What is the difference in the two? If you were making a homemade livewell would you use a aerorator or a rule oxygenator kit?

From what I can tell, the aerorator is nothing more than a pump to help circulate the water in your livewell. It might grab a little air while flowing from the spray nozzel back into the livewell, but reguardless it's not effective at all in keeping bait alive.

The Rule oxygenator has a coupling that the pump sits into that will allow the pump to draw outside air and pump it into the water that it is circulating. So you're "pumping air into the water" with that system.

Between the two, for keeping fish alive I vote for the Rule Oxygenator system. Don't forget to add a filter into your system somewhere if you're keeping bait.

Thanks holzer, there was a filter system that the bluebonnet guy, now Anton, posted here last year that I am going to try. I just wanted to figure out which pump would be better.

Post some pics when you get it all put together. I always like seeing modifications or homemade things.

Will do I just bought a 100qt cooler, figured a cooler would be better than a bucket in the summer. I am ordering the oxygenator when I get home and hopefully I will have some pics for you next weekend

Ok here is what I am thinking, one of these pump systems.

http://www.boatingrus.com/product-p/29-255.htm

Mounted up in this cooler

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_25753_-1?Ntt=Cooler&Ntk=All

I like the cooler, but not sure about that pump. I use this one for my shad tank

http://keepalive.net/portable.htm

I saw that one to, basically same concept I think but just a little more permanent

3m marine has made it permanent in my shad tank. Bought the tank for &25 and put the plumbing in. no issues

Ya well I already bought it so we will see if it will work, if not I will send it back

The Burgess Marine Aerator works really good. I've had one in my livewell for years to keep shrimp alive, all day and overnight. Also keeps Bass and Trout alive all day while we're fishing with minimal battery drain. Very few shrimp die, and I think those that do were injured or on their way out when I bought them.

I also use one in a cooler for shrimp when I'm using the SUV or truck to go wadefishing.

http://www.burgess-mfg.com/baitaeration.html

I just have the unit floating in my livewell or cooler, nothing fancy.

You might have to go to Burgess's office on the NW side of Houston to get one, but it will be worth your time.

Looks just like a upside down Rule.

Do these have some type of air hose bringing in air or are they just recurculating the water?

The one I bought has a air hose brining air in and an adjustment of how much air comes in. Hope to have it mounted up this weekend. I will take pictures as I go along

Not exactly sure how I am going to mount the air portion yet on a cooler, suggestions?

Here is option number 2 instead of the cooler. it is a cooler under my front console seat (I know it needs to be cleaned up) but it is about 10 gallons. would this be large enough to keep 7 crappie alive for 8 hours? I think this option would actually be easier also.



what do you think, first option or this one?

They took a bilge pump and added a part that makes it float in the livewell (or cooler or bucket) upside down so that it pumps air bubbles. No hoses or tubes needed. A simple design that works extremely well to keep shrimp or fish (bait or catch) alive and doesn't have anything to clog or clean out.

The oxygenator is not to replace an aerator. It is to enhance it by adding O2 to the livewell, to help maintain fish and believe me they are lively with it.

So if I don't have an aerator it won't work

Here's what we observed, read and have learned over the years of handling fish professionally in aquarium and bait tanks.

Use a livewell or aquarium circulating water pump (sometimes called an aerator pump) to circulate and mix the tank waters quickly. The low O2 waters get fully oxygenated very quickly at the surface, so it only necessary to mix the sub-surface waters with the surface waters in order to get the very max dissolved O2 throughout the water tank. (Without water mixing, the fish quickly use up the dissolved O2 and would not survive.)

The small air bubbles introduced into the incoming water stream do not add or contribute significantly to the water's total dissolved O2, but bubbles mayh be important in the incoming water stream as they can cushion the impact of the inrushing water stream force on delicate shrimp, small bait fish and such.

Injecting air bubbles, or adding even so called nano-bubbles of pure oxygen into an incoming water stream of a tank that is already having its' waters regularly re-cirulated does not put in or add any additional dissolved oxygen athough many products have marketing that indicates it.