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Polycraft 455 Live bait tank DIY


dwan8337

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Hi Raiders,

Just my 2c worth if any of you guys owning a poly 455 and want a live bait tank but not sure how. Inspired by Dhype (Trung) :thumbup: .

Materials -

Live bait tank: Sant Marine "FISH BOX LARGE WITH CUTTING BOARD" as it has the a slanted edge which sits neatly with the angle edge at the back of the 455's

Pump: Any bilge pump will do preferably 500gph+. My ones an 800gph+

Wedge Foam: An angled grade M polystyrene foam from Clark rubber. It's roughly how much you'll need to put under the tank to wedge it nicely against the back of the poly. Also acts as a shock absorber.

Aluminium brackets: From bunnings to horizontally stabilise the bait tank

Bungee cord: Whitworths to pull the bait tank down onto the foam.

Sounder mount: Whiteworths

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WOW - Looks just like my setup !! :biggrin2: Good stuff!

Just a hint .. you should reverse the lid of the baittank so it opens out to the back of the boat, this way you can actually see whats inside the tank when you are inside the boat

Your inlet hose looks like it has been mounted too low.. you might find the water inside the tank will drain out when the pumps is turned off....

Cheers

Trung

Edited by dhype
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WOW - Looks just like my setup !! :biggrin2: Good stuff!

Just a hint .. you should reverse the lid of the baittank so it opens out to the back of the boat, this way you can actually see whats inside the tank when you are inside the boat

Your inlet hose looks like it has been mounted too low.. you might find the water inside the tank will drain out when the pumps is turned off....

Cheers

Trung

Spot on! it does drain out hahaha may have to find a cork to plug the inside! first timer lol noobed it

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Looks good

One problem i see is that you have the bilge pump very close to your transducer

Transducers dont like too be too close to other electrical devices could cause issues when you run them together

Edited by Framedtrash
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Spot on! it does drain out hahaha may have to find a cork to plug the inside! first timer lol noobed it

Hi, car'nt you just get a one way valve / hose conector

Or make one, a piece of conduit with a marble in it ect.

which should solve that problem

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few extra tips

live bait tank on port side (passenger side) to counter weight of driver/clear transducer

hose in should be at top to and driping to create airbubbles when it hits water so drain outlet should be lower then the intake

clear lid so u can see if anything is wrong inside eg squid caught in outlet ect

personally i wouldnt have a external livebait tank due to live bait Yakkas are hard to hold on to unless u use a net u will loose a few trying to get them out, as they are slipery and have seen many people drop livies over the side.

get a pick up fo underside of the bilge will keep water fresh when on the move

put a tap valve on the inlet

hope these tips help

Cheers Andrew

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few extra tips

live bait tank on port side (passenger side) to counter weight of driver/clear transducer

hose in should be at top to and driping to create airbubbles when it hits water so drain outlet should be lower then the intake

clear lid so u can see if anything is wrong inside eg squid caught in outlet ect

personally i wouldnt have a external livebait tank due to live bait Yakkas are hard to hold on to unless u use a net u will loose a few trying to get them out, as they are slipery and have seen many people drop livies over the side.

get a pick up fo underside of the bilge will keep water fresh when on the move

put a tap valve on the inlet

hope these tips help

Cheers Andrew

Cheers buddy,

I've already noobed it with the intake positions so might just get a cork and plug it in on the inside when on the move. With the poly 455 there's just nowhere to put and the passenger side has a ladder =( I may get the clear top like you say but that'll have to be custom.

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Looks good

One problem i see is that you have the bilge pump very close to your transducer

Transducers dont like too be too close to other electrical devices could cause issues when you run them together

I had no idea but your right...its not very accurate on the move now unless at about 2-3 knots

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Might as well beat you down some more...

With the bugee tie downs buttons.. It looks like though you screwed them directly into the bait tank, you should use some form of backing as the tank wall is really thin and will tear once full of water while traveling in rough conditions. Either use some large stainless washers or a large plastic block to brace behind the buttons.

With the water pump, no need to mount them on a L bracket... Just screw the pump directly on the polycraft as it does not matter which orientation it's at it will still pump. Having it so far back like what u got now will give you massive drag and rooster tail while on the plane.

I installed my pumps on the inside of the pods and works a treat..

Trung

Edited by dhype
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Cheers buddy,

I've already noobed it with the intake positions so might just get a cork and plug it in on the inside when on the move.

Depending on the hole size suggest you fit a drain plug to fill up the hole & reposition the inlet approx 50mm from the top.

This would also allow the tank to be drained more easily.

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Geoff

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  • 3 weeks later...

Shouldn't the inlet be at the bottom and the outlet at the top to clear the dirty water which can accumulate at the bottom of the tank?

This was my understanding of ideal live bait tank setups.

Marty

Marty With the fish swiming around agitating the water & the boat rocking around there is no dirty water.

The inlet needs to be at the top & the outlet about 25mm lower.

Geoff

Edited by Geoff
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Shouldn't the inlet be at the bottom and the outlet at the top to clear the dirty water which can accumulate at the bottom of the tank?

This was my understanding of ideal live bait tank setups.

Marty

I think so too read it somewhere with the U.S. Forums. Maybe they have some inbuilt mechanism to stop the water flowing outwards. These DIY ones should have it at the top. Oh wells note to myself for the next live well.

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Depending on the hole size suggest you fit a drain plug to fill up the hole & reposition the inlet approx 50mm from the top.

This would also allow the tank to be drained more easily.

post-731-025765400 1349642712_thumb.jpg

Geoff

Cheers Geoff! definitely do the drain plug after exams. Meanwhile i'll just need to plug the inlet with some cork or something..

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Might as well beat you down some more...

With the bugee tie downs buttons.. It looks like though you screwed them directly into the bait tank, you should use some form of backing as the tank wall is really thin and will tear once full of water while traveling in rough conditions. Either use some large stainless washers or a large plastic block to brace behind the buttons.

With the water pump, no need to mount them on a L bracket... Just screw the pump directly on the polycraft as it does not matter which orientation it's at it will still pump. Having it so far back like what u got now will give you massive drag and rooster tail while on the plane.

I installed my pumps on the inside of the pods and works a treat..

Trung

Yer i'll need to add stainless washers behind the buttons. The L-bracket.....i was like to my good mate that you clearly mounted it direct screw on the interior side of the pod. He was like narh narh trust me i got this...lol

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  • 3 months later...

From what I've seen in use (and on other posts in this forum) there are a few options for inlet configurations. The kit system that I bought has the inlet into the bottom of the tank (like yours) then an elbow fitted and a riser pipe running to the top. The riser pipe is capped off and holes drilled in it to act as a spray bar to sprinkle the inlet water onto the top. This agitates the water and adds a bit of air. Initially I didn't seal the connections up, as I planned to pull the riser pipe out to drain the tank out through the inlet, but, of course, while I was driving around the riser pipe came out and the tank drained down when I was stationary. So, I have sealed the connections up and added a drain plug as Geoff has suggested.

What I'll be putting on my next setup is for the inlet to come in at the top and a pipe running on the inside to the bottom of the tank to push the dirty bottom water up and create a bit of circulation. The trick is to drill a small hole in the top of the pipe above the water level. This will stop the water from siphoning back out out through the inlet, and add a bit of splash at the top. I think that adding the fresh water keeps the livies alive more that the splashing or any aeration system. (But I could be very wrong)

My system is also plumbed up and held in with straps so I can remove it (the kids love to tube more than I like to fish). Would you believe I didn't think of using garden hose quick disconnects like you have. I have been undoing stainless steel hose clamps. What a dumb! Time to get out there and have a look to see how I can fit them in.

Thanks for sharing your post, it's helped me!

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