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Post by primetime on Jul 28, 2015 15:23:15 GMT -5
Anybody have any info on how to make a home bait tank out of a chest freezer. I live a hour and half away and want a home bait tank to keep bait fish for several days so that I won't have to get up in the middle of the night to catch bait fish. I think bait fish can be caught during the day but believe it would be difficult. I just don't want to ride a round trip of 3 hours and not be able to fish without live bait. Any help is welcomed.  |
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Post by 2 oars & a trash can on Jul 28, 2015 17:06:44 GMT -5
You would have to round the corners, or the bait will get stuck there. I'd bend some vinyl sheets and glue them in. Doesn't have to be watertight, just fish proof. I don't know anything about the pump, filter, etc though.
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Post by formula180 on Jul 28, 2015 20:29:02 GMT -5
I would think that a 60 gallon plastic barrel with the top cut out would be the way to go. They are about $25 each and could be plumbed to another barrel with a biological filter. You may be able to place two of them in your freezer. They are 23 1/2 inches in diameter and 34 1/2 inches tall. As business expands, just daisy chain more barrels.  Looks like a 15 cubic foot freezer at Lowes is listed as Height (Inches) 33.375, Depth (Inches) 30.25, and Width (Inches) 47.37. |
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Post by primetime on Jul 28, 2015 21:49:35 GMT -5
Do you think this would be a good idea for fall and spring fishing. I'm trying to plan ahead. I do have a excellent bait tank on the boat. Again I live a hour and half from the lake. Thanks.
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Post by formula180 on Jul 30, 2015 9:01:46 GMT -5
I have never tried keeping bait fish but I have had water gardens. You will need well water, rain water or a carbon filter to take the chlorine out of your public water. Springdale Water Gardens in Greenville, VA has demonstrations through out the year to learn about water garden basics. linkYou can search the web on articles on how to make a biologic filter. Water Hyacinth's usually can be found locally to use in your water filter. To keep the water cool, you will need a shaded area and install the barrel in the ground to act as a heat sink to help keep the water cool. If the barrels would fit into your freezer, a basement area should be cool enough to keep the water from heating up. You would need an ultraviolet light for the biologic filter with plants. |
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Post by mwardncsu on Jul 30, 2015 9:51:03 GMT -5
Given it is a chest freezer - if the freezer part is still active, yo may be able to replace the thermostat with one that will run it in the right range - or use an external thermostat / relay to turn power to the freezer on/off as needed (leaving the guts of the freezer alone).
One of the guys that used to be on here - TopGun - put a freezer on his parents dock for just such purpose - not sure what the long-term outcome of it was..... I know folks have used them as transport tanks and the like.
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Post by hotdog on Jul 30, 2015 13:01:48 GMT -5
I think that should work Mike. Just plug the freezer into one of those appliance timers. Adjust water temp by the amount of time the freezer runs. You may need a timer that has several on cycles. Interesting.
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Gator
New Member
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Post by Gator on Jul 30, 2015 14:22:48 GMT -5
My biggest concern would be the added salt and the rust factor. Perhaps it would be best to line it first?? Secondly, I would think that the door would have to be open and that would make the compressor run like crazy. Instead of using the designed thermostat I would look into a water cooler thermostat.
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Post by primetime on Jul 30, 2015 14:54:47 GMT -5
I found an old post last night about turning a freezer into a home bait tank. The post talked about putting a liner due to the fact of rust. The whole purpose of this thought is so that I would not have to catch bait fish during the day. I have not learned that technique yet but I'm willing to try. Currently I am catching ales at night and fishing through the night. With the fall approaching i want to change my techniques to fish during the day. One, so I can sleep at night, and the other so my wife will go with me. I have read several post about how to catch bait fish during the day. So..., it seems like the freezer home tank will probably be kind of difficult. Im just going to have learn how to catch bait fish during the day when it cools down. The suggestions are really good.
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Post by mwardncsu on Jul 30, 2015 15:02:54 GMT -5
Come fall you'll likely want to use gizzards - they can be caught in the early morning and day in the creeks..... more sleep comes around October - but you fish sun-up to sun-down |
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Post by mwardncsu on Jul 30, 2015 15:03:46 GMT -5
I mentioned in another thread just now, but if you are keeping baits for a longer duration, handing at the time of catch is critical - handle them as little as possible, protect them from scale loss and they will last much longer.
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Post by formula180 on Jul 31, 2015 21:36:49 GMT -5
I would use the barrel setup since it is cheap and you can learn something. All you need is a bilge pump and another barrel for the filter which could be a smaller 30 gallon barrel. If it is too warm, you could see about putting the barrel in the freezer with the freezer top removed and a plywood cover with insulation put in its place with a cut out for the barrel. The only problem would be the bears and raccoons. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2015 8:35:13 GMT -5
Come fall you'll likely want to use gizzards - they can be caught in the early morning and day in the creeks..... more sleep comes around October - but you fish sun-up to sun-down More sleep? I wish I could sleep in October. |
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