Livewell Aeration

[MStrick9]

I have a livewell that has a divider in the middle. It has a place for a plug so that you can completely fill it up. My question is once it is full, how will the fish stay alive if there is not a constant flow of fresh water or an aerater system of some type. This seems like it may have been a make shift operation for the previous owner. Can someone tell me what needs to be done and if this sounds like the proper set up. I am ok with having the one livewell with a divider in the middle but I thought that a livewell system was supposed to have a constant flow of water moving through it.

[Silvertip]

The livewell needs a standpipe rather than a plug. If you don't know what a standpipe is, take the lid off the tank of your toilet. The big pipe is a standpipe. When water gets too high it runs over the pipe and down the drain. Your live well works the same way but you are wrong that you need a constand flow of water. You do need aerated water and you do need to replace the water. That's done by simply running the fill pump periodically. But an even better way to accomplish this is with a live well timer. It simply replaces the pump switch and has OFF-MANUAL-AUTO settings. In the manual position the pump runs all the time. But you simply run it long enough to fill the livewell than switch to AUTO. The pump will run for 30 seconds or so and shut off for three minutes or so. Some have adjustable times. To drain the tank at days end, turn the pump off and pull the standpipe.

[MStrick9]

Thanks Silvertip. That makes perfect sense. I just have one final question. If I install the standpipe and a livewell timer, do I need an aerator as well or will that take care of all my needs?

[Silvertip]

No. The spray head that dumps water into the live well aerates the water and the process of adding fresh water to the tank reduces the need for actual aeration.