Is distilled water for shiners overnight a no no? Go 100 shiners that i want to keep alive over night for tomorow morning pond trip. Got 2 gallons of water from the store. Will this be ok?
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Is distilled water for shiners overnight a no no? Go 100 shiners that i want to keep alive over night for tomorow morning pond trip. Got 2 gallons of water from the store. Will this be ok?
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Hey Big, I always just use water out of the hose, never thought of distilled water. Don't know what that would do...
Never considered distilled water before. Let us know how it works out. You'll still have to add air somhow.
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Don't know, but most tap water needs to clear out chlorine or they will die very quickly.
maybe just try bottled spring water. No clorine but has minerals, etc.
Well i put in one gallon last night around 8:00 and been rotatin a frozen 20oz cole bottle and they holdin up strong
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Distilled water is fine (for that limited time). Tap water is NOT. Tap water contains chlorine &/or chloramine (chlorine/ammonia). While chlorine will excape from tap water, when allowed to sit in an open container for ~24hrs, if your tap water contains chloramine ... the chlorine will escape, but the ammonia will not.
... cp :cool:
You can use water that has plenty of air but you must watch out for chlorine levels from normal taps for it will easily kill your minnows, i always perfer just going to a small stream or creek near by and put a air box in there
Y'all all must be city boys. Well water ain't got no chlorine in it.
Busted :Doh:
But, even though well water may not have chlorine in it ... some have sulphur, and some have a high iron content (& who knows how many other chemicals leach into them). Check out #4 in this listing :
Robinson Wholesale, Inc.
The first 10 recommendations, in that link, are good things to know for those of you contemplating keeping your own minnows !!
... cp :cool:
They will keep forever in my well water although it is hard. The key to it is keep them cool.
They sell this stuff at Walmart that removes clorine and adds stress coat. $7 a bottle treats 700 gals. Called pond start right. Made by jungle. I use it in my minners pond. Works great. And yes cool water is best with lots of airiation.
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best thing to do is get a 30-50 gal drum to collect rain water in ......Iuse it to keep minnows/shiners in and to transport them to the lake.
If you want to get real spiffy get a small bilge pump and put in the bottom of the drum, then pump it into the bottom of a bucket filled about half way up with some very smallpea gravel so the water comes up thru the gravel then get some aquarium filter charcoal and steal a pair of ladys hose from some one and fill the hose with the charcol and cover the top of the pea gravel and fill the bucket with them ,then seal a lid on it and out of the top of the bucket run the drain hose back into your minnow drum. Works great keeps the water clean and keeps it recirculating ,last add an aerator and air stone that hangs about 3/4 way doown in the drum get everything at wallmart for $30-$40.
Go to WalMart or an RV place and get an RV water filter. They're cheap and remove chlorine and a host of other chemicals from tap water. Works great and no waiting.
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But a simple trick for removing chlorine is simply a day before (24 hours) fill a five gallon bucket i up with tap water and set it outside, the chlorine will evaporate off since it is esentially a gas in the water.
Very true. With the filter you also remove other chemicals such as aluminum, cadmium, fungus, heavy metals, hydrogen sulfide, iron, lead, mercury and mold.
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Hey guys, I'm a 30 year-ish aquarium hobbyist and I have some general suggestions for you. While distilled water would be ok for short term (1 day-ish) storage, it's not good for long term fish habitats unless you treat the water with minerals. There are many minerals in the water that assist in holding disolved oxygen. They are also absorbed by the fish in the same way our digestive tracts absorb minerals. You will have a much lower disolved oxygen level which, even in the short term, could lead to less healthy, less active minnows. You are far better using lake water, well water, "spring" water, or tap water that is treated with Stress Coat (pet stores carry this), or something from the tackle store like 02. I have one of the cooler aerator live well kits from Bass Pro that also doubles as a bilge pump. I simply put it overboard, fill the cooler with lake water using it. I still treat with Stress Coat (2 tsp / 10 gallons) and with "Freshwater Fish Salt" (1 heaping Tbsp / 5 gallons) regardless of the water source as both of these products increase disolved oxygen, reduce stress and aid in ammonia breakdown. I typically replace the live well water about every 4 hours, but may do so every 2 hours during the hottest part of the summer.
Aeration is crucial, but it's also very misunderstood. Many people believe that the bubbles add oxygen to the water, and, well, they couldn't be more wrong, although they are on the right track. It's a reasonable assumption, but if you think about most lakes and pond, you don't see many large areas of bubbles adding oxygen to the water :) Oxygen enters water and other gasses (C02, ammonia gasses, etc) through a few avenues in large bodies of water, but all source from the same place, disruption of the water surface. The reason a bubbler adds oxygen to the water is because it disrupts the water surface, causing the exchange of gasses. The point is, bubblers, submerged pumps, or the best option of all, submerged pumps running spray bars, all work because they disrupt the surface of the water. Don't forget to add one of these methods to your live well / minnow bucket.
As for heat, I highly recommend using the best cooler you can afford as the insulate far better. I'm not sure a Yeti ($$$) is warranted, but I find the Igloo Marine Grade coolers to be perfect. They are available at a decent price from Wally World and are superior to most other coolers in their insulating power while still being relatively light. I also keep a light colored towel over the cooler during the hottest days and start out by adding about 1/4 bag of ice to the water.
Another thing to note, rapid temperature changes shock fish. When you first add the minnows, if they are in bags, float the bags in the new water for 10 to 15 minutes before releasing them. If they are in another bucket or container, mix it 50 / 50 with the new water, then pour them in after 10 minutes. It's also a good idea to pour out the water the minnows come in before adding the minnows to your container as that water is full of ammonia due to the fish stressing and, well, pooping / peeing a lot. By pouring that water into their final storage place, you are starting out with poorer water than you need to.
Finally, realize that not all of this is 100% necessary. Many times in my past, I have kept minnows in a styrofoam bucket while fishing from the bank as a kid for a full day. I don't remember changing the water at all. That said, if you want the liveliest, longest living and healthiest minnows you can, the above steps are simple and will all add to that final goal of a spunky presentation that attracts monster slabs!
Hopefully this helps someone,
-Bill
Use the spring water. It's right next to the distilled at Walmart. I change it out when it begins to get cloudy and add some store bought ice. I kept some minnows so long earlier this year, that I spent more on ice and water than the minnows were worth!
Just collect rainwater in a drum and keep on hand ....Natures Best way.