building a shad tank

[todobien]

ANyone have suggestions on building a 30 gallon tank to hold shad?

[Kman]

Saw a post somewhere that had a pretty good idea. The guy went and got an old chest deep freezer that didn't work any more! Someone will prolly give it to you to take it off their hands if you can find one broken.
They are perfect size and already insulated. Just install a thru hull connector for a drain near the bottom and an aeriator pump and VIOLA!

I assume you want this tank for home storage.

[sac-a-lait]

You need something round for shad I think. Go to the local car wash and ask for a leftover 55 gal plastic drum, Wash it out good. Then cut the top open leaving the sides of the top intact to make the drum as rigid as it was before. If you just lay it on it's side and cut the top off it's not as strong as if you remove the top without cutting the entire top off (I will post pics too). Anyway make a filter out of PVC pipe and place on the INTAKE for the pump. Mine had minnows in there for the last 2 months. In the last pic the minnows were only a few as that was the test water. I ended up with a couple hundred med/large in there at one time.

List of parts.

1 55 Gal Drum FREE
1 Airpump FREE (Had it in the shop from old fishtank)
1 airstone FREE (Had it in same place)
1 SUBMERSIBLE PUMP rated at least 500 GPH (gallons per hour, I use one rated 900 GPH I think) FREE my neighbor gave it to me. THE KEY IS TO MAKE SURE THE INTAKE HAS THREADS ON IT, if it does the hole will be universal at 3/4" I found out.
TIMERS OPTIONAL, I used one simple to give the fish a rest from that 900 GPH pump moving all that water around. I set it to run only 12 hours a day. $6
12" piece of 2 or 3" PVC, drill holes in it. Bigger towards the end and smaller towards the pump intake, fill with about a handful of bating just above the pump itself inside the tube you just made (it's white cotton/synthetic looking stuff acts as the filter)...ask your wife what it is...FREE
1 CAP for the PVC filter part you just made to place on one end. Drill holes in it, small 1/4" holes will do. $2
1 REDUCER to take the 2 or 3" pipe down to 3/4" to fit on the threads of the intake on the pump. $4
Don't glue any of the PVC filter parts you have made together since you have them on the INTAKE the PUMP will PULL them all together. Makes it easy to get apart for cleaning and replacing the bating inside.

I think that's it.

The water stays BLUE and all I ever did was well I filled the tank I let it sit for a week before adding any minnows. I have never used any additives or minnow chemicals, etc. Minnows are tougher than I thought. Temp is their major issue. Cooler always better.

AND I FEED THE HECK OUT OF THEM EVERYDAY!!! I feel bad going and getting them to take to the lake. Always leave a few that are used to you and eating that way when you add more the one's who know you come up when you feed and the others follow suit quickly. I use goldfish flake food.

I think I have had 5 die while in the tank in 8 weeks or so. Before, when I would buy minnows to go fishing, at the end of the trip I would just dump the leftover minnows into the lake. Since I got the holding tank, I only bought a couple hundred in the last few weeks and when I was finished I would just bring them back to the tank. I do freshen them up throughout the day on the boat. The best part was during the peak of the fishermen run the last few weeks, I just drove right by the chaos of the bait store as I already had mine. No standing in line to buy them, No standing in line to pay, etc. I pass by everyone at the store.

The goal is to buy them by the pound but with the Mississippi hot summer coming I'm shutting mine down till the Fall. May-Sept won't keep any UNLESS I add a Hotwater Heater Wrap insulation blanket they sell at hardware store and see if that will keep them cool. But I'm mainly concerned about Dec/Jan/Feb/March/April

[poppop]

sac-a-lait...I am interested in knowing more about your minnow setup...thanks for providing the suggestion..and looking forward to more details as you post them.

[slab_slayin_fool]

i have built a few really nice tanks...

and i know from experience with shad its hard to keep them alive in most all conditions they are super fragile and don't do well when taken from their environment good luck and if you do figure out a way please pm me and tell me how

[grubby]

The guys I know at Webbers Falls in Oklahoma use a sqare 50 something quart five day cooler with a 1200 gph bilage pump to keep the water moving so they dont stress out from swimg into the corners. They use a couple hand fulls of rock salt to ease the stress factor on the shad and they can keep them alive for five days that I had witnessed. I have learned alot from these guys when it comes to keeping shad alive.

Good Luck and Good Fishing.

[poppop]

what keeps the pump down? is the PVC cut just the right length to wedge it against the other side of the barrel?

Is a air pump different than a submersible pump? If so I don't see the air pump, where is it located?

[grubby]

It's weighted but don't remember how.

[sac-a-lait]

The Sub pump is weighted and will go to the bottom unless you make a way to keep it up high. I ended switching it and putting the pump on the bottom as the water that comes out REALLY MOVES, that way it blows the fish poop up off the bottom into the filter (PVC PIPE).

The air pump CAN'T GO IN THE WATER OR SOMEONE WILL GET SHOCKED. It pumps air into the airstone and is sitting on top of the tank in the first picture. The Sub Pump can go underwater and the power cord is there in the water.

Would more pics help? It's the best fish filter I have ever seen.

[3's]

I have used an old freezer for years. Still have minnows alive from my Reelfoot trip a few weeks back. I use one of the 110 v air bubbles and when I make up water I add stuff (Can't remember the name) to remove the chlorine. My next move is to actually bury it in the ground to help keep the water cool in the summer.