Building My First Livewell

[Christian M]

So I'm in the middle of building my first livewell, I have my first club tournament on the 18th. I bought a 150qt marine cooler with a door on top thats perfect for dropping fish in without having to open the whole cooler lid. I have an 800ghp aerator pump connected to a PVC spraybar that fits perfectly inside the cooler. On the other end of the main pump I have 10' of 1/2" clear hose with a round screen filter so that I can just put the hose overboard & fill the cooler w/aerated water (since my boat is only 14' I wanted to design the livewell so that I can remove it when I dont need it). Inside of the livewell I have two Fishsaver aerator/filters, each is good for 25 gallons of water so I figured two would be sufficient. I have the main pump & the two Fishsavers wired up to rocker switches that I added to my electrical panel. So what I'm wondering is, seeing as how I have 2 aerators inside the well, would it be overkill putting a recirc aerator in also? It would actually be easy because the drain plug is threaded & I have a hole drilled for overflow that is in a good spot, but for now the well already has enough aeration & everything is wired up. I dont want to over-complicate things & also I have to keep battery draw in mind. I'm thinking later on when I have more time I'll build a box around the well that can double as dry storage, That way I can make the well permanent & go through the hull with the main pump, maybe then I will get rid of the two fish savers & do a recirc pump instead. What do you guys think? I would really appreciate input from anyone who has experience with designing live-wells, Later ill post up pics so that you guys can see how things came out.

[TommyBass]

The last livewell I 'made' I put in a recirculation pump. It did a very fine job at adding aeration when the 'freshwater' pump was off. However, since then, I have another boat and I set it up differently. It came with a 'freshwater' pump as well as an overflow. I added a timer to that part, as well as adding a double 'bubbler' system with air stones on opposite ends of the tank. It is also on a timer. This system will keep fish alive forever, it hasn't lost a fish in any tournament yet, and that involves some shallow dingy water lakes in the midwestern summers. It is around 31 gallons total though.

In my opinion you shouldn't need the recirculation pump. The fish savers will do that job just fine. Im not going to tell you its a bad idea, as any 'extras' can never hurt. But I'd save some time and battery life and just leave it as you have it. Use timers to further your battery even more, and leave the fresh water on the timer. I let mine flush a minute's worth of pumping every 7 minutes, and that alone I feel is enough to keep most limits alive under decent circumstances. The 'bubblers' will then let you keep your fish happy out of the water as well, during weigh in's etc.

I might add though, that my livewell has a gravity drain in the bottom. No need for pump out. A recirculation pump can be turned into a 'pump out' system as well. Just add a Y and a few valves and it does both jobs.. .so that may be a reason to add one if you needed it.

[backpain...]

I don't see a need for a third recirc pump. Just use a good livewell additive and keep the water cool with ice and you should be fine. Just be careful how much you fill that 150qt cooler in a 14' boat. Every gallon of water adds approx 8lbs of weight to your rig. if you put 30 gallons of water in it you are adding 240lbs of weight to your 14' boat. It adds up fast.

In my 16' rig I have a fill pump through the transom. There is a single recirculation/pump out pump in the bottom of the well running to a t-fitting and valves to direct the water. one way is the spray bar at the top, the other is the pump out on the side of the boat. On the side I have an overflow that goes right out the side so I can change the water by simply adding more water. On a small boat I am a fan of smaller livewell and changing out the water a few times as opposed to relying on sheer volume.

[Christian M]

So I finished buidling the live-well this week. I ended up not using the 2 fish savers & going with a 500gph recirc aerator pump. My reasoning behind getting rid of the fish savers was that they took up too much space inside the livewell, there were too many moving parts, & I had to splice the wires together. The live-well looks much cleaner and is much less complicated w/just a spraybar & recirculator spray valve inside, & outside a "freshwater" pump in, and recirc pump w/a short length of hose to the spray valve. I do have 1 more question now though, the "freshwater pump" is 800ghp, & the recirc pump is 500 gph, should I match the two? I figured this way with water draining out of the overflow, I have more fresh water coming in per hour than recirculated water. Im not really worried about weight, the boat is like a tank, its a 14' glastron, I've fished 3 grown men w/all their gear (600-700lbs), 4 big marine batteries, & 2 trolling motors without any problems. The cooler will only be filled with about 25-30 gallons of water.

[Sfritr]

So I finished buidling the live-well this week. I ended up not using the 2 fish savers & going with a 500gph recirc aerator pump. My reasoning behind getting rid of the fish savers was that they took up too much space inside the livewell, there were too many moving parts, & I had to splice the wires together. The live-well looks much cleaner and is much less complicated w/just a spraybar & recirculator spray valve inside, & outside a "freshwater" pump in, and recirc pump w/a short length of hose to the spray valve. I do have 1 more question now though, the "freshwater pump" is 800ghp, & the recirc pump is 500 gph, should I match the two? I figured this way with water draining out of the overflow, I have more fresh water coming in per hour than recirculated water. Im not really worried about weight, the boat is like a tank, its a 14' glastron, I've fished 3 grown men w/all their gear (600-700lbs), 4 big marine batteries, & 2 trolling motors without any problems. The cooler will only be filled with about 25-30 gallons of water.

Just a question: 25-30 gallons of water is a HUGE livewell. Are you putting musky or pike in it or just bass? 30 gallons of water equates to an additional 240lbs. Is that a bit much? It sounds very well built though

[quanjig]

I have a similar set up in 14' jon with a couple of things done differently that what you have done. In my opinion, you don't want to bring in "new" or fresh water into your well after the initial fill. I think you have to do double the work, meaning you have to rechill and retreat the water more frequently. Once I get the water treated and at the temp I want it's just a matter of adding ice thru the day. Keep in mind you don't want to freeze the fish, what I've read thru the years is you only need to keep the water about 5 or so degrees cooler that the water you are fishing to keep your catch alive and happy! Sprayer bar, good, air stones, good, recirc pump, not such a good idea in my opinion.

[Christian M]

Just a question: 25-30 gallons of water is a HUGE livewell. Are you putting musky or pike in it or just bass? 30 gallons of water equates to an additional 240lbs. Is that a bit much? It sounds very well built though

Lol, Yea its an igloo 150qt marine cooler. Its primarily for bass in tournaments, but I fish for chain pickeril which I have caught up to about 42'. Also there is a reservoir less than 20 miles from my home thats stocked w/big hybrid striper & tiger musky. My boat is a Glastron trihull, its super wide & stable & its just one wide open deck so the well fits w/no problem. I usually fish with a friend who weighs about 260lbs, I weigh 200, plus our gear must weigh another 150. I'll be fishing solo during tournaments so I'm not concerned with the weight much.

[Christian M]

I have a similar set up in 14' jon with a couple of things done differently that what you have done. In my opinion, you don't want to bring in "new" or fresh water into your well after the initial fill. I think you have to do double the work, meaning you have to rechill and retreat the water more frequently. Once I get the water treated and at the temp I want it's just a matter of adding ice thru the day. Keep in mind you don't want to freeze the fish, what I've read thru the years is you only need to keep the water about 5 or so degrees cooler that the water you are fishing to keep your catch alive and happy! Sprayer bar, good, air stones, good, recirc pump, not such a good idea in my opinion.

I have the well set up with everything on rocker switches. So I can turn on the freshwater aerator pump, fill the well, turn it off, then turn on the recirculator pump which also is an aerator & has a screen filter. That way i can keep the same water in the well w/an additive, add ice & manage the water temp while keeping the water circulating & aerated. I constructed the spraybar & fresh water pump w/PVC pipe & slide fittings so that if I want to drain some of the old water I just pop off the pump, take the end of the hose that draws in fresh water (which also has a screen filter on the end) pump out the old water, pop it back into place & fill it w/fresh water again. I also have the option of opening the overflow valve & just letting both pumps run so that there is a constant flow of fresh, aerated water being pumped in, recirculated, & dumped out. Ill take pics & post them so u guys can see everything.

[Christian M]

Ok so I tested the live-well for the first time this weekend and the results were 50/50. The recirculator pump worked awesome & started pumping water the minute I turned it on, but the freshwater pump gave me a little trouble. I had the freshwater pump attached to the side of the well with a 6' length of hose running to the back of the boat. Seems the freshwater pump needs to skim the water & can't just draw water up. I don't know why I didn't realize earlier, I see the same thing happen with the filters in my fish tank, I have to add water to the filter before the filter actually begins to cycle water. So I made a slight modification, I attached the hose to the cooler, and the pump to the end of the hose. Now I can put the pump in the water & let it fill the well, not as convenient, it'll work for now. Soon I plan to just go through the hull with the fresh water pump.

[614-Bass]

One thing you might want to look into is a housing for the pump to recirculate int he livewell so you dont clog the pump when fish spit up, if im understanding your setup right. I had a pump to a spraybar in mine and when fish would spit on crawfish it would clog up like crazy

[TommyBass]

30 gallons isn't too much. Any boat sold for tournament use has at least that, and usually more. Some may have only 20 gallons livewells, but they generally come with two or so, that way you don't have a full limit in one side.

I think its a poor idea to NOT put in fresh water, at least every so often. No matter what 'products' or how much ice you put in, you are still not removing the fish's waste from the water. The fish live just fine in the lake, and there is nothing better for them than a vast supply of replenished lake water. Unless your filling your livewell with 95 degree water, they will be fine. On hot days I genearlly let a frozen 2 L bottle float around, and turn my timer on freshwater to around 7 minutes... or manually bump it myself every 15 or so.

I gurarentee you that you do not need any livewell or fish treatment if you do it this way, combined with recirculation or air bubblers. And keep it dark and protected as possible. My fish are usually TOO lively, even after 8 hour tournaments.

[TommyBass]

O... and Christian, those pumps are not designed to pull water large distances. Most are actually designed to pull strait through your hull, with no hose attached to their inlet. Even if they work like that, it will drastically decrease their life due to cavitating, or, running when no water is in the housing.

You did the right thing by temporarily putting the pump on the other side, and I would just move it to a thru-hull as soon as you can to save you some time

[Christian M]

So I had a chance to put the livewell to the test and it worked great! Putting the pump on the other end of the hose was the key. I also shortened up the hose so that the pump doesnt have to work so hard. I just put the pump right overboard and it pulls water up about 3 feet of hose. I changed the water out every couple hours, added a few 12oz bottles of frozen lake water when the temp started rising, and put in a few capfulls of "catch & release". I kept a couple nice fish alive for over 6 hours until they were released live & well. I definitely will go thru the hull first chance I get.