OXYGENATOR

[ljmax]

We were in a tournament this past Sunday and my live well did fine keeping all of the bass alive until 2:00 when we headed back for the weigh in.  While running back the stand pipe got knocked loose and the LW lost most of the water.  When we got about 2 miles from the weigh in site we stopped to see if we could hit a hog and when I checked the LW all of the fish were about dead.  We were able to revive 2 of them but lost 3 which were all the bigger fish.  

I have a Nitro 170TF and I want to upgrade the LW.  I'm thinking I will put in an overflow, replace the 500 GPH Pump with an 800 or 1000 GPH Pump, and add an OXYGENATOR.  My question is has anyone used one of these and if anyone has a better idea on improving the LW I'd appreciatte suggestions.  

Oh and even with the 2 / 4 / 8 once penalty we still came in second.  Had the fish not died we would have won so it cost us around $300.  It's not going to happen again.  >

[6x]

Read my topic fish dying in live well. I am not sure what my problem is. But i use a oxygenator and will be removing it. I am going back to the basics. It is a current post.

Sorry for the loss. I know how it feels.

[ljmax]

Read my topic fish dying in live well. I am not sure what my problem is. But i use a oxygenator and will be removing it. I am going back to the basics. It is a current post.

Sorry for the loss. I know how it feels.

Sent you a PM.

[HPBB]

I found that if I leave my recuirc pumps on all day when a fish in in the live well, not on a timer, just on and running ( they are 500gph pumps) I have not lost any fish since doing this, even deep water SM in Lake Erie live to be caught another day.

[5bass]

I used the Oxygenator in my last Ranger and it did real well.

Another simple tip that you may already know to do is to freeze up some 20 oz bottles full of water and once you get some fish in the well, toss one in there or two if you have enough room. Its like huge ice-cubes in a drink. Keep a check and if they end up melting, just get another from your cooler and throw it in. In a 20 gal livewell, I'm not real sure exactly how much they help but I feel like its worth doing.....and especially in the hot summer months, it cant hurt.

One more thing...if your pipe is still out, drill some small holes in it before you re-install it. That will produce a showerhead type effect when the water is pushed thru.

And if you can, when you recirculate, try to do it in heavily shaded water or out on the main lake. A few degrees can make a big difference and when it comes to fish care, anything is worth a try.

[Glenn]

An aerator combined with Please Release Me is much better.

You said you're using frozen water bottles. Good for you!  Using straight ice is bad because the water contains chlorine and other chemicals, which is harmful to the bass.  So it's good you're using something that doesn't introduce harmful chemicals.  That said, be sure you only lower the temp NO MORE than 10 degrees less than the lake temperature. You can put the bass into shock if you go any more than that.  A simple pool thermometer will help you out there.  And don't use ice unless the water temp is over 70 degrees, as it's not beneficial to use it at lower temperatures.

Hope that helps!