted of its ability to remove the toxins from the water. I hope this kinda helped.
Quick question. Does the pump it's self go under water?
the pump motor should not go under the water if possible, not because of it not being waterproof, but to prevent it from transferring heat to the water.
Gary W Dallas Thanks for the answer I'll be stealing your idea. I appreciate it!!
how long does activated carbon last in bait tank
What fittings did you use after 90 fitting?
Hi Christopher, I believe I just used a piece of white bilge pump hose or drain hose. When you buy it, it has a straight piece every couple of feet or so and I think that I just cut off a piece of the straight hose and used it.
What kind of pump is that
looks like a tsunami bilge pump but im not sure
How long do you keep your bait
Really depends on the bait. I have kept shad for up to 24 hrs but that becomes more difficult if it is 108 deg. Even with adding ice water bottles, the constant increase and decrease of temp shocks them. Shrimp, pretty easy to keep 24-30 hrs. Cooler weather, makes it so much easier to keep them several days. Most other baitfish are pretty easy to keep anyway as long as you don't poison the water with something on your hands or spray sunscreen near them. Hope that helped you out.
The most honest answer that I can give you is "it depends on temperature and type of bait" If you are trying to keep shad, then you can keep them pretty lively all day and if it is cool, possibly two days. But shad are hard as the devil to keep alive if the water temp is too hot. If it is hot, try using shad keeper (helps them not to shed scales and go into shock) and frozen water bottles to keep the water cool. Never add cold water, the chlorine will kill them in a very short time. Another not so well known trick is to add hydrogen peroxide, about a cup. Hydrogen peroxide has a chemical makeup of H2O2 which when it is added to water turns into water with an excess oxygen molecule. Simple said, it added oxygen to the water. Other baits like shrimp, perch, baby croakers etc, you can easily keep 2 days or more. Minnows you keep several days. Hope this answered what you were wanting to know.