Keeping water cool

[Danny Davenport]

I have a big minnow tank and used it for years. In the hot summertime the minnows don't last as long. I have been thinking about making a system to circulate/cool the water inside a refrigerator. Any suggestions?

[NeonMoon]

How big is the tank?

[Danny Davenport]

The tank hold 40-50 gallons of water.

[NeonMoon]

Have you considered just keeping a few frozen milk jugs of water, and rotate them (between your tank & freezer) and monitor the temp of your tank? I know we're having a pretty hot spell here, but it'll only last a month (or so), so not sure about TX (never been there). If you don't have extra freezer space, you could buy a cheap "garage" freezer (or 'fridge with freezer) for $50 (plus the additional space for other stuff. I like to keep a dozen or so jugs of ice on hand, and I'm always good for my coolers to go camping/fishing. That would be the cheapest way, other options are commercial aquarium coolers.....and after you price them, the ice will look like a much better idea. ETA: Could you put the tank in a space that's air conditioned? That would help too.

[G.Gordon]

A one liter water bottle frozen keeps my ice chest sized minnow tank cool in the garage all day. For a tank that size I'd buy a six pack of soda that comes attached with those plastic retainers. That way you have more surface area than a single gallon jug therefore providing quicker heat exchange. I drop that one bottle in there in the morning before I leave for work when I have minnows to keep alive.

[Bronson]

A one liter water bottle frozen keeps my ice chest sized minnow tank cool in the garage all day. For a tank that size I'd buy a six pack of soda that comes attached with those plastic retainers. That way you have more surface area than a single gallon jug therefore providing quicker heat exchange. I drop that one bottle in there in the morning before I leave for work when I have minnows to keep alive.

Good suggestions. You have to be careful because I assume minnows will be like bass and crappie and will go into shock if you drop the temperature more than 10 degrees.

[G.Gordon]

Due to the circulation of water there is no "drop" to cause shock. It is a gradual thing.

[NeonMoon]

Last trip I took I got 3dz minnows in my bucket, drove to the campground, registered, parked, took care of a few things, dumped the minnows into my cooler/baitkeeper (with bilge pump) and dumped-in about 5 gallons of (warm) lake water, then tossed-in a frozen gallon jug of water. Those minnows lasted probably longer than any I'd ever kept, a few died here & there, but there were still lively oned at 5 days.