Bait bucket

Nice. How are you going to deal with the amonia buildup (or is that not an issue with croakers)?

I have a friend in Texas that raised croakers before. He used a cattle watering tank and built a filter in a drum. Temperature is an important factor to consider

Haven't had any issues with ammonia with similar systems. I could always do a water change if necessary. Plan to keep frozen bottles to help keep the heat down.

Pretty slick salty.

Best thing for a home tank is an old chest freezer its what all my family keeps minnows alive in back home, as far as amonia build up not sure how to really combat that other then maybe a charcoal filter. That bucket is pretty cool though would be good for a kayak.

Nice Salty.I used to have a small bilge pump with a hose on it.I put clips on the wires to the battery.When I wanted to change the water I would lower it into the drum I was using.I would leave about 1/3 of the water in the drum and then remove the pump and lower it over board & refill it to the normal level.I used a big plastic garbage can.I used to use small blocks of styroform to float on top and this cut down on any water splashing out while the boat was underway.Thats a nice rig you made.[wink]

One thing you could do to make it easier to change the water is to put a diverter valve above the pump and attach a length of hose to the valve. Turn the valve to the hose side and the pump would drain the water in the tank out of the hose and overboard. you could then refil the tank with a bucket.

DoyleAlley said:

One thing you could do to make it easier to change the water is to put a diverter valve above the pump and attach a length of hose to the valve. Turn the valve to the hose side and the pump would drain the water in the tank out of the hose and overboard. you could then refil the tank with a bucket.

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Yeah I already have a plan for that. I thought to install a valve with a short piece of hose. That will be the 2.0 version.

It's not intended to be a home tank except if it seems to be able to handle it maybe an overnight to avoid the bait shop early in the morning, or if I am catching my own bait the night before.

I plan to keep it in the back corner of my boat, strapped down in some way. Makes for a short trip to the battery box, as well as easy to empty and refill. It has a lid that even with the wires fits great.

awesome set up right there!

I think you will be very happy with it as is. I think it would work really well with pogies too.

If you find the pvc getting clogged with "junk" being pumped up from the tank, you might want to replace the end caps with something that can be unscrewed so you can flush out the tubes when needed. Any clogging probably won't be as big an issue with shrimp and croakers though.

Croakers in a bait bucket

saltyveins said:

Have had ideas for this off and on for a while now. Finally grabbed all the needed supplies and put it together this week.

Small garbage can that I got from a home delivery pet food company. Free
Used bilge pump. Free. Had leftover PVC primer and glue from a previous project. (Glue was a little too thick so joints are a bit sloppy)

Bought: 1/2" cpvc, fittings, piece of hose and clamps.

Need to get some alligator clips and ready to fill with croakers.

Quick pic and video of it running.

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Took my granddaughter to the Biloxi Bay Palace Casino drive-on bridge yesterday. We hammered the 5 inch croakers about 3/4 from the bridge end on shrimp. First time she ever fished, or caught a fish. What a neat place!

Grandson (15) and I going back next week with some smaller hooks, hardshell shrimp, and rig up sabiki-style to catch some for a big trout expedition.

That's a sweet system. At the tackle shop I used to run in Austin, Texas, we used a small solution of peroxide and vinegar to cut ammonia and acid levels down in the water. After so many batches going down the drain from poorly regulated doses and sloppy tank cleanings by the new employee we went to a live culture porcelain filter where the microbes break down the ammonia. it took 3-5 weeks for the organisms to set up and grow inside the filters but once they did, the ammonia levels plummeted. I'm doubting these filter types will work for you considering this is a temporary set up for when you are fishing and not hooked up for bait keeping in the garage between trips.