What do you guys think of this idea for smaller livewells and fish health??

[Waterfoul]

Some of us have smaller livewells that use a kind of "gravity flow" system. Water is pumped into the well and flows out an overflow tube or hole, with no option for pump out. On most boats this kind of system is useless while the boat is on plane.

I've been kinda thinking... for guys like myself who have smaller livewells with the gravity flow system would a constant flow system be benificial while running across the lake? There are a few lakes where you might have a fairly long run back to the weigh in... especially if you are in a slower boat like I am.

You could take a speedometer pickup, mount it to the transom, and then run that little tube into your livewell. This way while you are moving there would be constant flow thru your livewell. The tube isn't big enough to overflow the livewell (at least not on my Tracker) and it would provide fresh water and keep the livewell full the entire time you are on plane. I know that my livewell will lose quite a bit of water while running on a choppy lake.

What do you guys think? Is it worth a try? I think it would be easy to retrofit on my boat since I can reach the outside rear wall of my livewell fairly easy to run the hose into the well. Drill a small hole, run the water line in, seal it up with some sealant. Then if it doesn't work it can easily be removed as well. This entire system could be done for the cost of the speedo pickup (which I can get cheap due to working at West Marine).

[TritonTR20]

Sound like it would work...

[Cy]

I don't know if a speedo tube would provide enough water to be helpful.  I think you would get a very small trickle of water into the well.  I would like a recirc pump would be the best, but I don't know if it is worth th cost.  You could add an Oxygenator, http://www.keepfishalive.com/index.php but again I think they are $80 or $90.  I think the best bang for the buck is a 12 volt air pump either for live wells or for aquariums.  Something like this for $35 would be perfect for your boat.  Put in on a toggle switch or a timer and I think you will have no problem with dead fish.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21276-cat21306&id=0013525013714a&navCount=5&podId=0013525&parentId=cat21306&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21306&hasJS=true

Just my thoughts.

Cy

[Waterfoul]

Cy, I had the speedo tube come off the back of the speedo on a bigger boat I once owned and it soaked my feet in seconds!!!  Granted I was doing 55-60 mph or so...

I know how I'm going to test this... I'll use the existing speedo pickup on the transom... take the current speedo hose off it, run a seperate tube along the deck into the open door of the livewell and simply go for a ride to see how it works.

Granted... I'll have to wait a while for soft water!!

[MBell]

I think the best bang for the buck is a 12 volt air pump either for live wells or for aquariums.  Something like this for $35 would be perfect for your boat.  Put in on a toggle switch or a timer and I think you will have no problem with dead fish.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat21276-cat21306&id=0013525013714a&navCount=5&podId=0013525&parentId=cat21306&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat21306&hasJS=true

Just my thoughts.

Cy

This is the way to go, $35 at bass pro.  It will also work while your not running.  I have a pump out, so I pluged my wells and put one of these in.  It's also quieter than a recirq pump, I've seen it make a difference on bed fish.  The speedo would also put water in your wells all the time.  No sense in carrying around full livewells with no fish.  Might not be a big deal on a smaller boat but my 36 gallon well filled adds 300lbs!! 
 
-Matt   

[Waterfoul]

Actually I thought of that (always full) but my livewell doesn't work that way (it would take me a while to explain).  I would never have more than about 2 gallons in my livewell unless I wanted to.

As for the aerators... I have one... but you need to remember that I'm only trying to keep the livewell full... not areated... fresh water is much better for fish than aerated water... constant flow is what I"m after while on plane.

[dmills4124]

Man I can't believe how much I have been learning from this web site. I disconnected my old speedometer to make room for other stuff on my dash. I'll use the GPS for MPH. I did not pull the old hose out from under the dash. Man what a surprise when we went on plane the next time out on the lake. You may not think that your questions or comments are very important but someone may just learn from what you think is a given. I like the idea of a continuous flow of water in my live well of my old(1977) Terry bass boat. If I forget to plug the bottom drain hole in my live well when I go up on plane it sucks the water out the back. When I stop it fills back up to the water line. By the way we have two battery operated airpumps. One for each live well.
Enough for now.
later Ya'll
don m