Product To Keep Fish Alive In Your Livewell ?

Below is a link to a product designed to keep fish alive in your livewell. It comes in two versions. One for a baitwell and one for your livewell. Sounds like this may solve a persons problems of keeping fish alive. I myself have found that by running my livewell pump all day during a tournament has pretty well kept fish alive but this looks like a product that could do even a better job. Has anyone used one of these? I haven’t, but ran across this, and thought I would pass the infornation along to others.

Thanks, Bill

Keep Fish Alive

These things are pretty cool, and I think they are gain popularity amongst the pro circuits. We sold them at Gander, but they were a little on the pricey end so we didn’t move many of them.

Hey John, what is your opinion on these? Think they are a good investment that will keep fish alive? What all have your heard about them from customers and sales reps etc. Worth the money? Thanks, Bill

I’ve had one in my Lund for a year now and love it! I don’t keep many fish so I can’t speak to that end but it DOES keep my sucker minnows kicking! Last summer on a 3 day trip , I didn’t lose one minnow!!! Freshened the water in the livewell before I turned in each night and again in the AM before we left the dock. Left the oxygenator on the whole 3 days the boat was in the water as it doesn’t pull much for amps. So….I either scored on the heartiest batch of suckers I’ve ever seen or the thing works. Hope it helps. Good Luck! KB

The guys I talked to really like them for keeping finicky bait alive. They bought the live well version to also benefit the fish. If I had the money on the line some tourney fisherman do, I’d have one.

One way to do an ROI, figure out how much bait you buy for a tourney day(lots if your like me), then triple or quadruple that cost for each day you pre-fish and the tournament days. It doesn’t take long at $30-$40 a bag of dead bait to pay this little device off.

My question about these products is at 85 degree water temp you cannot pump enough water to replace oxygen,at these temps can these products produce enough oxgen or must we still need to ice live wells.

Dave, although I just bought a “Mini” and haven’t used it yet, I was working with a guy that was trying to make a hydrogen burning engine back in the ’70’s (2 parts Hydrogen 1 part Oxygen H20). I’m not an expert by any means. However I’m positive the Mini will put enough oxygen in the water to keep lots of bait alive.

But there’s other factors…

Here’s a link to DirkW’s post. He’s been using one for a while now. When I looked at his I kicked myself for not thinking of this before Aquainovations. Catfish forum

Thanks BrianK, I checked out that post.

Quote:
The lighter hydrogen molecule rapidly leaves the water and dissipates into the atmosphere.

I suppose this means no smoking while opening the live well Boooom (ok I’m sure it’s not enough H2 anyways…) Funny thought to me anyways.

I actually asked them about that very question. There answer made sense.

First the H2 atom is smaller than plastic and other materials that livewells and coolers are made of, so those atoms leak out as apposed to building up in the container. Example, put fish gut in a plastic bag and leave it in the sun…don’t matter how well you tied the knot, it stinks to high heaven. The stink molocules are smaller than the plastic bag and leak out.

Secondly, when you open a cooler or live well, the H2 is release (H2 is lighter than air) and mixes with the rest of the air and becomes harmless.

I ‘spose you could do the 7th grade science experiment and make a good pop, but you would have to do it on purpose.

I think for the price they want for these units they will have to work better than the average bubbler or AuquaInnovations with become Mudbankrupt!

Believe it or not, you can run a lawn mower engine from the H2 given off by two of the larger units. The problem lies in having enough H2 for the demand of the motor when going from idle to wot. Storage of the gas is a problem. Although it sounds like some of the car makers have it worked out. It’s going to happen…maybe not in my life time, but fairly soon. All internal combution engines will be running on …water…so to speak.

At that time…the question will be…Daddy, what was OPEC?

Minnesotans and stink molecules. What a concept.

Drifts over from WI….

If cost is an issue, I use PLEASE RELEASE ME Im sure all of you have heard of it, to keep fish in a live well alive, they also have a bait fish powder also. It works great, and really keeps the fish healthy. Im a big time true supporter of that product, and it will be in my live well all the time.

-AL

It’s just a gimmic. A bubbler will put plenty of air in the water. It may work just fine, but so does a bubbler for an aquarium. Things like this don’t compensate for overcrowding or waste buildup. At 85 degrees as mentioned above, the fish will still be stressed because the water can’t hold much O2 at that temp, though any aeration will help vs none.

ps. plain uniodized salt is a stress reliever for fish too. I’ve seen studies in it being used in livewells. And you aren’t dumping any chemicals into the lake.

Well…I was a believer…at least in theory of Auquainovations.

I bought a Mini from Fleet Farm and tried it out over the weeked. I bought 6 suckers (about 5 inches) placed them in a 5 gallon bucket…then in my 50 degree garage over night. All belly up at 6 in the morning. In the past with my Aerobait bucket, they’ve lasted longer in warmer weather…as long as I remember to change the battery.

I bought 6 more suckers and 6 shinners at 7 am. Filled the minnow bucket with water and by 10:30 all the shinners were dead and thee of the suckers were belly up.

My mini is going back on Monday and I’m going to the 5 gal. Aerobucket.

Thanks for the product report. This helps everyone to know about products. Both the good and the bad sides. Please let us know how you like the other product you are going to get. Thanks, Bill

Is your water chlorinated or something? In cold water like that I would think they would live for a long time with no bubbles at all.

That’s what I thought! I was using the water right out of the tank of the bait store where I bought them!

I was talking with another fellow that used them…he said get your money back. He thought the electricity in the water killed them because his bait died early too.

I can’t see it being the electricity….but they did die early in my mind.

Shiners are very senstive fish ( ) seriously, try and match the water temp very closly to their current water temp, and Chlorine could be killing them too, so you could try and treat your water for that, wally worlrd has de-clor (for less than a dozen shines in $) to take care of that. Personally I try and buy ice with my bait if it’s been touchy and add the ice right to the bucket, colder water holds more O2, and I’ve had much better results with the ice water. Also Silver shiners seem to be tougher IMO. I also try and keep my bubble stone, closer to the surface so I don’t stir the minnows around so much, you just need the bubbles at the surface the stir the water a little bit, no need to pester the minnows anymore than you have to, thus keeping them less stressed and healthier. Most of your oxygen exchange comes from the surface anyways.

-Nick (used to work at A World of Fish)

The Oxygenator by Aqua Innovations is definately not a gimmick. It does create pure 100% oxygen in bubbles so small they cannot break the water’s surface. Aerators or bubblers use ambient air (20.9% oxygen) and tries to force it into the water in bubbles so big they are not in the water long enough for the oxygen to dissolve into the water.

In an earlier post, it was mentioned that products like this don’t compensate for overcrowding or water temp. The fact is that the Oxygenator maintains your livewell or bait bucket’s dissolved oxygen content between 80% – 98% dissolved oxygen… even under a load of fish. Bubblers just can’t keep up. When was the last time you kept 20 lbs of fish alive in a 20 gal aquarium with just a bubbler?

As for water temp, the Oxygenator actually has an temp sensor built into the unit so it actually creates more oxygen as the water warms. It always keeps that dissolved oxygen content right where it needs to be to keep your fish alive.

JoshBjork was correct, however, about the waste build up. CO2 and ammonia build up will kill your fish/bait. To get rid of this you must either filter the water, aggitate the water (bubblers do a good job of this), or add fresh water from time to time. All the Oxygenator does is takes care of the oxygen.

One other problem I noticed. Many, many baitshops add salt to their tanks to protect the slime coat of the bait and to kill bacteria that would otherwise build up in their bait tanks. This salt water solution from the bait shop water should NOT be used with the Oxygenator. Through the electrolitic process the Oxygenator uses to create the oxygen, in the salt water solution it also creates chlorine. I am 99.99% certain that is what was killing your suckers and shiners. It may be too late, I noticed you said you were going to return the unit yesterday, but hopefully you still have it. Give it another try, they really do work better than anything I have ever seen.

By the way, the Oxygenators can already be found in Skeeter boats (Oxymax option), Crestliners Tournament series boats, and Tracker Team Tundra boats. In 2005 they will be standard in all of these boats along with more models as well in Ranger, Champion, Stratos, and possibly Triton. The product has definately proven itself to the boat manufacturers.

Sorry for the long post, let me know if you have any additional questions.

Tight lines!

Welcome aboard Adam. Thanks for sharing your very insightful information!!

Hi Adam! Welcome to the board!

I’m really glad you’ve posted on this. I’m a believer in the theory.

Well, that salt in the bait tanks does make sense to me…but I did take it back to Fleet Farm already. So what you’re saying (for bait) is to have a Oxygenator and a bubbler? That doesn’t sound too economical?!

I can see, in a livewell with the pump it should work well, but to keep bait between outings? At this point I think a frig and a bubbler wins.

Since Auquainnovations is your sponser and I’m guessing that you’ve used them for a while, how long will my bait last with an Oxygenator and a bubbler?

Thanks!

Briank

Briank,

You don’t necessarily need an Oxygenator and a bubbler, especially for shorter periods of time (like when you are out fishing). You just need to take care of the waste products that build up over longer periods of time (like if you keep bait at home in between fishing trips). A bubbler works fairly well for this as does filtration or fresh water exchange. For your day on the water, the Oxygenator should be all you need (occasional fresh water may be needed if you have a lot of bait or large bait in a smaller container).

As for your question about how long the bait should stay alive, that does vary depending upon a few other variables. For instance, I keep bait alive at home in a 15 gal cooler with a Magnum Oxygenator and an aquarium filter that I keep in my house. This past winter I have kept golden shiners alive for over a month util I used them all. It all depends on the type of bait, the temp of water, the health of the bait when they leave the bait shop, etc. But typically, a couple weeks should definately be possible.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Tight lines!

Adam

Adam, I have some questions for you. Number one is this: My bait (bullheads and chubs) are kept in a 36-50 quart cooler with just the magnum and they do not do well. Without constantly changing the water (3-5 times or so on a mid summer cat outing of about 8 hours)the bullheads are sucking air on the water surface and the chubs die. Why? If I switch to an aerator that recirculates the water through a sprayer they do much better. Any ideas why? Co2 buildup? Does it need the agitation?
Anyway you look at it, for cat guys using just a cooler for their bait, I can’t recommend it. They are better off with a different system. I know quite a few other serious cat guys who have the same problem. I’ve heard it works great with a live well system that can agitate the water.

Dirk,

My guess is that it is the CO2 that is causing the problem. Approximately how many bullheads/chubs do you keep in the cooler? I would say that without the aggitation of the sprayer, the CO2 is just building up too fast with the Oxygenator alone. Three to five water changes over eight hours sounds about right for CO2 build up in an approx 10 gal tank.

Tight lines!

Adam

Dirk, water does need aggitation to release co2. co2 is easily released but it needs to be stirred up to acheive it. I keep a calm surface on my fishtanks I grow plants in because I want co2 in there for the plants to use. You can add all the o2 you want but the co2 is still in there and needs to be dissipated.