D.I.Y Bait Tank

Hey There!

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Today I'm gonna be sharing a D.I.Y./re-purposed upcycle! Before we get into it though, i want to share a little backstory on the inspiration behind it. 

(Tennessee, 2016)

My husband loves catfishing. He started fishing with his Papaw at a young age and has been hooked ever since. (Pun intended lol!) If he's not working or at home, he's on the river. Fishing is his go to hobby, stress reliever and it's something he loves sharing with us as family. Seeing his face light up telling his childhood stories and watching how excited he gets before he goes out has got me hooked. A family that fishes together, stays together!

(Tennessee, 2017)

  

(Ohio, 2018)

(Ohio, left is 2017 @ 8 months pregnant, right is 2018)

So, when my husband told me that we were picking up a broken deep freezer to turn it into a bait tank, I was all in. Which brings us back to the point of this post- a d.i.y re-purposed upcycle. A deep freezer turned bait tank. 

Items you'll need:

-Old/broken/scrap/about to meet the junkyard (but not rusted) deep freezer

-2 air pumps

-Filter for up to 100 gallons

-2-4 Bubblers (Bubble Stone)

-Hoses that fit the bubblers to connect them to the air pumps

-Caulk or stop leak to prevent water leaks and seal the tubes in place (we used flex seal, works great!)

-Rod shelf

-Drill and approprite sized bit

-Wire cutters

-Shop vac or similar 

-Mask and protective glasses

Step 1: Obtain a broken deep freezer and put it in the ideal location. We got super lucky and found one posted for free. All we had to do was get it out of the owners house and back to ours.

Step 2: Give it a quick clean. I suggest not using soap or chemicals and just use warm water and rag. You're gonna be drilling a couple of holes and will need to re-clean before adding the water.

Step 3: Remove the panel to the motor for the deep freezer. Once you've removed the panel, start disconnecting the "insides". Once you've removed the motor and such, you'll want to vacuum up any debris.

(Where the motor was on our deep freezer.)

Step 4: With the drill and drill bit, drill the number of holes you'll need for the tubes. We have 4 hoses for our air pumps so we drilled 4 holes. You'll want to drill these in the back part of the compartment that once housed the motor. By doing so, you'll be able to connect the air pumps to the hoses directly at the bottom of the deep freezer and you'll be able to conceal the air pumps in this space. Also, you'll want to vacuum up any debris.

Step 5: Once you have the holes drilled, run the hoses through the holes. Pull them to the desired length. Once in place, you'll want to caulk or seal the area around the hoses. This prevents leaks and keep the hoses from moving around in the bottom. We also sealed all the seams on the inside for extra insurance. Once you've sealed everything, you'll want to wait 24 hours (to be safe) for it cure.


Step 6: Once the 24 hours have passed, test the area. Pour water on the area and watch for leaks- no leaks, you're golden. If you have any leaks you'll want to repeat step 5 and wait another 24 hours. Once the seal is cured and there are no leaks, you can attach the pumps and bubblers.

(Installed air pumps. As you can see, no leaks. Ever. lol)

Step 7: Next you'll want to install the rod that will be holding the filter inside the bait tank. We wanted our filter to be flush with the inside top, so we based our measurements off that. Doing this also allows us to run the cord out the top and we can add an extra filter in the future if we choose. Make sure you follow the instrutions included with the rod kit to ensure proper installation. 

Step 8: Once the rod is installed and secure, you can assemble and add your filter. Again, make sure you're following all the directions on the filter. The carbon filter in ours needed to be soaked in water for an hour prior to use. 

(Installed rod and filter. Also the sealed seams from step 5.)

(Here is the bait tank with the installed rod and filter, closed.)

Step 9: Add your water and turn the air and filter on! We added about 150 gallons to ours. Make sure the bubbles are flowing and the filter is running smoothly.

(Water added, filter and bubblers running.)

Step 10: This is the best part- add your bait of choice. We catfish, so we are starting with 9 3-4" goldfish and bluegill. Eventually, we'll add shad or moon eye when they come in from the lake. 

(It's not clear, but the orange is the goldfish, and the blue is the bubblers.)

Now, the finished product, a deep freezer transformed into a bait tank! Here's a little clip my husband recorded before the fish were added to the tank. 

Catfishing has brought us closer as a family- the kids and I absolutely love it! It's great bonding time and something we all look forward to year round. With this bait tank, we'll save time and some money on bait since its readily available. Also the kids love having a giant fish tank, can't beat that!

What are some hobbies you share as a family? Please, feel free to share in the comments, I would love to hear from you! And if you have any questions regarding the d.i.y shared or need help with your own, ask! Already have your own bait tank? Share! 

Thank you so much for reading and remember, always enjoy the little things!