Bait Tank

[Brian Stucker]

I still have to install the drain valve on the bottoms change out the water.

[Brian Stucker]

Here it is on a test run with about 15 doz of minnows. I also added a 5in air stone with a 110v bubbler to it.

[Brian Stucker]

Prolly keep more than that Cray, I still got a pound or so in my cooler from this weekend. Picked em up last Wednesday and had 3 pounds in there then, pushing 50 dozen no bigger than they were and it has about 10 gallons in it. Think we have thrown out 1 due to demise. Good looking tank and bet it will hold 5 pounds easy, if the filter wont keep up you will have to change the water more often tho.

I talked the the guy who supplies minnows to the area and he said the same thing you said. He said that I should be able to keep 5lbs of minnows with no problem as long as I changed the water at least once a week.

[canebreaker]

Get a bag of the lump charcoal, bust some of it up into small pieces like pea gravel, rinse the dust out of it, lay it on your filter mat, better than store bought aquarium charcoal. Charcoal briquets have a glue in them that might not be good for the minners, it might no be good for us.
Hose bibb for a drain, I use a 3/4" male thread one. Get a plastic one, they are hard to find. 2 home improvement centers and 3 hardware stores, only 1 has plastic ones near me. I used a 7/8" wood paddle bit to drill the hole. A 3/4" steel nipple to thread the hole. Silicone for aquariums to seal the threads. Same as I do with my rain barrels.
My barrel is on my back deck about 3 foot off of the ground. I connect a hose to the bibb and water container plants with it. Collect the extra water in buckets and water other plants in the flowerbeds.

[Brian Stucker]

I found this one online. I ordered it a few days ago.

i also get lump charcoal straight for where they make it. It's actually owned by Royal Oak. They allow the locals to come get a couple bags at a time for free. Thanks for the info.

[canebreaker]

Brass or any metal contamination isn't good for the minners. You want the tank to be metal free. Some of the plywood cover looks to be 2 layers thick. If you used screws or nails on the underside, put some silicone on the heads to cut the rust. The hinges need to be rubbed down with petroleum jelly to cut the flaking of metal into the tank when opening.
E. L. Bruce Co., Bruce, MS use to deal in a lot of oak lumber. The last time by the yard all I could see was pine logs. They made Royal Oak charcoal at one time. You could find pieces of flooring in the bag.

[Brian Stucker]

Brass or any metal contamination isn't good for the minners. You want the tank to be metal free. Some of the plywood cover looks to be 2 layers thick. If you used screws or nails on the underside, put some silicone on the heads to cut the rust. The hinges need to be rubbed down with petroleum jelly to cut the flaking of metal into the tank when opening.
E. L. Bruce Co., Bruce, MS use to deal in a lot of oak lumber. The last time by the yard all I could see was pine logs. They made Royal Oak charcoal at one time. You could find pieces of flooring in the bag.

I guess I will have to make a few changes. Thanks

[canebreaker]

I had to make changes to mine after my son and nephew looked at it. My son has 7 aquariums, 50 to 100 gallons. He does set ups for Petco customers in the Southaven area in his spare time. My nephew has a degree in marine biology from Baylor.

[Brian Stucker]

My minnows have been alive for a week or so. I have used half of them. I got my drain valve in and installed it. Here are a couple of pics.

[Brian Stucker]

Here is my home made minnow strainer. To keep the minnows from getting caught in the drain when I change out the water.