11 Attachment(s)
Charging up my Shiner Tank for Summer
Well it's time once again to charge up or load up my Shiner tank again. The Heat is here, seems the fish are getting educated to what a boat has in store for them, and I can't reliably purchase Shiners near us on Ross Barnett during the week. I'm posting the steps here again for new members. This closed system holds 1000+ Golden Shiners for a very long time (I end up releasing some in the river because they grew too big).
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The first thing I do is wipe out the tank (100 gal stock tank from TSC) removing the dust that has collected since it's last use.
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Pictured is a Koi Pond filter for a 5000 gallon setup. Lots of Environmental material for the beneficial bacteria to grow on. I think I bought this one from Amazon close to 10 years ago. Buy one and you're done. I insulated it, the lines too to reduce the run time of the Chiller. Insulation works.
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So this Penguin Chiller is old, real old, I had to replace the controller once. I strongly recommend Penguin Chillers as this one has really been a workhorse. The discharge line is going into a 2 gallon Food Grade bucket full of permanent Air Conditioner filter material. The bottom has holes drilled in it for assistance in Ammonia release. It serves another purpose as it filters out any debris that made it thru the big filter system.
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The pump is just a small pond pump from Lowes. 300GPH or so, bigger is not better because you want very little current in a tank like this. Too big a pump and the pump suction creates a current within the tank. I have the pump enclosed in a food container drilled full of small holes. Keeps the Shiners from plugging the pump intake.
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Very important is this water filter. Amazon sell them and over the years this is the best water filter for filling the tank up. I don't open the valve all the way up so the flow rate in below the ability of the filter to capture the chlorine.
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Got the tank filled enough to start the pump. Till water is returning to the tank you are filling the large filter up.
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All of this is done a full 2 days before picking up the shiners. I add the Shad-Keeper to the high stress level amount on the container and 1 scoop of the chemical remover. The one two punch here is the best combination for restarting the tank I have found.
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Add some salt too. It greatly improves the slime coat on your baitfish. Good slime, healthy, frisky bait.
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Here is a picture of the system filled up. I also made a short video.
https://youtu.be/neGxKbduBEQ
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Now you've bought your Shiners are returned to charge the tank. The last thing you do is let the bait bags float in the tank for at least 1 hour to allow the temperatures to equalize. This is a must do, do not skip this very important step. I have already released my Shiners into the tank but am waiting to take pictures (I have them in a near dark area to calm them while acclimating to their new home). Post any questions and I will try to answer.
Forgot to add a picture of the Hatchery Tanks..............
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