bait tank design
 

I am about to fabricate a cheap bait tank for use on a recently purchased used 2017 hobie outback. Looking to fish La Jolla kelp and yellow tail as the extreme case, with SD bay including the jeti etc. as sort of a normal routine. I would like to minimize tank volume and pump power.


I have a design in mind for initial build however can't decide which tote to use. I have bought two shown below.


Q1: what is minimum depth in a bait tank given my fishing locations? I am hoping 6" or less is adequate.
Q2: what is minimum length and width of a bait tank? I know people use 9.5x9.5 petfood containers.
Q3: what is a decent (not ideal) water flow per minute in a 3 galloon bait tank? I am planning to have 1 gallon per minute which means complete volume change over every 3 minutes.

Thanks in advance

Either container I should work fine. But your pump speed is a little fast. Is this with a 12 volt battery? You want tank to fill in about 7 minutes. No matter the size. If your current flow rate is with a 12volt switch to a 6 volt and it should be very close.

Yes, I was thinking 12 volt. I've been looking really cheapo pumps off amazon, and the one I expect to get is 12 volt , 5 watt , (~.5 amp). Quoted flow is 240 L/Hr = ~1.0 gallons per minute however this may be over quoted.

Any thoughts on the 6" depth? What is the recommended minimum? I would like to go say 5" if that works. Am I bordering on the tank being too small?

25gph bilge pump running on a 6V is the most common configuration you'll see out there.

Oh and what about color? does it really matter?


Getting antsy! Want to pick one, drill some holes and get started!

One issue I see with the totes are all the edges. You're more likely to beat up your fin baits

really? can you provide link to this 25 gph? the ones I have been seeing in posts and pictures are all super high gph

My mistake. Rule 25 is a real popular pump. It is 500gph

You can run a 12 volt pump on a 6 volt battery. I was suggesting it because your fill will be too fast with a 12volt if it’s going to fill in 3 minutes.

About done. Went 6v. I imagine fill is around 5 minutes. I will measure later.

Loving this thread! indeedhttp://juragan.club/assets/3/o.png

I measured to pump 1 gallon takes 2 mins 15 seconds which mean ~6:45 fill. I am going to drill drain holes to hold exactly 3 gallons. In retrospect I should've put the inlets lower and not had to trim the lid but hey live and learn.

Pretty spot on flow rate. Nice work

Looks good. Keep in mind when you drill the holes that you will be rocking on the water, not sitting on stable dryland. I would suggest drilling them higher than you think they should be. You can always drill more lower. A lot easier than plugging holes that ends up before my too low.

Kind of curious about why you went with one of those boxes instead of a vittles or pet food type of container?

I am not a bait tank expert, just wondering.