Hydrogen Peroxide In The Livewell??

[M-D]

I saw the Doug Hannon video about Hydrogen Peroxide usage in the livewell. One thing I am curious about is how often to dose the livewell? Am I to only dose once a day or can it be done a couple of times a day?

My thinking is I would dose once an hour or two after putting fish in the well and then maybe once more latter in the day.

For those here who have experience with this, what do you do and what is safe for the fish?

[Lund Explorer]

What type of livewell system does your boat have?

If you fill your livewell and then run the recirculating pumps only it will last longer than if you are pumping in fresh lake water into the tanks all day long. You may want to watch the videos under the video key at the top of the page for more information.

[M-D]

I have both a recirculating and one for puming in lake water.

[Lund Explorer]

I would have to think that this stuff would last as long as any livewell treatment you added along with it. Of course if that pretty aqua-blue color started to fade, it might be time to add a little more.

[WRB]

Livewell management requires alot more than adding 3% over the counter hydrogen peroxide to you livewell. Check Sure-Life Labs vedio, Lane and Tony put this out before Hannon did his and there is a link on this site somewhere.

During the summer warm water period, the lake surface water is too hot to sustain bass and the hot water looses DO (dissolved oxygen) levels very fast, the bass sufficate in the livewell as a result. You need to maintain both DO levels and water temeratures; 65 to 70 degrees is good and DO levels around 7 to 9 Mg/l. Adding 1/2 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 15 gallon of livewell water with the lake water circulation OFF and adding ice to keep the water cooled, plus adding Catch & Release will keep you bass healthy all day.

JUst keep an eye on them, if they start to roll over act fast; add more ice and 1/4 cup of H202 to raise the DO levels. The cooler water holds higher level of DO, the bass are less stressed and use less DO...it's a win win.

Tom

[TommyBass]

I've honestly never had an issue on hot weather days. I have a 31 gallon livewell. I installed a two-stone aerator (one stone on each side of the livewell) and I put it on a timer. I also put my freshwater pump on a timer. The more weight I have in the livewell, the higher the frequency I set each to. More than 3 fish and the bubbler stays on all the time (it has low current draw). I'm not saying that adding ice or H2O2 won't help, I just think common sense needs to come to play. Some of the 'fish protecting products' on the market are basically stimulants, and I feel like they actually stress / drug the fish more. Just be careful of the products you add, and don't become a mad chemist on the water because something is marketed or you read that it should help.

For one thing, you can not leave your freshwater pump off all day just because your keeping a good temperature and adding oxygen. Fish secrete ammonia and other wastes that build up in your livewell, many of which are toxic once built up. You need to drain / overflow the livewell once in awhile to help with that. Even if its not to lethal levels, those wastes add stress just the same as no oxygen.

[M-D]

Thanks for the thoughts all. My live well is 30 gallons and I have never had any issue with losing fish due to livewell problems. We have had unusually hot weather lately so I was just trying to be prepared with options.

[WRB]

Most bass boats have divided live wells that are about 15 gallon each. If the live well doen't have a divider, then it will be about 30 gallons total.

If your live well has an aeration system, like Oxygenator, there isn't a need to add more DO. Keeping the water temps below 70 degrees is still good. Lake surface water is warmer than just a few deeper water and down where the thermocline is during the summer in deep structured lake the water average about 70 degrees and one reason bass locate at that depth.

Sure-Life products are well engineered and Catch & Release is a safe additive. Bass held in live wells start to release toxic waste when stressed, another reason to keep them cool and oxygenated.

Tom