Cleaning my livewell

[sirmo]

I thought for sure you guys would have covered this already, but didn't get much with searching.

My livewell needs a cleaning.  You know...they get dirtied up pretty good hauling 20lb sacks of fish every tournament.....RIGHT!  :

Obviously I'm concerned with using something that is fish friendly, yet effective.

What to use?

Thanks!

Sirmo

[flechero]

I'm sure that someone has a "soap" for livewells by now.  I normally just use clean water and a towel or plastic "steel wool" pads to get the junk off and call it good after a rinse out.

Or you could use a mild (and diluted) bio-friendly detergent, clean it out and just be sure to rinse out several times over and first time back on the lake fill and drain w/ lake water and run the aerator (to check for suds) just to be double sure the soap is all out.  

I don't fish many tourneys anymore so I don't worry much about the livewell.

[sirmo]

Good tip about running the aerator to look for bubbles.  Will do.

I guess I'll just start with some diluted soap and water.  Needs a little more than just water I think.

Any other tips?

[NBR]

I fill mine about 1/2 full and put in some bilge cleaner. Then I pull it around for awhile, drain and rinse well. Fair resultes.

[Cajun1977]

i use clorox    and rinse it out very good  at the carwash    no probs yet   all the tournameny guys here do it this way

[vincedia]

If you go to the Clorox site they tout how biodegradeable their bleach is. And How safe it is around people.

I'm sure with enough of a rinse is would be fine. I also like the oda of running some lake water through it

a few times prior to putting fish in it.

But I don't own a boat, I've only used it to clean a few fish tanks in my day.

[burleytog]

Chlorox (or any chlorine based product) will do a good job of disinfecting the livewell.  Just make sure to rinse it well as it does deplete oxygen (and in high enough concentrations, will kill fish).

Just off the top of my head, I would recommend using some dish detergent (Dawn, Joy, etc.) to scrub everything down with, then throw in about 1/2 cup of bleach, rinse well.

[roadwarrior]

Clorox and a toliet brush is the ticket. Rinse thoroughly and you will have no problems.

[Hillbilly_Hooker]

After cleaning your livewell, please allow it to airdry for a day or two, if possible, before returning to the water.  Doing so should kill any remaining nuisance 'hitchhikers' that may have hitched a ride in your boat.  If you'd like more information, please visit this website:

http://www.protectyourwaters.net/hitchhikers

Thanks,

Hillbilly