Little Under Floor Live Bait Tank Project

[gazza2006au]

My mates suggested i place a live bait tank under my floor, ive spent the last 3 days making this and its finally in place

welding the 1.6mm aluminium was tricky so its far from the best but should work

i already have a bilge pump bolted to my transom so i plan on running my pump where it is with the hose up over the transom than down under the floor

i haven't decided on a location for the drainage weather it be to the side or above the bung any input?

what spray aerators or people using? my tank is around 270mm in the middle (deepest point) not sure if to go with a basic PVC hose type with holes drilled into the PVC pipe or splash out on a fancy aerator, open to any suggestions or possibly pic's of your live bait tanks

[Fed]

Make sure you have your life jacket on gazza.

[MyWay]

it will work only if your floor is above the water line few inches if not you can use it as kill tank or storige
Just add drain bung so water can drain down in bilge
nice work :thumbsup:

[scottar]

Make sure you have your life jacket on gazza.

LOL. Gazza, Fed is right mate as are the others. This will not work - it will purely fill the boat with water unless the water line is below the floor level which would be extremely unusual in a pressed tinnie. The only way it would be functional is with the addition of a second pump to pump water out at the same rate it is pumped in but if the out pump fails or blocks you are on a one way trip to Davy Jone's locker.

[TruBlue]

Mate not sure but it looks like u have a small raised forward deck? is there room for one on that and would that get it up high enough above the water line
Looks like a good tank so take MyWays advise n put a Bung in this one and use it as a storage tank n I know it's painful but knock up another for the forward deck
U can never have to much storage


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[Jeremy]

My mates suggested i place a live bait tank under my floor, ive spent the last 3 days making this and its finally in place



Get some new mates LOL

[Dignity]

My knowledge of how these systems work could be written on a pin bead but could Gazza get away with one bilge pump, have it so that it pumps out and syphon water in, probably need a way of priming the syphon hose though. On second thoughts, nice kill tank, I think I need a project like this while the wind is blowing.

[ranmar850]

As others have said, that is unlikely to work safely in a pressed tinny, due to low freeboard. Your deck is just not far enough above you water line. Just think of gravity and pressure head--water only wants to flow downhill, ie, from a higher level to a lower level. This is why people mount their tanks above floor level, so gravity will drain it. if you intend to feed it from a pump mounted in the water outside your transom, you would need a pump of equal rate to pump it out. if you were to feed it from below the water line, then have a pump in the tank to pump it out, it still won't really work, as the pump would need to exactly match the rate it is coming in, or you would a) pump it dry, which the bait won't like, or b) it will overflow onto your deck and fill the boat up.And you would need a totally secure tap system on the inlet to stop it flooding the boat when you are not using it. If your boat had a fully sealed deck with scuppers above the water line to drain off the deck, this could maybe be made to work.
So, long story short, this is a bad idea unless you can mount it so that the bottom of the tank is above your normal water line at all times.

[The Mad Cat]

Maybe an aeration system and a pump that can fill and pump out.

TMC

[Noelm]

You don't need the bottom of the tank above water, the drain/over flow can be at the top, as long as the surface is above water level outside, it will simply over flow, like all bait tanks should

[gazza2006au]

haha funny f...... ;D i took all this into consideration the floor is higher than a normal tinny the floor sits on the inside of the chines which is above water level haha, plus being a tiller there is always one person in the back if there are 3 of us 2 sit at the back

i plan on installing a one way valve for the drainage

but what i might do is take some clear hose down to the river fill it with water and run it down side the boat to check the water level on the side where the LBT is placed and at the transom before i drill the drainage hole

there is really no space to build a tank and put it up the front i have the bench seat (3 seat tinny middle seat removed) so only the small pocket under the front deck or the area between the seat and anchor shelf

i done a LBT a couple of years ago i hacked into the rear seat and said i wouldnt do it again

[mitc69]

what was wrong with a portable live tank? soo much trouble for that.....

[tunaticer]

You are going to have a wet arse every time you turn to port with that live well.......might need to address how you keep the water inside.

[ranmar850]

You don't need the bottom of the tank above water, the drain/over flow can be at the top, as long as the surface is above water level outside, it will simply over flow, like all bait tanks should
yes, but in a tinny without a sealed floor, as it appears to be, he is filling his bilge up as the tank overflows.

[scottar]

How much fall do you have then Gazza. If it is only a small amount you will need to be very careful / watchful. If wave action has the ability to contact the outlet it will impede the overflow outlet and very possibly overflow the tank into the boat. If you do go ahead, I would ensure you have an automatic bilge pump installed as well if you don't already. Make sure the inlet is flow adjustable to allow for whatever outflow you end up getting. You will also need to make very sure that bait can not clog the output or reduce it's flow. It may even be worth using a float switch as a safety cut out.

[gazza2006au]

decided today to make the tank into a kill tank for now but my floor is going soft in one spot so i will need to tear it up and re-do it over winter i plan on making another kill tank but instead of using the already cut hatch i will make a nice long skinny kill tank with a flat bottom

we mostly target King Fish and Flat Head which are both long slender shape fish and the odd Salmon so i'll tailor a tank around those fish, in NSW king fish must be 65cm for a legal take, the tank i just built is only 50cm wide so they may not fit

also looking to replace my plastic live bait tank with a custom aluminium tank with 8 sides hopping to get rid of the 1.6mm aluminium sheet i have been working with for the past couple of years its just too difficult for me to work with as im inexperienced at welding all together but giving it a go, actually just bought another welder today a AC/DC TIG machine so hopping to practice some more and nail out some nifty accessories

this is my current live bait tank just made from a plastic Bunnings water container but does the trick

[Dignity]

Gazza, have you thought of upgrading the boat, seems simpler, but then I am looking through a red colored glass at the moment. Honestly I know where you're at, I've replaced the half floor in my tinnie with a full floor requiring a raising of nearly 70 mm, raised the transom, added a casting deck, welded a bracket on the front and added a leccy motor, never ending. Don't even bother asking about the big boat or the yak, I think we are just destined to keep tinkering.

[gazza2006au]

Gazza, have you thought of upgrading the boat, seems simpler, but then I am looking through a red colored glass at the moment. Honestly I know where you're at, I've replaced the half floor in my tinnie with a full floor requiring a raising of nearly 70 mm, raised the transom, added a casting deck, welded a bracket on the front and added a leccy motor, never ending. Don't even bother asking about the big boat or the yak, I think we are just destined to keep tinkering.

i bought the boat not long ago mate its had a few mods done the transom has been raised about 40mm for optimum outboard performance, the transom has been beefed up, the floor was added at some point along with the floor supports, the fuel tank and battery trays have been added, carpeted throughout, middle seat removed

im just adding little things i need or would like for my own comforts the kill tank is a good idea so it gets rid of the esky :)

[gazza2006au]

half way thru welding the new bait tank, decided on moving my battery and placing a 49 litre custom built by me live bait tank in the rear right corner

im new to welding and teaching my self to TIG weld aluminium, getting a little bit of contamination here and there still unsure where its coming from

but here is the tank so far

i will be adding a internal removable divider wall to keep yakkas and poddy mullet separate from squid

[brett62]

Mate what are you cleaning the joint with before you weld ?


half way thru welding the new bait tank, decided on moving my battery and placing a 49 litre custom built by me live bait tank in the rear right corner

im new to welding and teaching my self to TIG weld aluminium, getting a little bit of contamination here and there still unsure where its coming from

but here is the tank so far

i will be adding a internal removable divider wall to keep yakkas and poddy mullet separate from squid

[gazza2006au]

Mate what are you cleaning the joint with before you weld ?
nothing mate because its fresh aluminium the plastic was just removed before tacking together, looks like my contamination is from my effected filler rods

ill put up more pictures as i progress

[brett62]

nothing mate because its fresh aluminium the plastic was just removed before tacking together, looks like my contamination is from my effected filler rods

ill put up more pictures as i progress

The material will still have oxidation even with the plastic cover. If you get a s/s wire brush and some Metho and clean you will be all good.