Hi,
I'm looking for some advise please.
I'm wanting to set up a livie tank on a Fryan 540. Any suggestion on home made or commerical prodcuts would be appreciated
Any general info on Livie tanks would also be great
Cheers
Hi Alan. There are several livebait tanks you can buy of the shelf. The bloke in Hamilton at... ummmm, is it HiTech plastics?? the guy that works in a lot with ramco and Boat City, whoever, makes some really good livebait tanks that can easily be installed in any boat really. If you have a swim-step big enough, and the boat can handle it without affecting stability, then having your livie tank mounted on the back of the boat/swimstep, whatever, is a good way of having it, that way you do not need to have water pumped into your boat and then allow for drainage out of the boat again... it can just overflow straight into the water.
You need a bilge pump to pump water in to the livie tank, no big deal, but it does mean a hole in your hull. Another option that works only when you are moving is to have some sort of pitot pickup to force water up and into your tank, but that really is not what the doctor ordered, you really are faced with going for a bilge pump in.
I am sure the bloke advertises in the fishng news anyhow, check him out, he is a good bloke.
Cheers, Stu.
A Basic Livie Tank....
Hi Alan,
When it comes to livie tanks, just as with anything else you can get as basic or as complicated as you like.... I have a 14ft tinny therefore the room onboard is limited, who says the livie tank has to be on board anyway? I use a basic / smallish washing basket with a flip top treated ply top , I cut the top out of an old pallet using a jigsaw blade and attached it with a couple of loops of nylon to act as a hinge. The basket being plastic doesn't sink (its easy enough to add bouyancy if neccesary by using a couple of small floats on the inside of each corner of the basket, I have a short rope tied to the basket and attach it to the boat by my side where I am fishing. I don't generally tend to move fishing location too often but when I do I simply throw the contraption in a fish bin, with a little water in it then when I move to my new location I throw it back over board. It's cheap to make, It works a charm, it doesn't need a lot of maintainance, no b-pump or power needed to run it, keeps the bait fresh and any bait you don't use you can simply release for another day.
A few other things: If you move around a lot while fishing, use a solid basket with holes drilled in it... but leave the bottom 5-10 inches holeless, leaves water in the basket to keep the bait fresh and kicking when the basket is out of the water. If the basket doesn't sink throw a few rocks in the bottom, if it sinks too far tie on a few floats.
Livie tanks are very cheap and easy to make, all it takes is a little imagination.
Have Fun!!!
Hi Alan
My boat does not lend itself to plumbing a tank in. Like Tomsta, I have gone the keep it simple route. The only difference is I use a 25l paint bucket which has a clip-on lid, and when travelling, I have an aeration pump that works off 2 size D batteries. Unfortunately, I bought that in Singapore but I am sure you should be able to find one here.
Cheers
Keith
Alan,
I have a Surtees 5.5, so have a similar boat to you. We use a tallish bin which fitted well on the swim step with a row of holes drilled about 200mm from the top. This leaves heaps of water for travelling, but drains as well. We put water into the bin with a bucket to start with, then keep it fresh with a separate bilge pump which we throw over side (on a tether). You could do away with the bilge pump if you remember to top up the bin every 5 minutes or so with 2 or 3 buckets of water (depending on how many baits of what size you keep).
I think the idea of basket like Tomsta's which you throw into the tide would be great if you don't move much while fishing.
I think keeping the sun off the water and the bait while in a tank (rather than a tethered basket) helps keep the baits livelier.
Cheers
Matt B
The battery run air pumps are available from any good aquarium supply shop.
The other option is to spend a small fortune and buy an external aquarium filter, these are pretty expensive somewhere round the 3-400 mark. They do however cycle and will take a garden hose on the intake and outake. You could have the intake and outake hung over the side
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