Aerator Help

[Alvin Roberts]

I have a 1996 Nitro.170TF. The livewell is not aerated. I only have one switch on the console that pumps in fresh water. I normally release the fish I catch but last summer I decided to keep a few. Over the course of a few hours fishing on a hot south Mississippi day I had a couple die and a few more that were very close. I would like to fix that issue but I am not sure what I need. I have a Bass Pro catalog and I see several different aerator pulls and kits. Could someone help me along with this? Does a hole need to be cut into the livewell? Or do the lines run to the back? Does anyone have a recommendation for a aerator or kit? And should it be run periodically with a simple on/off switch or a timer? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Did you empty and refill your wells during the day? I had no aerator on my 929 and never lost a fish even on hot days.

 

[Alvin Roberts]

I did not. I didn't know that would help. I was just trolling around fishing all day.

 

[Alvin Roberts]

okay, here comes a dumb question...this is my first boat. Do you put the plug in the livewell, fill it and then run the fill pump ever so often and as it fills the hot water goes out the overflow?

 

[Mike Orth]

Alvin,



I own the same boat. Mine has a 12 Inch pipe that fits into the drain hole in the bottom of the driver side live well compartment. When you are fishing you will need to remember to turn your pump on frequently so that fresh, oxygen rich water is pumping in the well and forcing the old water out via the stand pipe. It is also recommended to keep the live well water 5-7 degrees cooler than the lake water - when lake temps get above 75 or so. Adding ice to the well works to do so. Remember that the hotter the water gets, the less oxygen it holds. A lack of oxygen kills fish.



I found it to be a pain to remember to always manually run my live well pump throughout the day, so I bought/installed a new switch that has a timer built in. This allows me to turn on my pump and let the timer take care of keeping the well full of fresh water. I usually run mine on the 30 second on, 30 seconds off cycle when the water temps on the lake are high.



Give me a shout with questions about this or anything else related to the boat.



Mike

612.655.7056

 

[cq]

I had a 96 170DC w/115, had overflow tube, but ran in manual added timer for the pump and auto bilge pump for getting caught in heavy rain or heavy back wash. I got lazy at times.

 

[Alvin Roberts]

thanks Mike. I will look for a timer to order tonight when I get home from work. That sounds better than buying an aerator I think. Thanks everyone for the comments.

 

[Mini]

No aereator in a 929???? Impossible!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I had fill....empty.....and recirc. That's it. Oh, and an Auto mode. I just put it in Auto and it dumped and refilled throughout the day. Nice thing about my 929 was that the overflow was plumbed to go out the rear not into the bilge like the new Ranger....

 

[Mini]

The overflow on your Ranger is pumped out the rear too.



And you had areators in the recirc mode. It was the Pro-Air system standard on all 9 series boats of that vintage.

 

[Chris Droke]

I added a pump inside my livewell and a made a spray bar out of small pvc pipe. I wired the pump in the well to a timer to recirculate the water. I use the factory livewell switch for filling and adding new water during the day. There are several options to add oxygen in the livewell too. One of the easiest and cost effective is to buy a 12v air pump available at BPS. It costs around $45. I mounted it in the bilge area of my 170DC and ran two air lines, one to each side of the livewell. Installed two weighted air stones that were made for large minnow buckets and wired it to a simple on/off toggle switch i installed in the factory switch panel. Now I have the ability to add fresh lake water, run the aerator on the timer and pump oxygen in the well at all times. I had some trouble losing fish in hot weather before I did all this but not anymore. I use chemical if I'm in a tournament too. Lots of different opinions about that, but it seems to work well for me. I do add some ice in the form of 20oz coke bottles filled with water and frozen. Hope this helps

 

[Alvin Roberts]

I appreciate all the suggestions. I don't fish tournaments but I don't like loosing fish when I do decide to keep a few either. This is a great forum and I do appreciate the help.

 

[Mini]

I use one of these for supplemental help (on the trailer, HUGE bag of fish...etc.) I run the wires out of the livewell into the rigging compartment and attach to a trolling motor battery with the heavy duty alligator clips.



http://www.basspro.com/Fish-Saver-Portable-Aerator/product/1283/



it can also be used for a spare bilge pump if you keep a section of hose on board.