Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions How to build a easy livewell.

Was wanting to build a livewell and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas. My plans is to catch bluegill and bass and transport them to my new pond. Heard of people making them out of totes and coolers with bubble boxes. Has anyone done this. I'm mostly going to catch small fish but won't to keep them alive until I get home. Amy info will help thanks.

Urup,

A lot of things will work. However I hope you don't mind me asking but are you sure you want to plant your pond with fish from another pond(s)? Planting fish from other bodies of water with no specific ratio of predators to prey fish, and of various sizes can cause your new pond to be out of balance from the get go. We see many people spend several thousand dollars on a pond, only to go on the cheap by not buying fish and end up with a less than desirable fish population. Not saying you are going on the cheap but the result can be the same.

urup funny you shoud say this because I was thinking
the same thing but for exactly the opposite reason. I have
too many fish and want to catch them in my pond and
transport them to release elsewhere. I was considering
something like shown below, but I have such a large
volume I may just have to dig a hole and throw them
in for immediate burial after I catch them....I just
kind of hate to do that....we are imbred so strongly
with "catch and release" I guess it's hard to just kill them.



link

I have to agree with Cecil. Fish stocking, in the proper sizes and ratios, is one of the more critical considerations in attaining a balanced pond. It's also one of the least expensive components in the mix.

I too agree that proper stocking is very important, as is the sequence. You need a stable forage base built before adding predators. For me, taking fish from public waters is very risky. It doesn't matter whether you are here in WV where most of our water is pristine, we still have some real issues in certain places. And, then there are the problems with the waters in the Great Lakes states which have caused so much difficulty in even transporting minnows or moving boats from one body of water to another.

With that said, building a live well is pretty easy. Mine is similar to the one shown above, except I built the aerator myself. I used a 12 volt pump bilge pump like the one shown, some PVC, and a 120 quart cooler.

Thanks for the info. I don't care to spend $ on fish. Just having a problem finding where to buy them. I live in Ky and the Ky fish and wildlife will do it but won't bring them till OCT. I was wanting them before then. There is a little stream down the road that small bluegill and bass are allways in and you can catch one every cast. If that is a bad idea I won't do that. Just wanted some fish in there soon so the kids can fish it. Thanks.

Catmandoo I like the cooler idea

urup,

Being in Kentucky, you actually have great access to the "Kentucky fish trucks." I can't put my hands on the name or contact info, but there are a couple of very large suppliers who have regular routes throughout Kentucky, Western Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. They come through here about four or five times a year. They drop off orders at the local farm stores. The fish are in bags filled with water and oxygen, and the bags are in cardboard boxes. The fish are actually quite inexpensive. They always have bluegill, largemouth bass, and channel catfish -- plus other types of fish.

Ken

Thanks I'll look it up

My biggest problem from relocating fish was bringing an invasive underwater plant (Eurasian Water Milfoil) to my pond. (at least I think that's where it came from)

Even tho I didn't put any water from the other BOW into my pond, it showed up.

Urup,

The stream is down the road??? How far are we talking? If it's not that far you may could just get a nice size cooler and fill it up with water and transport! I have transported 75, 4 inch Blue Gill 95 miles with 2 Oxygen Tablets and that's it. You may not need as much air as you think if your not going very far and you don't fill your cooler up to the brim with fish? Just FYI.

Bout 15 min. Not to far. The fish are only in there in the summer because it isn't very deep where we catch them.

Oh well I don't think you would need to much then for that. Of course you want to keep your fish as stress free as possible but I would go with a large cooler and just put some fresh water in from time to time if your going to be there fishing for a while. Then when you head out replace some more water using a coffee can or something and go. 15 minutes is not to bad. I would say you could put 30 or 40 small fish in a 120 quart cooler no problems and go 15 minutes. If your not sure go to this site and get you some of these. I use them all the time and they work great. Like I said I took 75, 4 inch BG in a 72 quart cooler 95 miles with 2 of these tablets and that was it and they all made it just fine! The O tabs last about 4 hours. These would work great in your situation!


http://www.otabs.com/

I bet the 'small bluegill'-like fish in the "little stream down the road" are green sunfish. I don't think you want to stock those in your pond unless you like to deal with unnecessary fish balance problems. Why not get us a close up picture of those stream dwelling "bluegill"? My appologies to the members of the 'Green Sunfish Association'. I suggest 'urup' makes sure he can recognize greenies before pond stocking the "small bluegill" from the creek. It is a good idea to do a salt dip before adding the stream fish to your new pond. A salt dip was discussed somewhere here in the last day or two. Maybe I can find a link for those interested in stocking wild fish.
See this as a must reading for potential problems of adding non-hatchery fish and recipe for the salt dip:
http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=246182#Post246182
Red sore disease is a definate possibility when using wild fish. Often the disease is latent and not outwardly apparent on 'carrier' infected fish.
Thanks to Cecil Baird1 for the salt dip info.

Ken - where did you buy that live well pump with the threaded fitting? Great job on the homemade livewell!

Bill,

I got mine locally at Gander Mountain. They had very similar ones at Wal-Mart. I used a 750 GPH pump, and I think it was about $30. Besides having a standard pipe fitting, the other nice thing about these pumps is that the actual pump mechanism is easily replaceable and inexpensive. Two years ago I had a different kind of pump that quit half-way home with a load of trout. I had to keep stopping every few miles and giving the fish artificial respiration. I now carry a spare.

Also, this particular cooler has a ridge all around the top, and the PVC sits on top of it. When I need to use the cooler for a picnic or to haul some venison, all I have to do is lift the aerator out.

Ken

If you are hauling long distance or want to keep your fish for photos later, an O2 system in large Igloo cooler is fool proof.
Good for resuscitating over stressed fish that fight ‘til they die (HSB)

To explain George's pic. That's an Oxygen tank with a point four micro bubble diffuser http://pointfour.com/product-mbddiffusers

George I always knew you were extremely smart man but this is verification. I have sold that system for many clients over the years-the amount of fish you can hold triples or more versus the recirc methods.

Thanks Greg ... ...
HSB are noted for their fight 'til they die reputation and mine are too valuable to catch only one time.
Not only a terrific live well but an ICU for bringing fish back from certain death from being played too long on light tackle.
George

I need to get one of these setups, where can one purchase all the items they need to do so?

thanks

If you're talking about George's set-up, you can purchase the point four micro pore diffuser from any good aquaculture supply company. The O2 tank, & flow valve - hit your local welding supply store. You might also give Greg a shout.

The cooler recirc system is found in Bass Pro, or buy the pump (Bass Pro, Cabela's, maybe Wally World) and DIY from parts sourced at your local hardware store.

urup,

You have been given a lot of advice here! The first thing is a nice size cooler. Just remember when they are full of water they tend to get pretty dang heavy!! 120 quart cooler full of water... well lets just say you better be in good shape if you want to lift that around on your own. Even half full is not easy! So get it where you want and then fill it up. I like the coolers that have the small drain pit cock on the bottom of them that sure helps. Heck if your only transporting a dozen or 2 of fish and only going 15 minutes I would try and keep it as simple as possible, but that's just me I like simple!

Thanks everyone