pretty sweet setup
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pretty sweet setup
I just discovered a slight problem. I found a few poor minnows "stuck" to my intake fitting at the bottom of the tank. I think I have 2 choices:
1. install an elbow fitting to raise the intake (since minnows hover near bottom areas)
2. Install a larger intake to prevent any "suction" problems" that damage minnows
I've attached a picture of the intake area.
What do you think?
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Put a piece of foam over it. Like this. Aquarium Internal Filters: ATI Hydro-Sponge Pro Filters at Foster and Smith Aquatics
You can go to a pet store and see what they have. Foam can be cut and manipulated to fit. I have tons of this mess lying around from my aquarium days. I may just send some to you.
You could also make a fine wire mesh box something like 8" cubed to cover pickup.
I have kept large, walleye minnows in the winter for years. My chest freezer is barbaric compared to this jewel. But changing water is a necessity even in the winter. I often buy 10 pounds of large minnows, because it is an hour each way to the bait producer. They will defecate a lot in the first 2 days.That water must be changed every week if the bait load is heavy. If you feed bait it craps more. I think that your design is great. Hope that cooling thing works because warm weather always means dead minnows at my house. Going to have to study that part about the cooler because it is over my head.
Thanks for your suggestion! I hadn't even thought about this strategy. I stopped by the pet store today and bought some Pre-filter foam medium as you described. I was able to cut it to size and slide it over the intake. (See picture below). This essentially adds a nearly 2 inch "boundary" around the intake. So far so good! As you can see from the pictures, the minnows don't mind it!
Thanks again for all the suggestions. We'll see how this works now.
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I'm changing around 15 gallons (of the total 50 gallons) weekly. The mechanical filtration with a filter and activated carbon is keeping the water quite clear so far. I'm also ensuring that every time I add water, I add the right amount of Prime (to remove chlorine). The other thing I've done is to add around 1/2 cup of solar salt to the tank, in addition to adding the Methylyne Blue. They say this helps with the minnows and provides extra oxygenation.
I'm about to add a couple of pounds of minnows, so we'll see!
Thanks.
Update...... I'm going on the 3rd week with minimal minnow loss. The foam "sleeve" is working great and not causing any minnows to get sucked into the intake filter screen. I'm preparing to add 1 or 2 pounds of fathead minnows to the tank this weekend, so we'll see how the additional volume works. Temperature control is holding at 51 degrees for the water. Filtration is keeping the water clear. I also add a bit of solar salt & methylene blue when I do a water change of 10-15 gallons. Of course I use Prime first to remove the chlorine. Total "tank" capacity is 50 gallons.
After pricing Living Stream units and those made by Minnow Masters, this has been a much more reasonably priced solution for me. Since the time changed, I took my son fishing one recent evening with our "own minnows" and couldn't find the crappie, but the largemouth bass were in the shallows. They loved our minnows! I was able to bring the leftovers back to our tank. It's very convenient.
Let me know if you have any questions. I'd be happy to offer any help if you'd like to take on a project like this.
Good fishing!
500+ minnows now! So on Saturday morning I added 1 pound of fathead minnows to the 3 or 4 dozen already there. A local bait whosale place sold them for $13/pound. I have lost a small few, but that could just be typical when you have that many fish. So far so good! Here's an updated tank picture with all the minnows. I also included a picture of my "home" lake at sunset on Sunday... I thought it was so beautiful. . I've been taking my minnows there and bringing back the unused ones to go right back in the tank.
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