Keeping Bait?

[kydonky]

Has anyone used one of the electronic oxygenators that produce pure oxygen? I use a cast net for shad in the river. They last for a couple of hours in the cold, but summer and early fall they dont last 40 min.

[stripernut]

. myself along with a handful of other guides on cumberland have stopped using recirculation pumps and found the scales dont come off shad nearly as bad anymore. i have a 30 gallon round "keep alive system" tank . i use the flexible aerator infusers and lay them on the bottom of the tank. a general guideline for alewives/threadfins is one handfull of salt per 30 gallons, a a couple teaspoons of shadkeeper and i gradually adjust warm water to 75 degrees, if the water is colder than that i just dip it out of the lake and fill my tank. if i am catching gizzards i double the salt. i can keep bait very lively for a couple of days as long as i keep the water cool, after that they get a little weak on the hook. a round tank will prevent baitfish from gathering in the corner and avoid stressing them. a round 5 gallon cooler with a baitsaver aerator will keep shiners all day if the water is right. good luck

[Duayne]

What are you doing for ammonia and basic filtering? I've modified my 30 gallon greyline slightly and use a charcoal felt bag for an aquarium biofilter system. Two layers of cut felt, one layer of foam, then the biofilter under that. Or have you found with the keep alive you don't need any filtering? Are you using a smaller pump (with less heat and water pressure)?

[stripernut]

hey duayne , there is no pump that pumps water, only an air pump, no filtration, thus no current for the shad to constantly swim in stressing them and knocking the scales off as they rub the sides of the tank and each other. just heavily oxygenated water. the shad keeper water conditioner takes care of the ammonia. for 25 years we worried about pumps, filtering and the right amount of circulation, seems odd but thats what was causing alot of problems to begin with. another guide researched this and did the footwork, i cant take credit for it, but it has made life alot simpler.

[Duayne]

Is it aquarium style type pumps or some of the newer oxygen generators? No filtration? Not even for gizzards?! Holy smokes!!

I know air pumps help remove carbon dioxide so I'm guessing that's the route you are taking. Any clues as to the model of the defuser(s) you are using??

[PRO V LE]

Is it aquarium style type pumps or some of the newer oxygen generators? No filtration? Not even for gizzards?! Holy smokes!!

I know air pumps help remove carbon dioxide so I'm guessing that's the route you are taking. Any clues as to the model of the defuser(s) you are using??

I was going to go the O2 generator thing until I found out they will not work in any type of saltwater.
Also I have read that when you freeze water that the chlorine is gone thus making straight ice ok to use. I have not confirmed this fact, anyone else heard this?

[Duayne]

It's my understanding that Clorine will disipate if water is left sitting for a while. Also that you can boil it out. I haven't heard that it during a freeze but if the movement of water as it sits, or is boiled removes it, I would think some or all would disipate when frozen. Strictly an opinion on a guess.

I think they have O2 generators now that work like pumps, similar to porterable generators used in the medical field.

You can also get non salt additives that are suppose to work as well as salt with those water O2 generators. I've never tried them, I do have some, but I don't know for sure if they work. Old dog new trick.. LOL

[stripernut]

the air pump is a "pro air" with dual air lines. i cant remember the name of the flexible air wands but i got them at pet smart. i pull the hoses off the boat mounted 12V pump and stick them on the 110 household aquarium air pump when im not on the water.
im no expert on the oygenators and the non-salt water additives but i read really mixed feedback on these things, they seem expensive to me.....and at the end of the day i'm keeping bait just fine so i havent had any need to try anything else. but if you spend the money i will be glad to learn from your experience....hahaha

[Duayne]

After doing some studying on this I ordered the pro air yesterday. I'll check out the pet smart wands. I know the defuser is one of the most important things. Here's a tip on what I do to save drawing my battery while I am docked and charging. I have an old cheapy auto 12 volt charger in my compartment next to my dual charger. I have a battery switch mounted close to my bait tank. One side of the switch is connected to my aux battery and the other side is connected to the old charger. When I dock, I plug in the surge protector both chargers are plugged in to and I flip the switch. My 12 volt load (currently my tank pump) is switched to the old charger which essentially becomes a power supply. I wouldn't run any electronics off it, but it does fine for 12 v motors. I'll run my air pump the same way. I used to use a 12 volt relay but it was a pain when the relay blew. I probably just needed to go with a higher current relay but the switch works great.

I've thought about it and I may modify my filter to not output a heavy stream so it doesn't create a lot of motion, then just turn it on when needed. It's all mounted above the water, and I can easily change it so the water flow is reduced and just drops an inch straight down. All I have to do to keep the water from jetting out is to turn the pump a little. If I ever have air pump issues, I can always just turn the pump around to jet out like it does now..

Thanks a bunch for the tips. It all makes perfect sense if you've ever ran a regular aquarium before.