I really didn't need this but I wanted to play around and see if I could build a live well for my kayak. Since I didn't want to mount a pump in the kayak (drilling a 2" hole thru the hull in the process), I had to figure a where to place my fresh water intake pump. I wanted the live well to be portable. So nothing is to be mounted to my kayak. I tested the T500 pump and found out that it needed a manual primer since I was going to mount it above the water line. So I purchase two hand priming bulbs for testing. (Only needed one, I purchase two different types) I mounted the priming bulb after the T500 pump. After a few pumps and the water reached the T500 it primed. I purchased a simple backflow valve and put it between the T500 and the lake water. It worked in keeping the water at the pump when I turned the T500 off. I didn't like this setup for the largest fitting that I could get on the manual priming bulb was 1/2" stock (modified it to 3/4") which restricted the flow of the water. Even the modified restricted the flow a bit but not as bad as the stock. So I researched a self-priming pump. The least expensive that I could find that was 12v was the one at Harbor Freight. I took a gamble and purchased it with a 20% coupon. Tested out great, but it's very noisy compared to the T500. I mounted it on a block of old wood for testing on the water. The bin I found at Lowes, was under $10 and was sturdy for the testing. The Green transfer pump is on the heavy side, so I mounted it on top for testing as shown in the picture. Since it's only for adding fresh water, I figured I will be ok for now. There are many other options out there but they cost more money than I wanted to spend on the little project. The water intake pipe with the mess cover unscrews so I can place it into a scupper. Once I install it in the scupper, I screw the mess cover back on. The pipe is cut to length to keep the screen at the proper depth but close enough to allow me to beach the kayak. I think it holds between 15 to 20 gallons. My wife made fun of me for how it looks on the back of my kayak due to it's size. I wanted the most volume that I could fit into the cargo area.

Here is the outside, overall view. The T500 recirculation Aerator kit is from Amazon for $31.51. The PVC and tubing are all 3/4".



The intake Green pump is from Harbor Freight 12 Volt DC Transfer pump for $39.99 (less 20% coupon).



The overflow I made from just standard 3/4" pvc fittings. I found that I drilled a few holes at the top, the stand pipe would be able to keep up with the intake pump.




I added the through hull to keep any overflow. When I was testing the stand pipe, I found that it would not keep up with the water being introduced. I decided to be on the safe side to install the through hull overflow. (As stated before, via testing I discovered a few holes at the top of the pipe allowed it to keep up with the green pump)



This is a left over pool pump part. I put it on so I could align the overflow pipe into the scupper hole.

Interesting. Do you have any pictures of it mounted in kayak on the water?

I didn't take any of the kayak in the pool, figured I'd wait when I'm at the lake.

Interesting. A word of caution since it's capacity is so much; 15-20 gallons (plus your livewell rig) is going to add 130 to 175 lbs of weight to the back end of your kayak. That amount of water sloshing around above the waterline is going to cause stability issues.

Yep, it will definitely feel different paddling with that much weight in tank well, especially when you have trailing seas. Just be aware of it and know you're limits.

Will do. Thank you for the heads up! I have another overflow tube which is not shown which is half the length. I will be testing various water levels to see how it impacts the kayak.