2 Cool Fishing Forum banner

Icechest Livewell Question

13K views 79 replies 33 participants last post by  Timemachine 
#1 ·
I'm wanting to make me a livewell tank for bait out of a cooler and was wondering what is the best brand kit or brand to get? I saw they have one at Academy made by Marine Metal Products or Bass Pro has two, one made by Catch Saver and the other by Mayfair. What do yall think??? Thanks
 
#11 ·
This one lasted me a VERY, VERY long time. Very easy and very reliable. Now I have a boat with an oxygen system in it, and am still considering adding one of these with it. I've kept shrimp and croaker alive in a 5 gallon bucket for the entire day during the heat of summer when fishing the surf. I would think in an ice chest, it would be superior.

http://keepalive.net/portable.htm
 
#13 ·
First off it depends on what type of bait you are using, for shrimp I like using a
thick Styrofoam cooler so the shrimp will spread out and not be bunched up with a Mr. Bubble, battery operated or 12 volt system. Finfish on the other hand, use a round container, if not the bait will just beat themselves up in the corners and die or look bad. As far as aerators, the oxygen system is the best but expensive, and the Mr. Bubble is good, I used to use the Burgress floating system and worked great. I really don't like the aerators that you sink into your cooler and makes oxygen out of the water they spray down jets of water and beat the scales off the finfish.
 
#15 ·
#16 ·
Oxygen systems are gimmicks. Just an easy way to get money out of fisherman. Water can only hold a certain amount of oxygen depending on temp and other factors. Adding pure oxygen does nothing but aerate the water which can be done by a... You got it, a 15 dollar aerator pump and stone.

The key is to have fresh(new) water that is adequately aerated. In a boat live well, that is a water pump that is either left on or ran periodically. In an ice chest, the same can be achieved or just a simple air pump and add new water from time to time.

I left heat out of all this because it's a given... If it's hot, cool it down.
 
#18 ·
Oxygen systems are gimmicks. Just an easy way to get money out of fisherman. Water can only hold a certain amount of oxygen depending on temp and other factors. Adding pure oxygen does nothing but aerate the water which can be done by a... You got it, a 15 dollar aerator pump and stone.

The key is to have fresh(new) water that is adequately aerated. In a boat live well, that is a water pump that is either left on or ran periodically. In an ice chest, the same can be achieved or just a simple air pump and add new water from time to time.

I left heat out of all this because it's a given... If it's hot, cool it down.
Although you are entitled to your opinion, you have NO IDEA what you are talking about. I've been using Oxygen systems since they first became available over 30 years ago ( before YOU were even born ) and have kept fish and bait alive even under the most adverse conditions. I hope your ignorance of the subject does not influence others to pass up this valuable option.

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy
 
#17 ·
Oxygen systems are a gimmick, You put 16-17 lbs of redfish or trout in a livewell possibly worth anywhere from 500.00-10,000.00 and you count on that 15.00 pump and stone to keep them alive. Its not uncommon for Aerator pumps to stop working expecially 15.00 dollar ones and Sometimes the water condition is not where you can add water to the live well. In a perfect world where the pump always work and you can add good water to the livewell all day, generally that would work. Its hard to cool the water down when the surface temp. is in the 80's, and all your doing is putting hot water on top of more hot water and that really does not do much good, add ice to cool it down and 5 min. later you have flushed all the cool water out.. With Oxygens Systems you can add water in the morning and never have to worry about it again. To cool down all you have to do is add a couple of zip lock bags occasionally and the water will stay cool. And in this case where the question was concerning Icechest Livewell Question Give me a 3-5lb oxygen bottle over a pump and battery anyday. JMO..
 
#20 ·
Haha yeah, y'all are right. Let me just go tell TP&W that they have it all wrong.

Fish produce more slime as they are stressed. That excess slime ends up in the livewell and coats their gills... So the "super oxygenated water"(doesn't exist) is worthless if you aren't turning the water over regularly. Your oxygen system might be working just fine... All I am saying is their cheaper ways to do a better job.

No opinions here, just science.
 
#21 ·
Haha yeah, y'all are right. Let me just go tell TP&W that they have it all wrong.

Fish produce more slime as they are stressed. That excess slime ends up in the livewell and coats their gills... So the "super oxygenated water"(doesn't exist) is worthless if you aren't turning the water over regularly. Your oxygen system might be working just fine... All I am saying is their cheaper ways to do a better job.

No opinions here, just science.
Oh Yeah ! Science, just like Man Made Global Warming.

I can keep a livewell full of croakers, shrimp, etc. overnight without any water exchange. In really hot weather I might refresh the water a couple times during the day.

It's pointless to discuss the subject with you since you obviously have no experience with it.

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." -- Confucious
 
#22 ·
I have never used the Oxygen system on my boat, which comes with a livewell, which is equipped with a pump to continuously pump new water into the well. It works good and I was able to keep shrimp/mullet alive for the whole day during summer fishing trips. I never put any ice in livewell.
 
#26 ·
Bingo... And by a basic water pump found in a boat is more than enough aeration to cool the water and keep the water fully oxygenated even with a tank full of fish at a fraction of the cost of an oxygen system. Yes, sometimes the water should be cooled with frozen water bottles, but as far oxygenation... You're fine with normal aeration.
 
#27 ·
Dude is right, Pumping pure oxygen in water is almost 99.9 percent redundant and not necessary, versus dispersing atmospheric air into the water. H2o just won't hold much more oxygen than its current state, and atmospheric air is sufficient. I am just going if of fractions of a percent difference as too what the water can hold.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Why do croaker and shrimp act so much more lively with oxygen? I agree only so much oxygen can be present in water at a certain temperature but what about the bubbles of oxygen that go directly to the fish/shrimps gills? Its like a person wearing a mask at an oxygen bar, the fish are noticeably friskier versus regular aerated water. I would not expect to supercharge water with oxygen, turn off the bubbles and then drop bait in there and it live all day but with constant micro bubbles of diffused oxygen i believe it goes straight to the gills.
Casinos purge oxygen into the air so you will stay up all night, drink and spend money. Same goes with livewell bait/fish.

http://www.fishingscout.com/anglers/SmackDaddy
 
#30 · (Edited)
Dissolved oxygen levels most certainly can and do vary, based on a variety of factors. (like heat)

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/dissolvedoxygen.html

Its not that the oxygen bottle changes the oxygen level of the water at the molecular level. Its still H2O.

Extra oxygen is simply dissolved in to the water like CO2 in a can of coke. And yes a lot of it does escape in to the atmosphere. But a lot of it stays in the water and is used by the bait.

H2O2 is Hydrogen Peroxide and you can add a capful into your baitwell to add extra oxygen

http://www.worldfishingnetwork.com/...ait-bucket-or-livewell-more-oxygen-15497.aspx
 
#32 ·
Ok first off I don't understand why this has turned into a big pi$$ing contest about oxygen systems when the original poster just wanted to know the opinions on a couple of brands at Academy and Bass Pro, instead everyone has to add their useless knowledge. Just look at the facts, we all know that water can only hold so much Oxygen, which diffuses into it at the surface, or is pumped into it. Fact: the warmer and saltier the water is, the less diffused oxygen it can hold, where as on the flip side the colder and fresher the water is the more oxygen it can hold. Then you have to take in account for the CO2 that the fish are putting out, which also diffuses into the water. Anyone who has every used an oxygen system knows that it works simply off of the actions of the bait in the oxygenated water. Yes, you can keep fish alive with just a simple aerator which exchanges oxygen as the water flows through the air. Are they consuming the maximum amount of oxygen that they can hold, no because it is not available. The one factor we cannot control is the salinity of the water, most of the time the bait fish that we carry live in that salinity, but we can control the temperature of the water and the amount of oxygen that the water is holding avaibable for the bait. The more oxygen a fish takes in, the more it has available to metabolize, allowing them to convert more energy, thus making them appear "frisky". Again, yes water will only hold so much oxygen, and if there is anyone here that can tell us exactly what that number is by all means chime in. Otherwise, I'll just continue to know that warm salty water contains less diffused oxygen that cold fresh water, and that by introducing more than 21% oxygen into that warm salty water you will diffuse a greater concentration of O2 than what it had. Combine the cool water with 100% O2 and you will provide the maximum amout of available oxygen in that given environment that the baitfish are in. If that is too much for you to think about, then just continue to use a simple aerator system which will keep baitfish alive, but may also keep them sluggish.
 
#35 ·
I could try to explain it with formulas, but most wouldn't understand and i would have to look it all up again. Does pure oxygen pumping into water, at any temperature, improve the overall level of oxygen staying in the water? Sure. But only a fraction of a percent more than atmospheric air with all of the same variables. That can be proven using physics and chemistry. I guess you could argue that a fish will live 100 hours using atmospheric air, and maybe 100.01 hours using pure oxygen, in stank with everything else identical. It's about that much of a difference. This is how I understand the physics to be. I could be wrong, and I would like someone to point it out with numbers and science, I am interested as well.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top