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This is not Bass Cat related but I thought BCB or someone would know. I am attempting to make a minnow tank to hold my Crappie minnows for a week or so. I have bought a 100 gallon Rubbermaid watering trough for livestock. I needed an AC pump to supply the 1/2″ spray bar I have constructed out of PVC. My question is do you guys think an AC 800 gallon per hour pump will be enough to supply the spray bar from a 4 to 6 hose that is 1/2″? Its is one of those backyard pond pumps from Home Depot. Will it be enough pressure? Suggestions? I think the pumps in our Cats are 1000 GPH. Thanks.And please no comments about me Speck fishing!Last edited by Bama96 on March 16th, 2011, 12:11 am, edited 2 times in total.
The issue is the capacity and be sure you pull from the bottom of the tank. The AC pumps are higher in volume by percentages than the rating on the DC pumps.
I am using the portable Oxygenator from O2 Marine.It does not make surface foam like water pumps do.I use it to keep green sunfish prime and ready to put on a trot line.
As Basscat and tswanson mentioned (capacity and O2) are major concerns, to much of one hurts the other. First thing I would suggest is DONT use city water, it has clorine in it. Use well/lake water and run the areator/pump a little first to buildup O2 in the tank. If you have to use city water you have to remove the clorine with a chemical and let the pump run a bit after this is done. Dont use the bigger is better mentality on the pump. All you want is to pull water from near to the bottom and expel it above the water line so it will inject O2 back into the water (to hard or fast = problems). To fast putting water back into the tank and the minnows stress out from to much energy used to fight the water current. To hard water enters back into the tank and foam will start to build up on the waters surface and water chemistry problems occur. Also dont keep this tank in direct sun as water will heat up and cause these problems to multiply at a faster rate. A shaded area with modrate water flow, a spary bar and a tank would be great for holding minnows a short time, but dont feed them much because not filtering the water and thats a whole other issue. My dad keeps extra minnows between trips in his well house in a large cooler with a small 110 volt air pump with no problems! The problems happen when people try to hold to many (capacity) or try to hold them to long in the same water (amminoa buildup). Hope this wasnt to long I would be happy to take some some of them extra specks off your hands if you have to many to cook
A friend of mine keeps minnows alive for weeks in an old bathtub using a bubbling aerator rather than a recirc pump. He keeps it in a shed out of the sun and catches rainwater in a barrel to change the water out ever so often. Remember, if you use a recirc pump, youre going to need some sort of filter to keep the minnows from being sucked up into the pump and this filter can become clogged, reducing flow and maybe even burning up the pump if left on constantly. Thats the advantage to having the bubbler, you can leave it running all the time and not have to worry about it.
We have been using an old cast iron bath tub with a screen over the overflow. We have well water and would let it drip in the tub. Had a plywood cover over it. They still died after a week or so and I fished out two dead squirrels who got in. I bought a 100 Gallon watering trough and a 800 GPH AC Pond pump that has a filter. Pulls water from the bottom. I used 1/2″ PVC for my spray bar and made it about 2 long. I have 1/2″ flex tubing connected to the pump then to the spray bar. I think this is going to work. My challenge now is how big to make the holes on the spray bar. Thanks for all the tips. I am going to keep the tub under the house in the shade as the house is up on 12 8x8s.
Best advise would be to make a couple of lines on your spray bar and drill your holes at 1″ intervals for about a foot or so with a 3/16 bit then you can come back and round out the holes so they are not so sharp. Then you need to countersink them (just alittle) in the PVC this takes away the careless spraying. Sounds like your first tub should have worked even with squirrels in there. Constant flow of water, if it is high in O2 in far better than trying to filter and pump spray the water back in. Have you ever had your water tested with anO2 meter to determine if it has enough O2 in it for fish to live. Generally speaking well water has no or 0 ppm of 02 (oxygen) in it. That may have been your only problem with your previous setup. With the addition of a bubbler or areator it might have worked??
For tis application we would use 1/8″ holes as they will create more injection and thus more oxygen will dispel the ammonia. If that doesnt work you can go larger later, though you cant shrink the holes. The amount we would play with depending on the pump pressures. Start with 5 to 6 and move up as we think you will have excess pressure.Also frenchcat is another one who is very knowledgeable in fish handling and it is his career.
We have had tropical fish for over 30 years and I have learned what works and what does not. Here are a few tips that would apply to keeping any fish: 1. The more fish per gallon you keep the harder it will be to keep them healthy. 100 gallons sounds like a lot but it ask a bait dealer how many fish it would keep for how long. Most minnows are not very hardy and need cool water which is why they are shipped in special trucks.2. Cool water is preferred. Just like your live well fish last longer in cooler water.3. Yes you can use tap water by using a good dechlorinator. But be sure to introduce the fish to the tank slowly so they can adjust to the temp and PH of the tank.4. The main purpose of moving the water is to stir the surface which is where most on the oxygen exchange takes place. More power in the spray is not needed. As a guide try to run the water through the pumps 2-3 times an hour. 100 gallon tank would need a 300 GPH pump.5. Best to do at least a 50% water change every week and use a dechlorinator for the new water!This should keep them happy for a few weeks any longer than that and you may need more equipment.
Bama, I did this exact thing last year except I just used a Wally World aerator pump with a 8″ diffuser in my Rubbermaid 100 gal tank. I filled it up with tap water and waited a week before introducing fish to allow the chlorine in the water to dissipate. They survived all summer. You dont need much for aeration but dont let the water get too warm either. I kept my tank in the shed out of the sun. Dont add tap water directly into the tank. Fill up a 5 gal bucket, let it set for at least 2 days to get rid of chlorine and youll be good to go. Good Luck with it. Ed”Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous main- stream media which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.”
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