I built a large "overnight" minnow bucket - for keeping a lot of minnows alive

[Cajuntec]

Hope this is the right place for this. I saw "DIY", although most posts here seem to be lure making.

I know you can buy minnow buckets pretty cheap. The ones that don’t require aerators are less than $10. But my local bait shop didn't open as early as I wanted to get out. I wanted something I could pick up minnows the day before going out, and keep them aerated / alive until I needed them the next day, without the water getting super dirty from having 4 dozen or more minnows in it for 48 hours or longer.

Based on a suggestion to use a 5 gallon bucket and just keep it in a cooler area overnight, I built a home-made 5 gallon minnow bucket. I really like the screw top lid. I had 5 gallon buckets laying around, but I wanted a white or clear one so I could see how dirty the water was getting. It stayed fairly clean using the minnows within 48 hours. I only fill the 5 gallon bucket up to the 3.5 gallon line, and the paint bucket I chose has measurement markings on the side. I trust that brand not to crack too, as I’ve used them plenty of times before.

Lowes:


3.5 and 5 gallon white screw-top bucket lid: Access Denied
About $9


5 gallon bucket: Access Denied
About $7.50






Walmart: Both items cost me less than $4 total in store:


Tubing: Robot or human?


Bubble Stone Two pack: Robot or human?






I already had a Frabill battery operated pump ($18.24 at Walmart), but Walmart sells a bunch of battery operated aquarium pumps for cheaper if you want to save a couple bucks. I didn’t drill a hole in the top. I went in below the bucket lip, and drilled the hole small enough that the tubing fit snug. I used a large nut on the tubing before I put the stone on to keep it at the bottom of the bucket. Works great.




Total cost for a big aerated minnow bucket - Less than $40.
If you already have an aerator pump with tubing and a stone, it would only be about $16.50 total.
Also have a clean 5 gallon bucket that isn’t cracked? Then less than $10 total.

All the best,
Glenn