Built a 30 gallon bait tank for $129 today

Couldn't find what I wanted at the stores so I decided to build one today. Turned out pretty cool and I enjoyed the project.

120 qt. cooler
12 V 35 gallon aerator
LED light bar
Ammo can
12 V Battery
Rubber grommets, caulk, and electrical connectors

Wired in two toggle switches so that I could run the aerator and LED lights separately. Have a video too but no clue how to post it.

built one like that before. I bought some fiberglass board from lowes and put it inside the cooler on both ends and turned it into an oval. worked great. those square corners are where the shad will beat themselves to death.

I think you have a good thing going but my suggestion would be to add someway to filter the water. I did mine with a Tupperware with holes in the bottom that had several layers of filter material in it where the sprayer comes out You may also think about getting some type of barrier between where the fish will be and your circulatiom pump. In my experience you can keep shad alive longer if you have proper filtration.

Pm
Me for my phone number of you want any help

I agree with bassthumb. DIY filters are very cheap and easy to make. There's alot of ideas for filters on YouTube. I like the led light. I may have to use your idea on my tank!

Thanks guys. I'm actually going to pet smart here in a minute to see if I can get a good filtration system and also a thermometer

Great idea! Let us know how it works when you get a chance to try it out.

Looks good but those square corners are going to be tough on your shad.

Ok the people at pet smart highly suggested 2 carbon filter disks and a small aerator to attach to them separate from the main one I am using to circulate the water. So... I added the two new disks and went ahead and added a digital thermometer so I could have a better idea of temp/gallons/#of bait

I'm trying to add pics but it's saying they aren't jpg for some reason tonight.

Also I know the it looks like there are sharp corners in the pic but it's actually pretty rounded. It's actually got a more oval shape than the built bait tank in my other boat. If it bothers them though I will round it out.

I bet it'll work great.

That is pretty cool.

Thanks man. Excited to see how long I can keep bait alive. The addition of the digital thermometer and carbon filtration system should help a bunch.

Believe it or not gizzard shad don't need oval tank. Just clean cool water. I know nobody will ever believe me.

I thought I had to have a fancy bait tank too, until my brother told me the secret. Don't touch the shad with your bare hand! I can keep a couple dozen alive for several hours in my front live well as long as I don't touch them when I net them and put them in. Dump them from the net straight into the tank, or into a five gallon bucket full of water and then use a dip net to transfer them into the tank. Once you touch them they start to expire very rapidly.

It really needs a fish tank filter. The filter is what gathers all the scales and shad [censored] that fouls the water. I am amazed at how nasty the filter material gets on my grayline tank after fishing with shad.

Couple cups of pool salt and clean filters and they should last all day

I hand deliver mine into my tank everytime. As long as your hand is wet it wont hurt them.

I like it. I have been using one I made out of an igloo cooler for 10 years now and it can keep shad for two days.