Portable live well set ups

[Flipout15]

Hi everyone. It's that time of year again where I am wishing I had a live well on my 2320SL. Can anyone please post some pics or their live well setups? Not looking for anything factory rigged. Looking for portables or ones that you may have mounted on the deck.

Heavily leaning towards portable and any detail you can share.

Thanks

 

[Brent]

Warthog has a nice setup and it's portable. Check his 2530 project thread

 

[nicknotsebastian]

will take some pics next time at the boat.
super simple.
removed factory live well/lean post to open cockpit and offset lean post to accommodate special needs.
so - in its place (when needed)
50kg plastic barrel...the commercial kind - like they ship olives in.
notch in rim w/ clip to hold raw water hose. notched so lid can be on. hose clipped near rim so water "falls" in - aka, aeration.
about 1/3 down from top, 1" hole w/ "thru wall" valve attached to flex hose - flow/overflow drain. flow/overflow hose thrown into splash well.
at bottom, another 1" hole w/ "thru wall" valve for draining completely.
not sure where you'd keep it on your deck. i "pin" mine plus some bungee to hold at port aft up against the jump seat (near raw water outlet) on my 23 se. its heavy enough when full it more or less stays put unless its really snotty out.

keeps 20 macs or 20 herring (plus a bag of ice) all day. use it between three boats because its so simple and so portable.

 

[warthog5]

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12419&start=300

 

[Flipout15]

will take some pics next time at the boat.
super simple.
removed factory live well/lean post to open cockpit and offset lean post to accommodate special needs.
so - in its place (when needed)
50kg plastic barrel...the commercial kind - like they ship olives in.
notch in rim w/ clip to hold raw water hose. notched so lid can be on. hose clipped near rim so water "falls" in - aka, aeration.
about 1/3 down from top, 1" hole w/ "thru wall" valve attached to flex hose - flow/overflow drain. flow/overflow hose thrown into splash well.
at bottom, another 1" hole w/ "thru wall" valve for draining completely.
not sure where you'd keep it on your deck. i "pin" mine plus some bungee to hold at port aft up against the jump seat (near raw water outlet) on my 23 se. its heavy enough when full it more or less stays put unless its really snotty out

keeps 20 macs or 20 herring (plus a bag of ice) all day. use it between three boats because its so simple and so portable.

Thanks for the replies. Maybe a stupid question but do you keep ice in the live well with the baits? I never have in the past.

Thanks again.

 

[nicknotsebastian]

the ice keeps the bait (esp herring) happy. when they come from the deep - its COLD down there...

 

[willyk9]

What part of LI? You can come see my setup.

Portable Moeller 40 gallon on a rubber mat when full does not move at all. Have the outlet for the hose in the stern under the rear gunwale.

Drilled the hole for the inlet at the bottom with a right turn tee so it creates circulation and a larger outlet at the top with a hose I run out the scupper.

Picked up the plumbing supplies for about $30 locally.

 

[sydngoose]

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12419&start=300

Wart, do you have a picture of the live well installed on your 2530? What did you do for water pickup, high speed and at rest?

 

[MV Tall Tails]

I bought a used 30 gallon keep alive portable bait tank setup on craigslist. It is the kind you fill then use a built in bilge pump to circulate and airate the water. I used it like that, changing the water every hour or so with my washdown pump. It worked fine but gI ot sick of skimming the fish excrement and foam and changing the water. I removed the pump and installed a Kodiak baitwell kit. This was simply a 1 1/2" drain outlet which I drilled in at the top and a 3/4"? water inlet which I drilled slightly above the drain (per directions). I then added a Rule livewell pump to my raw water intake and used the extra port on it to run my wash down pump from. This setup now regularly keeps 30-40 Macs alive and healthy all day. It sits on the centerline of the deck, between my deck hatch and the fuel tank access hatch. I don't think I have any pictures but I will take a look. I could not be happier with the setup. If I had it to do again and could not find the used tank I would by a Moeller or maybe even try the olive barrel route since its just a strong plastic tub that you need.

 

[warthog5]

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12419&start=300

Wart, do you have a picture of the live well installed on your 2530? What did you do for water pickup, high speed and at rest?

I have a dual port livewell pump. For those that don't know.....The top port is for the livewell and the bottom port gives access to feed the Washdown pump...... The livewell pump does NOT run the washdown. It's simply a way to feed the washdown with only having one hole thru the hull.


Anyway a hose goes from the pump to the STB side where that removable panel is under the washboard in the ass end. In that panel is a bulkhead fitting for garden hose and a push/Pull switch to turn the pump OFFF/ON.

There is a hose that connects to the BOTTOM of the tank.... This way cool water enters the bottom and exits the top, creating a whole water column change. That's important!

Another important thing is to size your pump to the volume of your tank.

The guys @ Kodiak have done the reserch and here is their recommendation.

http://kodiakmarine.com/bait_pumps.html

360GPH = 7 to 16gal
500GPH = 17 to 30gal
700GPH = 30 to 40gal
1100GPH = 37 to 45gal.

Why is this important?

To MUCH is as bad as to little. People will have say a 20gal tank and then wplump a 1100GPH pump to it.

Now your changing the water over faster and keeping it cooler....BUT ! Your stressing the HELL out of the baits making them swim in a raging current.

A paid a bunch for my tank.....$40......Then $60 to ship it. ......Why did I want THAT drum?

Because it has a smaller footprint on the deck....BUT it has the height to install a 1 1/2in drain hose and be tall enough to just stick it over the side of the boat.....This is what makes it even more portable with not having to plumb a drain.


You want a 3/4in inlet and a 1 1/2in outlet.....You want the outlet screened over to keep baits from escaping.

I also have a bung installed for a drain, so I don't have to find a screwdriver and remove the fill hose to drain the tank.

 

[willyk9]

I use a 1100 gpm pump for my 40 gallon.

Works great, keeps everything from small bait to larger fish alive all day.

 

[CGeminski]

Flipout... I have a used oval well in good shape, no pump though. I am willing to sell it, thinking its about 25 gallons. I am also on LI. Text me at 631 466-6442 and I will send you pics and details. I would love to see it go to another CP member, just make me a fair offer.

Chris

 

[Flipout15]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all of the replies.

I ended up going with a Moeller 29 gallon. I swapped out the useless raw water wash down pump that came with the boat and put in an Attwood 800 gph live well/aerator pump. I hardly used the raw water washdown because the pressure really wasn't very good. I just hooked up the new live well pump to the switch that used to run the washdown.

I plumbed in the intake in the bottom of the bait well and put a drain out near the top. I just drain it right out through the scupper in the stern.

Haven't tried any baits in it yet but I think it will be great. I'll post a pic later.

Thanks again everyone

 

[Flipout15]

Flipout... I have a used oval well in good shape, no pump though. I am willing to sell it, thinking its about 25 gallons. I am also on LI. Text me at 631 466-6442 and I will send you pics and details. I would love to see it go to another CP member, just make me a fair offer.

Chris

Thank you Chris. I appreciate the offer but I ended up buying a 29 gallon Moeller.

Thanks again.

 

[warthog5]

It doesn't count unless you post pix's.

 

[Flipout15]

Posting some pics. Clear hose is the feed hose to bottom of tank.

Black hose is the drain from top of tank.

Made a connector that hooks the live well pump right to the old saltwater washdown hose. Attached a barb connector. I did swap out the old washdown hose in the bilge area as well with the same 3/4 in hose you see on the deck in the pic.

 

[sydngoose]

Looks slick- any inhibition of accessing your bilge hatch when utilizing the livewell?

 

[Flipout15]

Looks slick- any inhibition of accessing your bilge hatch when utilizing the livewell?

Only if I elect to place it right on top of the bilge hatch like I have it in the 2nd picture. I can keep it like it is in the 3rd picture or I can move it to the corner on either side of the stern. I will leave the hoses long enough to play around with it while fishing to find the most unobstructed spot. It's heavy when full but can still be dragged around as needed.

 

[sydngoose]

Nice-!

 

[B-Faithful]

Ace is the place for the portable livewell man... Plumbed with a bait sentry 1100gph pump.

I did add a valve to the bottom of the trash can to drain it.