I have some experience here. Basically I know what not to do.
We had 200 anchovies in a 22 gallon tank. The washdown pump was used to supply fresh water and the recirc pump in the tank spun the water to provide a current to orient the baitfish.
This worked well. We pulled the boat up the ramp on the trailer to load ice (ending fresh water addition) and in no more than 20 minutes most of the bait rolled. I managed to revive about 3/4 of em by spraying water (entrained air) into the tank. The next morning most of those unlucky devils were still alive but we had other problems. When I switched on the bunk light, 7 hours after tying up at the no power moorage ... it was a dull orange color. A quick check of the battery voltmeter showed 10.5 volts.
I shifted to Batt #1 and got the kicker going and the charge started on the #2. We then departed and ran out. The dead deep cycle battery pulled so hard on the alternator that it tripped the circuit breaker on the motor => no more charging and all power on the motor comes from the alternator.
We ran out of fuel on the deck tank and the motor would not restart. The story goes on but I won't bore you with something I posted last October.
I would use a spare deep cycle battery to power your tank. In the morning just leave the spare battery in the truck and go fishing.
Your freshwater supply system should fill your baittank in no less than 10 minutes to get enough flow going. Scales are a problem too. Remove scales after you get your bait and any dead baits as they poison the water.
Good luck.
We had 200 anchovies in a 22 gallon tank. The washdown pump was used to supply fresh water and the recirc pump in the tank spun the water to provide a current to orient the baitfish.
This worked well. We pulled the boat up the ramp on the trailer to load ice (ending fresh water addition) and in no more than 20 minutes most of the bait rolled. I managed to revive about 3/4 of em by spraying water (entrained air) into the tank. The next morning most of those unlucky devils were still alive but we had other problems. When I switched on the bunk light, 7 hours after tying up at the no power moorage ... it was a dull orange color. A quick check of the battery voltmeter showed 10.5 volts.
I shifted to Batt #1 and got the kicker going and the charge started on the #2. We then departed and ran out. The dead deep cycle battery pulled so hard on the alternator that it tripped the circuit breaker on the motor => no more charging and all power on the motor comes from the alternator.
We ran out of fuel on the deck tank and the motor would not restart. The story goes on but I won't bore you with something I posted last October.
I would use a spare deep cycle battery to power your tank. In the morning just leave the spare battery in the truck and go fishing.
Your freshwater supply system should fill your baittank in no less than 10 minutes to get enough flow going. Scales are a problem too. Remove scales after you get your bait and any dead baits as they poison the water.
Good luck.
