Bait tank filters

[Beercan billy]

Ok so I just purchased a 30 gallon keepalive insulated bait tank, I am needing to put a filter system on it I was thinking of using a inline water filter with a 50 mesh screen connected to a bilge pump does this sound sufficient or am I overthinking it is there an easier way? Any suggestions would be helpful

[peter]

Look up grayling bait tanks online. I would think you could rig up a filter like they use pretty easy. It filters using gravity.

[Duayne]

You may be overthinking it to the point of even using one. Many bait guys, including me, have done away with a filter system. I kept bait in the same tank as yours this past week with no issues for most the day each day and they were still going strong by the time we cleared them out. Add a high quality air pump. "Power Bubbles" is one I use and I use the stones that come with it. I buy extras just to have them on hand. The small bubbles are what you want. They help add oxygen to the water and help carry out the CO2.

I used water from 50 ft down and changed about half of it an hour after I loaded the tank. Add three cups of salt before the initial load and 1.5 during the water change. I use the water softener crystals you can buy at Lowes. Those work better than the pellets because they disolve faster.

Don't overload the tank. I put 40 6" plus baits in and counted every single one so I would not go over. You can keep more when the conditions are more favorable.

If you can keep bait like that this time of year, you can keep it any time.

[Beercan billy]

Thanks for the info I do use a power bubbles, salt and better bait as well as foam off,only putting 35-40 baits,I am also pulling water from 70 feet,I actually just got back and tried adding ice to tank and it worked great,I had water to 66 degrees and only lost 1 bait all day

[adam7456]

A mesh screen or some other type of passive filter would be good for keeping scales out of the pump. I've always heard any type of water purification filter is also going to remove any salt or bait saver that you might have added. The circulating pump that I is the Rule Gentle-Flow Oxygenator. It is pretty much just a regular circulating pump but it has an air inlet on the pump. It comes with a small hose that your mount so it can pull in fresh air. I know it works because you can see the air bubbles in the water when it circulates. How well it works is something that I don't know.