Help me stop killing fish

[@reelChris]

Three times this season I had a bass die in a 15 gallon live well with a three position switch - Top = live well fill, Middle = Off, Bottom = Bilge pump on.  All 3 times I used large freezer ice packs and live well additive but the big fish died each time.  Twice there were 3 fish in the well, once there were five.  The water was in the upper 70's each time.  Throughout each day I ran the livewell fill at least once an hour so that it brought in new water and cycled out some of the old, and the most recent time I ran it every half hour for about 5 minutes but obviously, more needs to be done.  Without a recirculate feature, I'd like to add a timer so that the filler runs every 3 or 5 minutes.  Is there a way to either split the 3 position switch into two different switches - one for the well and one for the bilge pumps and add a timer for the live well fill or just insert a timer somewhere into the fill circuit?  

[MickD]

I'm no expert on live wells, but if I kept  having fish die in one I would stop putting fish into it.  

 

It really sounds like with the water temps you're talking about that you are putting too many fish in it for the water to be favorable.

[@reelChris]

I'd agree except people with recirculating wells had no problems with the same temperature water on the same days.  15 gallons should be sufficient for five two pound fish, and certainly enough for 3.  

[J Francho]

It isn't temperature it oxygen. Warm water holds less O2 and requires constant aeration. That's the difference. 

[gim]

I assume you are in a tournament otherwise the simple solution would be to not put them in there.

 

Sorry I can't help you with the electrical portion of this but upper 70 degree water temperature shouldn't be killing them.  I'm sure the water is much warmer than that in many areas of the south right now.

[MN Fisher]

A 15 gallon tank with recirc should be able to handle that many fish. A timer in the line would definitely help.

This is the one I've got in the F-9

Allows different programming...my current setting is 30 seconds on, 4:30 off, infinite repeating.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X3YSXY9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Tennessee Boy]

Just a thought.   When you say you used ice packs,  I'm assuming you mean the reusable gel packs that you put in the freezer.   I don't know what's in them.  Could one of them be leaking and killing the fish?

[@reelChris]

MN - 

I like the price but programming that thing seems really complicated, and it doesn't look the electronics are marine rated.  I was looking at this one, which would entirely replace the current fill switch being as the first setting is continuous fill:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Leisure-Lectronics-Selectable-Adjustable-Livewell/dp/B07PGMG14S/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=livewell+timer&qid=1659381353&sr=8-4

 

I'm just not sure how to wire it, but I might be overthinking it.  It's possible the wires would just come off the original switch and go onto this one.  

 

Tennessee - 

As far as the freezer packs are concerned, they are relatively new and I have looked for leaks.  Plus only one fish seems to die out of the group.  The others are always lively and release no problem.

[Deleted account]

Yeah, in the hot weather you need to keep aerating or changing water almost constantly, as mentioned above it's an O2 level thing. I make block ice in my Pure Leaf ice tea containers, and keep them in a cooler, and throw one in every hour or so, keeps the water 10-15 degrees colder, and along with the aerator, it works well.

[MN Fisher]

51 minutes ago, @reelChris said:

I like the price but programming that thing seems really complicated,

Actually it was pretty easy to program...took me less than 10 minutes, and that included reading the instructions. It's got CMOS memory, so even removing power from it doesn't erase the program you've set.

 

51 minutes ago, @reelChris said:

it doesn't look the electronics are marine rated.

Maybe not rated for it - but I haven't had any issues yet...plus I have the backside, where the connections are, protected.

[WRB]

A fast 10 degree water temp change highly stresses bass.

The easy solution is add 1/2 cup of over the counter 3% hydrogen peroxide to 15 gallons of live well water to create dissolved oxygen to sustain the bass for about 4 hours.

The misunderstood fact is large bass stress faster then smaller bass, they need more TLC.

Water around 75 degrees is ideal for survival rates during the day time. At night the surface water maybe very low in DO in calm flat water.

Don’t cool the live well water unless it’s over 85 degrees, aeration is needed not colder water.

Tom

[J Francho]

No additive is gonna solve his issue because it's not a closed recirc system. The only solution for now is to run it it constantly. That was how my Xpress system worked and running it pretty much non stop worked. 

[gulfcaptain]

Gotta keep your water turned over and oxygenated.  I don't add frozen bottles, not to mention running around the lake with hard objects floating in the well with the fish.....not the best thing for them to be hit by. Most additives don't remove ammonia from the water that are sold as live well treatments, but they do turn the well into a lovely shade of blue which is an antibacterial and fungal medication. (Years in the aquarium trade) but you can go to a local pet store, find a additive that removes ammonia,  chroline, and clorimine that you can add to your well to help remove toxins but still need to turn over that water  and keep the oxygen  high. 

 

[@reelChris]

Thanks all,.  What I'm hearing is the ice isn't doing anything and find a way to freshen the water more often.  I'll further investigate switch upgrades.  

[WRB]

You can use a aquarium aerator pump running on a battery for tournaments. 3% Hydrogen peroxide generates DO, it’s not an additive. Sure-Life C & R is an additive.

Tom 

[Ppennin986]

Simple solution I use if I want to recirculate the water in my livewell , cause mine only draws water in. so I have a portable one something similar to this , works great 

[@reelChris]

Today I installed this timer switch for my live well.  It worked as advertised during a sea test. Any fish I catch Sunday will give me a chance to test it in a tournament setting.

 

[CrashVector]

Bass require lots of oxygen.  3-5 decent fish, if you want them alive, you'd have to keep your aerator running.

 

In my kayak, I fill a 48qt ice chest with water, add livewell treatment that helps them recover from stress, and I keep two bubblers going the whole time.

[TnRiver46]

I can’t help ya here, killing them is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve always said I wish my livewell only dispensed ice instead of water. No way on earth I can keep 5 bass alive all day with my little livewell 

 

 

[slonezp]

First thing I would do is disinfect the livewell. You could have some type of bacteria in there

[TnRiver46]

2 minutes ago, slonezp said:

First thing I would do is disinfect the livewell. You could have some type of bacteria in there

I should definitely try that with mine, even from a harvest perspective. I cut up fish for catfish bait in there solely for easy cleanup but it’s nasty with fish scales haha

[slonezp]

51 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I should definitely try that with mine, even from a harvest perspective. I cut up fish for catfish bait in there solely for easy cleanup but it’s nasty with fish scales haha

I imagine cut bait has the potential to carry some nasty bacteria. Regurgitated baitfish, snails, and insects left in a livewell until the next trip are sure to grow some nasty stuff. 

[@reelChris]

Fished a tournament today.  Had 3 in the livewell by 10 and 5 eventually for a total weight of 8lbs.  All were caught in less than 4 feet of 74 degree water.  With the new switch set to run the inlet pump for 1 minute on, 3 minutes off, all five were strongly kicking by weigh in and swam off when released.  

[TnRiver46]

15 minutes ago, @reelChris said:

Fished a tournament today.  Had 3 in the livewell by 10 and 5 eventually for a total weight of 8lbs.  All were caught in less than 4 feet of 74 degree water.  With the new switch set to run the inlet pump for 1 minute on, 3 minutes off, all five were strongly kicking by weigh in and swam off when released.  

Nice!!!