I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

I've worked almost 2 years to get a boat like this and finally have one. (I'm a little excited, bare with me.)

She's a 2005 Alumacraft 14/42 ... carpeted floors, carpeted bow, wired for bow and stern lights and a live well in the front bench seat. Great boat.

I was wondering if anyone has installed an aerator in a live well like this before and if so how/ what did you use?

I have a battery operated aerator from Harbor Freight I use to keep bait alive, but that 'aint gonna work.

Does anyone make a decent 12V system that is affordable?

( I'll go ahead a reserve a spot now for when I nearly sink it because I forgot to put the plug in the live well, lol! )

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

Walmart sells the Rule 500 gpm bait well pump kit for $24.95, and the Rule 800 gpm kit for $29.95. Both kits have everything you need to install.

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

Capt. Collywood said:

Walmart sells the Rule 500 gpm bait well pump kit for $24.95, and the Rule 800 gpm kit for $29.95. Both kits have everything you need to install.

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure you mean GPH and not GPM.

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

Yes, the brain was thinking gph and the fingers typed gpm....sorry.

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

Are you trying aerate bait or fish? If bait, the air pump type works fine. Frabil sells a 12V pump. For fish, the water pump type is probably better. While it does provide some aeration with the top of the water, the water flow through the tank helps pass more water across the fishes gills. Ability to exchange water is key to keeping the fish alive, as well.

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

I fish both in the bays of the gulf coast and offshore on a regular basis and have learned a little about this subject the hard way. Aeration is great but without a good supply of fresh water your bait or catch will die anyway! The water becomes contaminated with the waste from the fish and eventually kills them no matter how much oxygen is in the water. I got away from aeration many years ago and only use water systems on both my bay boat and offshore boat. They can be tricky to install because you will need to plumb the system through the boat. A simple method is to build a small bracket out of aluminum (which you can get at any Lowes or HomeDepot) and permanently mount it to the transom just below the water line but not below the bottom of the hull. Onec you have it mounted to the boat you can then attach a simple bilge pump to the bracket and run the plumbing either over the transome and into the hole where the steering breaches the deck or if your more adventureous you can run the plumbing throught the transom. I like this system for two reasons. #1. IT WORKS and is cheap. You fish or bait will last forever as long as you leave the pump on. #2. It is easy to replace the pump when it finaly dies, and they all do.

There are some down sides to this system. First, in this set up, the water will not get picked up by the pump when the boat is running at plaining speed because the pump will be out of the water. Second, I have lost fish when the line got tangled in the pump and mounting hardware. The answer to these problems is to fill the tank completely full if you are going to make a long run and plan on stopping for a minute or two every 30 or so minute if you have lots of bait ( travel 30-40 minutes with 10-12 dozen croaker without a problem). As far as getting lines caught in the pump, just be careful. It sticks out about 3-4 inches and should be less intrusive than the outbaord motor! I currently have my pump located above the tunnel, directly in front of the motor. Its above the water line when on a plain so there is no effect on the water getting to the outboard.

When it breaks or dies from old age, I go to walmart and get a new one for $20.00 and replace it in literally 5 minutes!

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

Thank you for all of the suggestions.

Well - I plan on using it for bait & keeping any fish I catch alive (not at the same time though) , the water pump sounds like the best option.

Does anyone have pictures of how you set yours up? I want to conceal any wires/ tubing as best I can to keep the boat clean looking as well as keep potential tangles/ trip hazards to a minimum.

Here's what I have to work with. (See photos)View attachment 121216View attachment 121217

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

I mounted a bilge pump in the tank with a spay bar and have that on a timer so it runs for 40 seconds every 3 minutes.

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

@ 5150abf

How did you route the tubing/ wiring?

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

Can't see your pictures Cap't use the 'Go Advanced' button to post them.
Don't ask me why.

Re: I just bought a boat! (Need aerator suggestion/ ideas please)

The one I have is actually for a livewell fill but the pick up goes straight down instead of being at a 90, made a bracket to hang it in the livewell and ran the wire thru the livewell wall with a dab of 5200, works really well.

I couldn't find a spray bar so I made one from some garden hose I had laying around, just drilled a bunch of 1/8'' holes in it.