Bait tanks

Pictures will be coming.

For starters this is what were running as for tanks.

3 225 gallon tanks joined together by 3 inch PVC pipe creating gravity feed to a separate smaller tank (lets say 5 gallon)with a sand and gravel medium fed through the bottom of the tank by means of a perforated pipe inside the tank. Then we use a low pressure pump with high volume output(1/3hp 2000gph)to sifen off the top of the 5 gallon tank and pour into the first 175 (thats aprox how much water we put in the tanks) gallon tank creating a continuous loop that includes aeration of the water .

With this system we can go 3 months with out changing the water and 2/3 weak intervals cleaning the sand gravel medium.

No special filters needed, though we are planning to ad an Ultra Violet light to aid in water purification down the line(spendy). We also have the tanks in a well insulated shed to control the temp. The cooler the water the better, less defecation and less need for feeding.

This got us through the winter for bait for ice fishing never having to buy crappie minnows or fat heads. Just a few days of strategic placing of minnow traps in the fall and a few times chopping through the ice.

Confusing picture in the mind? I understand! Ounce I get the pictures up further explanation will be easier to picture.

I can explain the filtration. Simply put bait fish extrude ammonia and nitrites through the gills and poop and that ammonia needs to be eliminated from the water. The sand,gravel(gravel meaning pea rock) gives an area for good bacteria to thrive that breaks down ammonia consecrates. To create this good bacteria in your system. It may take 3 to 5 days to get a healthy colony imbedded.

I have seen car wash sponges or a mixture of gravel and lava rock for a medium for bacteria to live. Point is a porous structure is needed for good bacteria to collect.

There are other filtration media like charcoal that were looking into but for now this system is getting us by pretty good.

Easy way is to go to a bait shop or where ever they sell those aquarium fish collect some of their water and an old filter(filter must still be wet for the bacteria to live)and add it to your system and after a bit of time your system will have its own beneficial colony of bacterium.

More to come, stay tuned if interested.

Very interesting…I may have to check this out in person.

Problem with the best systems is the laws that prevent you from fillin it with the best bait! Lookin forward to your pics!!

Holy crap! A heck of a lot fancier than what I’ve seen, but it sounds like you will have the happiest, liveliest baits around.

BK, I’ll get you over soon. The top secret code and entrance dance to the facility is closely guarded and its still in the works as for eliminating causalities. I don’t know if you met Rudy, lets just say Rudy is/was a sacrificial experiment on our security system. We now use cats for testing our system. Less of a mess

WalleyeBen, Oh! I hear you on the regs that are imposed on us by our clueless legislative body that gives a rubber stamp to regs suggested from the DNR. I was watching the proposed deliberation of the 2012 regs and man this scares me by way of the unqualified deciding matters such as these. I wish maters of this would be transferred to the agricultural department like Wisconsin is, away from the DNR. Cost saving measure? Hmmmmmmm???????

As for now, our limit of minnows will have to be 24 dozen(Wisconsin allows more than double, go figure), well in the perimeters of our use and sharing. If I keep the bullheads above 7 inches that should not affect our total of minnow count.
This is a hobby of mine that I am learning as I go that is intriguing just like my Tomato propagation. I share my results with others at no exspence. My goal is a self sufficient eco system that can feed off one and another. Fish feeding plants plants filtering the water for fish.

We are in the process of the commercial venue and these rules have to be studied hard, for me at least.
The way the regs are worded it gives the commissioner all power in a vaguely use of terminology that inherently limits the commercial aspect on purpose. And its controlled by bureaucrats that no nothing other than listening to public opinion and curtailing to it then not seeing/ignoring what the science presents. and .

I went of on a tangent there WB sorry for that.

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Very interesting…I may have to check this out in person.

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I’ll drive

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Pictures will be coming.

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Interested in the sand filter, do you have a diagram of the system?

Sorry about that had problems with battery on the camera. Here are some picts.

Sorry my internet connection went down as I was writing explanations to the pictures. I’ll give it a go again.

Photo 1: shows pvc installed and leaving the holding tank at mid level creating gravity feed to the filter tank, the smaller one.

Photo 2: shows how we hook up another tank in series or is it parallel .

Photo 3: is the mechanics of the system. I’ll explain further; As in photo one you see a line coming from the holding tank going into the filter tank problem was that dang bucket sitting in front of the filter tank, that I did not notice at the time, covered up another pipe coming out below that one going to the pump you can see it some what in photo 3.

On the inside of the filter tank there is a proliferated pvc pipe connected to the lower one going to the filter tank. Surrounding the proliferated pipe is 3/4 inch to 1 inch gravel covering the pipe with 3″ to 4″ of pea rock covering the larger stone. This stone creates a breeding ground for that good bacteria to live in. Water is forced through the top of the gravel to the pipe entering the pump. The bacteria in the rock cleans/eats the ammonia and nitrates as it passes through.

You see the inlet to the pump, pump has 2 outlets going vertical. The first outlet closest in the photo goes back into the filter tank creating more circulation through gravel. The check valves you see help equalize/control the water coming out of both outlets.

The second pipe in the back goes to the holding tanks continuing the cycle back to the filter tank.

Photo 4: shows inside the filter tank. The pipe with the elbow horizontally is the one coming from the holding tank and its just sitting on top of the gravel creating 4inches of a water buffer between the gravel and air. The vertical that’s from the pump.

I should mention this is a gravity system and the water will equalize in water levels. So keep in mind when setting up the gravel and the proliferated pipe in the filter tank you have to take in account of how high you want the water.

I’m sure I left something out. Ask and I will try to fill in what I missed.

Those look like swirl filters BK keeps asking when we can come see it
Thanks for posting. Still learning a lot of this stuff, seeing working systems helps informationally and inspirationally.
Now let’s see the grow beds and bait tanks

Here’s one I need to check out yet.