My New Minnow Tank

[shipahoy41]

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!

What have you been feeding them? Could a set up like this work on a boat? I was thinking of using a large cooler.

[shipahoy41]

4 bucks a pound I pay $3.99 for a dozen small minnows. And the bait shops here count every minnow they put in your bucket! So i have a old 30 gal. fish tank in the garage so at least i can save what i don't use.

Same here. The price is $2.95/dozen!!! I can get Rosy Reds from a pet shop, when they are available, for 15 cents each. Still expensive when compared to what you are paying for 500 minnows. I have to find a bait store open near whatever lake I am going to. Nobody sells them within 50 miles from my house. I will definitely be tinkering with this idea!

[shipahoy41]

Update on progress....

The latest revision for the intake has been working very well for a couple of weeks now. This is the best working design of everything I've tried. It's simply a 3 ft 1inch PVC pipe that is capped on the end. I drilled several holes for the water to come in all around (and to prevent poor minnows from getting sucked to the pipe). I'd highly recommend this strategy for the intake. See picture below.

Attachment 90244

Very important....I do water changes of about 15 gallons every week. (3 - five-gallon buckets) I also frequently check for any dead minnows and remove them promptly to keep the water clear and healthy.

Here's a picture of a nice crappie I recently caught using my own minnows kept at home:
Attachment 90242

I'm now going to move on the collecting and keeping nightcrawlers. My son caught 50+ last night and we are keeping them in worm bedding in a fridge. Who knows, maybe I'll even try keeping crickets over the summer too! There's nothing like having your own bait available.

You are on the way to having a career in the bait shop business. Look over in the live bait forum. There are plenty of posts on raising redworms and wigglers.

[bowhunter012463]

The only thing I would do differant is to have a divider in there to either 1. seperate the older minnow from the newer ones to use the older ones first, 2. to keep differant sizes of minnow apart. If you was to feed them insteed of using the flakes or any kind of feed I would use something like the time delayed feeder that desolves slowly like I used to used when I had a fish tank as a youth for when we went on vacation if you thought they needed feeding at all. All in all very nice set up, the convience of it is well worth any cost you have. Two thumb up. Almost forgot, if needed extra oxygen, ever tried using pure breathable oxygen tank like in use from the hospitals.

[Andy1270]

What have you been feeding them? Could a set up like this work on a boat? I was thinking of using a large cooler.

I would generally feed them very sparingly, like 1 time a week. I'd usually use a small amount of fish food pellets, or a small amount of frozen brine shrimp. I had those products on hand since we also run a marine tank. What ever you do, do not "overfeed". It will cloud up the water and your filter medium. Minnow can last quite a long time in the cool water since their metabolism slows.

I suppose it "could" work on a boat, but a key component of my system is using the refrigeration component of the working freezer to set the water temperature. You'd also have to think about a 12 volt filter system.

[Andy1270]

You are on the way to having a career in the bait shop business. Look over in the live bait forum. There are plenty of posts on raising redworms and wigglers.

Thanks for your post & for the information. I'll check out that section.

[Andy1270]

Saw this post about making a minnow tank. That is a great way to keep minnows and a good way to recycle old freezers too!
I used to have a sporting goods store and sold minnows,,..years ago, and used two freezers. different size of minnows, needed more room, so two freezers.
The one thing was oxygen, and the others were water temp, and food, and the cleaning, once a week of both of my tanks. It worked, it was inside, and temp controlled, and it served it's purpose for the few years I had a store. I have since had, many years now, of keeping minnows, for it was cheaper on me if bought by the pound instead of by the dozen. I don't keep them now, nor do I still have them. I don't want to mess with the cleaning of the big tanks, because I can't do it now, too crippled up and lazy, and anyway, I like to talk about the bite when I'm buying them nowadays,,... but,,.. for the last few years, when I did keep them, I used two old "mineral tubs", like they put out in the fields for cattle. They are about 25 gallons, and plastic, and these are blue. Sorry no pics!
I like this set up, for me anyway, better than a freezer only because I am old and stove up, and it was easier to drain the 25 gallons of water out to clean them once a week or so.
I came down from the top of the rim about 2 inches and drilled three small holes, one inch apart, to act as a drain out of the top as I kept a continuing small amount of running water on them especially when it began to get hot. I used the smallest air pump, that is used in a small aquarium, wlmrt had, and put one in each tub attached to bubble stones, and kept them on 24/7. I found that when the temps got hot, about the 15th of June or so, that it just wasn't feasible to keep it going for the temps made the water too hot for the minnows to stay alive.
I fed them, daily, small amount, of regular gold fish flakes from wlmrt, just the cheap stuff was OK, but if they don't eat it all, it begins to dirty up the water and that means it has to be cleaned or they will begin to die. Don't know why, just do. Had to put water in a bucket, for the minnows from the tank, while keeping air on. Pretty simple for me after the many years of keeping them, air,water temp, food, and cleanliness. I kept them in the basement for a few years for it helps to have it air conditioned temps so they stay cool enough. Yeah city water takes an additive to deal with the chlorine.
I live out in the country and have my own private well water. Oh well,,... had time to give so,,...
If you could rig it like Andy did to help control the water temp, then you got allot of the battle won. His is a great idea!
Too hot, they die for sure. Great reading about this minnow tank. Thanks for the information about it! One must have several dozen good minnows to use,,... when the "bite is on", at least for me.
Have a great day!

Thanks for the information on your experience keeping minnows in your store! I understand the challenge regarding the water changes. I'm considering installing a valve with an outlet hose near the filter. With that in place, I could simply turn off the filter, open the outlet valve to drain the water into a bucket or connected hose to divert the water outside.

[Andy1270]

The only thing I would do differant is to have a divider in there to either 1. seperate the older minnow from the newer ones to use the older ones first, 2. to keep differant sizes of minnow apart. If you was to feed them insteed of using the flakes or any kind of feed I would use something like the time delayed feeder that desolves slowly like I used to used when I had a fish tank as a youth for when we went on vacation if you thought they needed feeding at all. All in all very nice set up, the convience of it is well worth any cost you have. Two thumb up. Almost forgot, if needed extra oxygen, ever tried using pure breathable oxygen tank like in use from the hospitals.

I like that idea of using some kind of divider to separate older minnows. I may try that this year to see if it works. Plexiglass with very small holes drilled (for water flow) could be installed. That's a nice idea too about the time delayed feeder. I don't feed them very often, generally only 1 time a week. I haven't checked in to using pure oxygen or even what one of those tanks would cost? Does anyone have any idea?

[yikess]

Okay I'm at a loss. What's the difference between an old minnow and a new minnow? Don't they taste the same?

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[Bytizawn]

Andy, May I suggest a "tray", formed to fit, the bottom tank and also to go around the intake and over it. and the top over the intake to fit snug around the edge of the tank. This way you can form the screen material to fit how ever you need it to to work. So, we have a "box" with a bottom side, and all four sides, about ?six? inches tall,,... the top open. This "box" for lack of a better term and/or tray, could have a wire "handle/s?" too, and then it could be removed easily and it would also remove the minnows for cleaning, or whatever need comes along. To remove the minnows, just lift it up and there they all are, in the box, with no minnows "hopefully" and the tank empty of all minnows. Hope that helps.
Oh and while I'm here; Hello Yikess! I believe you asked "What was the difference between an old minnow and a fresher/ newer minnow?" Well just my own personal observance but if you look close the scale color will be grayer on an old minnow. Also they will swim slower than a fresh one. And,,... you asked "Do they taste different?"; Well yes they do. The old minnow will have a slight bitter twinge to it,, and also, and sometimes, little "grizzly". The old minnows will, if you hold them up and look sideways at them they will have a slight hump in the top of their back. Also, they can be seen as some of the very closest minnows at the oxygen output bubbler/sprayer,,... right by the "disability" sign on the air tube in the tank. Last but not least, and sometimes most important if you're having a hard time finding any minnows, if you are seining them,,... look for the tiny blue disability sign that's at the front of the root wads in any creek and you can sien out a few old ones to use. Please forgive I could not resist! Really I couldn't. There is no difference in an old one or a fresh one in my now, un-valued, opinion. One time,,...
I bought by one pound, or might have been of been two lbs., of minnows, fatheads minnows, at the local feed store. The truck came every so often for pond and lake people to buy fish to stock with. I counted them andI believe there were right at 300 minnows. Of course, by the pound, if will depend on size of minnow to numbers one would get #'s / pound. With these minnows I took a fishing trips to LOZ or the osage river every weekend in 2011, at least once, and sometimes twice, both Sat and Sun. Took the same minnows out of that same batch and used what my wife and I needed. and always brought back the extras, and put them back into the tank. NEVER did I NOT have the little battery powered air pumps, one in each minnow bucket along and going when minnows were out of the lake or river. Well water does NOT have hardly any Oxygen in it. Be careful when not in the lake water or river water. I always carried a thermometer with me in my tackle box just in case the minnows start coming up to the top of a minnow bucket or a tank. that is a bad sign and almost always it will be because of lack of Oxygen or temp of water. If it was really hot we kept a small plastic bottle, that was filled with water and frozen, and we would,,... either going to the water, and/or coming home, remove the lid on the little bottle of ice and drop it into the bucket, and made sure they were in the shade while traveling. We kept 'em alive even on days of 95 degrees! Sorry,... I got carried away again. Good luck on that great! minnow tank! Enjoy and good luck with all the fishing trips it will be supplying you with minnows,,... when the bite is on!