Minnow tank repair

I acquired a older bait store bait tank.I was looking for someone to service and or help me get it operational. Any help would be great.

Attachments:

1. 

   20201128_153811.jpg
   

Put water in and fire the aerator up. If that works you are golden, if it doesn’t fix it.

All the bait shops I know maintain the tanks in house. Paying for cleaning and setup would likely cost more than the bait ever would. What is the tank made of? Is it a water spray or an aerator type?

Are you going to use a constant supply of well water or are you going to recirculate your water through a filter. Ground water would be the best for keeping the water cold and clean. The best bait stores I’ve seen have there own well on site to keep a constant flow of fresh clean water. Recirculated water is a challenge to keep fresh and you will need a water chiller, and a big filter system, and even then with recirculated water you will be constantly battling diseases. The best advice I can give you is clean it very good , I would replace all pvc and other tubes and hoses with new ones. Keep your water cold , check for and remove dead and sick minnows right away.

Thank you for your advice.. there is a spray bar and a separate aerator . Pretty good size motor and chiller with a adjustable thermostat. 2 filters . Some of the piping was replaced. Looks like it may draw quite a bit of electricity. Wanted to get some advice on how the system works correctly. Your info is Much appreciated ..

There are a few online pond supply stores where you can buy bulk water treatment chemicals and filter media. I would spend some time watching some u tube videos on koi ponds and aquarium bio filters, even some diy aquaponics videos will all have good info on what your getting into.

I have kept minnows alive for long periods of time. Still have some from lastspring..Just upgraded my tank.. been doing it for years. I need the mechanical help. And a properly functioning tank. Thing is a little bit more set up than my homemade salmon cooler bait tank.

Best thing to do is get it cleaned up and reassembled the best you can and start testing things. You’ll start figuring out how it works. Can’t be too much to it. Likely just a pump, filter, and aerator. Maybe a timer and float switch.

Check that the pump motor isn’t seized by giving it a spin before turning it on.

If you’re confused about something take a more detailed picture and post the question here.

The unit looks pretty much like what a lot of gas station bait shops have. Id start looking around local and talk to the employees/owners of those shops.