170 gallons, with a bio-filter setup. picked up the tank on craigslist, pond pump, pvc, etc. total cost – $120.
i just finished it tonight. i’ll take some pics and video when its light out tomorrow.
now to fill it with bullies this week!
(click the image for video)
It would be somewhat more effective if the outflow came out of the bottom of the bucket and the inflow just splashed in on top. You’ve got a lot of volume so it might be forgiving but I wouldn’t put more than 50 or so in there for a few weeks. I learned the hardway and then a learned it again and a few more times and now I know better.
Your own bait tank is wonderful. Dead bait is depressing though. Basement?
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It would be somewhat more effective if the outflow came out of the bottom of the bucket and the inflow just splashed in on top. You’ve got a lot of volume so it might be forgiving but I wouldn’t put more than 50 or so in there for a few weeks. I learned the hardway and then a learned it again and a few more times and now I know better.
Your own bait tank is wonderful. Dead bait is depressing though. Basement?
I built a small scale version of a biofilter that people are using for koi ponds.
All I can do is see if it works like it does for them.
The inflow goes to the bottom of the bucket, and the water is swirled up through the filter media, and then out the overflow and back onto the tank.
And no, it is outside. May have to move it to the garage though, depending on if it is too loud for the neighbor… 
One suggestion is an inline carbon filter. Place it after your primary before it goes to tank. Its easy to check to see if your primary is working right, will pick up the fine particulate and easy to replace.
I responded to your first post last night. When I clicked submit…it was gone.
Now I don’t remember what I said.
What media are you using?
Also, if the drain pipe would clog for some reason, will the pail over flow into the tank? From experience I try to look ahead for disasters! 
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I responded to your first post last night. When I clicked submit…it was gone.
Now I don’t remember what I said.
What media are you using?
Also, if the drain pipe would clog for some reason, will the pail over flow into the tank? From experience I try to look ahead for disasters!
the filter bucket sits over the top of the tank, so yes, it would spill into the tank.
the filter media? I’ve been sworn to secrecy on that, my China-town connection requested I not divulge their Koi Pond secrets…. 
a couple pics in the daylight. will be using a tarp for a cover for now, while i come up with something else.
That is only a thing of beauty to a limited number of people.
Just like I like my women uncomplicated and efficient. 
PHIGS, I set mine up similar with the filter flow coming in the bottom and the overflow coming out the top. I imagine there is a bit of flow loss from forcing the water through the media, but it seems to be working pretty well so far. I just changed the water for the first time since I first stocked it in april and they seem to be doing pretty well.
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PHIGS, I set mine up similar with the filter flow coming in the bottom and the overflow coming out the top. I imagine there is a bit of flow loss from forcing the water through the media, but it seems to be working pretty well so far. I just changed the water for the first time since I first stocked it in april and they seem to be doing pretty well.
nice!
yours looks a little more complex than mine… but i’m hoping to only have to change the water once or twice all summer in it. what i’m hoping for anyways….
It just looks more complex cause I had plenty of spare plumbing parts lying around. Mine pulls the water from the stock tank drain hole and pushes it into the bottom of the blue filter barrel. I added a valve before the filter to connect a hose for draining the water. Right now I have about 80 bullied of various size and 10 medium to large suckers. I added a hand full of salt with the water change and everything seems to be going good.
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It just looks more complex cause I had plenty of spare plumbing parts lying around. Mine pulls the water from the stock tank drain hole and pushes it into the bottom of the blue filter barrel. I added a valve before the filter to connect a hose for draining the water. Right now I have about 80 bullied of various size and 10 medium to large suckers. I added a hand full of salt with the water change and everything seems to be going good.
why put salt in the water?
It helps protect the slime coat and keep ick from forming. 
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…but i’m hoping to only have to change the water once or twice all summer in it…
Ha! Good luck with that. 
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…but i’m hoping to only have to change the water once or twice all summer in it…
Ha! Good luck with that.
if the filter works how it is supposed to, and i can keep the water temps down, then yes, that is one of the big reasons to use a biofiter – reduce water changes.
As someone who kept aquariums for many years, I believe you would need a HUGE biofilter to avoid water changes. Even in a properly stocked aquarium running double the “recommended” amount of filtration, I would do partial water changes at least monthly. Bait tanks generally harbor way more biomass (i.e. fish) than an aquarium, and bullheads are messy beasts, so my advice it to monitor your water quality carefully or do frequent water changes. Maybe not feeding them will help reduce waste, but I still have a feeling that a full bait tank will make your water turn south in a hurry.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, just trying to be helpful and realistic.
There was a point last year where I had to change water. Something was out of whack and fish didn’t last just a few days. So I changed the water out that time. But I don’t have 100 baits, more like 12-20 in 50 gal and that factors in. I had a few chubs till way after Thanksgiving. Before I did the bucket filter, I could not keep them alive.
If one were to devote some space to some cattails or willow cuttings in an outdoor tank, you can really not change the water at all. Salt might be hard on the plants but you probably won’t need it. Salt helps fish deal with nitrite poisoning which you get when your biofilter is too small. Things can still get out of whack but it takes longer.
Well just a little update on my tank.
started out with approximate 50 bullheads and creek chubs. the water started to get cloudy and a little stinky last weekend. I was planning on doing a water change this weekend on it, and part of this is my own problem, for not quarantining the bully’s before putting them in the tank.
well….yesterday i notice that the water is really cleaning up.
today – water is even cleaner… and no more smell!
i have no idea if my filter is actually working, or its just a coincidence. but so far so good. 
That’s the bacteria you want growing. It should get better. A slimy layer eventually covers most everything. It takes longer but its just more good bacteria.
Nice backyard engineering on that tank! One of my filters from a few years ago looked very similar, although the water gravity fed through the filter. I like your upward-push better. Keep us in the loop whether the bait withstands the heat!
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May have to move it to the garage though, depending on if it is too loud for the neighbor…
You are doing them a favor by providing the soothing sounds of nature, free of charge.
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Nice backyard engineering on that tank! One of my filters from a few years ago looked very similar, although the water gravity fed through the filter. I like your upward-push better. Keep us in the loop whether the bait withstands the heat!
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May have to move it to the garage though, depending on if it is too loud for the neighbor…
You are doing them a favor by providing the soothing sounds of nature, free of charge.
so far, so good. i did do about a 40 gallon change tonight on it though. kind of hard to keep the water cool when its over 100 degrees during the day.
and it is in the shade, and the entire tank is draped with a silver tarp, to help reflect what little direct sun and heat it does get in a day.
we’ll see how it goes throughout the summer, and if the only thing i ever have to worry about is small adjustments due to water temp, i’m fine with that. I just hope i don’t have to deal with the slimy, stinky tank anymore! 
Update.
well, i’ve had to change water once due to temp. and twice due to not quarantining the bullys long enough after catching them.
second time was not my fault though, my neighbor, who replaces what he uses, made a run this weekend, and didn’t quarantine them, they made a mess of the tank!
but i’ve kept anywhere from 80 – 150+ in the tank on average, and have pulled about 15 total dead ones out in the past month.
now, most of those came a couple weeks ago, i was losing a couple a day for like a week, and i didn’t condition the water after the previous change.
i’m guessing the city changed the chemicals in the city water, and the bully’s cannot handle it. as i used to be able to not have to worry about conditioning the water in years past.
right now, i’m running water conditioner/chlorine remover, and also 20 table spoons of aquarium salt in the tank, and that appears to make them happy and healthy!
so, all in all, it has been and will continue to be a learning experience this year, keeping this much bait on hand all at once. but it is well worth it, as i’ve always got more then enough bait for a weekend on the river!
Loosing any more this time of year Aaron?
I was good until about two weeks ago, then started losing a few a day.
I stopped at a local garden center to look for what they use to treat the ick in koi ponds. On reading the label the only active ingredient was tea tree oil. The stuff was $40 for a quart and you are supposed to use 2 teaspoons per 50 gallons. I had some pure tea tree oil on hand that I got from a on line company and it was only around $5 a couple years ago. It worked like a charm. Cleared up the ick and makes the water smell all fresh. I think you should be able to find the oil in some of the hippyish food coops in the metro area. My bullies are nice and frisky and I’ve had minimal water changes.
Good to know goat! Thanks for passing that on! 
Tea Tree Oil 1oz for $7.03 Shipping included.
I’ll have to give that a shot and maybe clear up my complexion too!
Be carefull what you add to your bait tank. Had a friend treat his Koi pond for Ik and the water had a medicine odor. I’ll admit it improved the problem, but, The medicine smell in a bait tank may be a turn off to a flathead as far as bait goes. Just sayin. Salt good, some chemicals could be bad.
Is smell really a legit concern since flats hunt by vibration?
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Is smell really a legit concern since flats hunt by vibration?
That doesn’t explain all the flatheads caught on cut bait.
Hmmm, I guess. I got nothin’.
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