stupid question about coolers

“OK I am too lazy to comparison shop at all of the local discount stores & I would rather have my TT friends answer my questions.

At our concession/bait shop we currently store our live minnows in a shed, in an old chest freezer with the lid removed, but this weekend we were thinking, why not just keep them in a big cooler, inside the store? It is hassle to go out to the shed to sell minnows, and we think they might live longer inside with the air conditioning. We recently rearranged things so we have some space we could use for this. We have a double aquarium pump that we use to aerate the water, I guess we would need a fairly large cooler with a removable lid & a drain spout to facilitate changing the water.

Anyway, my question is this: all of the coolers I have bought in the past few years have hinged lids, does anyone still make coolers with removable lids? Should I just buy a cooler I like with a hinged lid & use a saw to remove the lid? Does anyone have a different idea how to store minnows indoors without spending a lot of money? I don't want to use an aquarium, too hard to clean, and minnows are "disposable" fish with a very high mortality rate. We usually just drain half the water a couple of times a week & refill with cold water from our well, & use a "Minno-Life" product of some kind for their nourishment.

Any suggestions would be welcome.
last edited: 6/26/05 5:50:36 PM”

“how about just get some of those pop-up aquariums?

Ive sen em at a local pet shop- they are round and some kind of flexible platstic they use to store feeder fish in. Not very big- about the sixe of a cooler.”

“never seen those SC, how big are they? I would probably need at least 15-20 gallons?”

“I think they are 15 gallon. I can ask my friends (who own the shop) where they get thiers.”

“I just bought a 40 qt. coleman that plugs into an outlet or lighter. No ice and it works great. You can stnd it up like a little fridge or lay it down and the door comes off and is reversable. Walmart has them for $67.”

“omahiker, you might try a big watering trough too. If there's a Tractor Supply Company place near you, I bet they would have them. I've also heard that it's better to keep minnows in enclosures with rounded ends, because they tend to bunch up in the corners and die, but I don't know that for a fact.”

“Interesting suggestion Nigal. Does that plug-in cooler have a drain spout? I think I really need that to simplify changing the water. Otherwise it's like a bucket brigade, and the, uh, "waste products" always seem to sink to the bottom, which is one of the advantages of a drain spout.

bit, I think even the smallest stock tank would probably be too big, but our minnows do tend to bunch up in the corners of the tank, I don't know if that makes them die faster or not. We usually have a couple of bricks in the water with them (to keep the air hoses submerged) and they congregate around those as well.”

“Oh, you want something you can fill with water? This cooler won't work then. Every bait shop I've been in has the cattle water things like bit said.”

“I keep my koi in a plastic storage bin with the filter attached to the side. It just slips over the edge of the bin. Couldn't be easier. They're babies, not big yet, so that's where they're staying until I build the ma pond. It has about 12 gallons of water in it. The filter came from wally world. It sounds like you could just use a larger bin with a larger capacity filter.”

“"because they tend to bunch up in the corners and die, but I don't know that for a fact.”

I hear this also goes for office workers and the cube next to the coffee machine/water cooler.”

“Perhaps a washtub then? I dunno about the sizes on those things, seems like 20gal would be about right if they make one that size.”

“I am still thinking a cooler might be my best bet, my space is somewhat limited (I will probably be setting it on top of the apartment size refrigerator that I use to store boxes of worms). But no one has mentioned any coolers with a removable lid & a drain spout? Does anyone know if such a thing exists these days?

We have become quite the "minnow wranglers" in the past year, but it's not a rewarding job. Minnows are really dumb. For instance when we remove the drain plug from the old chest freezer they immediately try to swim through the hole & get stuck. We always put a screen over it but often a minnow or two will dive into the hole before we can position the screen, and then we have to rip their little fishy bodies apart with a bent piece of wire to unclog the opening. Disgusting. Also we are learning to separate the "really most sincerely dead" from the "mostly dead" who are swimming sideways or laying on the bottom of the tank. We always have a lot of birds combing through the grass where we toss out the dead minnows. At least they get some benefit out of the mass carnage.”

“why not make your own custom tank out of plywood and fibreglass the insides. Secure 3/4" styrofoam to the outsides and duct tape the heck out of it.
You can then install a hose bib for a garden hose drain and outlets for a recirculating pump that goes through a filter. Fabricate the lid just the way you want it. On the really hot days, throw in some ice to make the little fishies more comfy.
If you go this route, I would suggest that after the fiberglass cures for a week, fill it with water and soak a couple of bags of charcoal brickettes in it for a week or so to absorb any residual toxics.
Try to find someone that has done this before.”

“Or just buy a piece of flexible pond liner and you're good to go.”

“I haven't seen a cooler with a removable lid that would be big enough to do what you want. The big coolers all have attached lids, as far as I have seen.”

“Not sure why you need a cooler?
Most minnow tanks, are just that. A tank.
You regulate the temp and the water level of the tank by constantly refreshing the supply of cold water going in. Add an aerator and you're good to go. Do you not have a floor drain inside your store front?
If not keep the minnows in your utility room. Go buy a stand alone fiberglass utility sink and set it up. Leave the cold water dripping into the tank enough to match the output of the drain. Wire the aerator to a 9volt plug in and build a wire mesh screen for the top. Instant minnow tank.”

“OH!! This minnow tank thing is so exciting. I await the perfect answer with baited breath.


:-) LOL! - yes, BAITED!!”

“You think you're so funny, don't you lizs, but for me this is a SERIOUS matter!!

Guys, I appreciate the suggestions but the idea of me fabricating my own tank is absurd, you have no idea how inept I would be at something like that. Given that omahubby is even worse it has been a steep learning curve for me, owning a run-down building where almost everything needs fixing from time to time. I'm so clueless I didn't even know I had to prime my well pump after it had been drained & shut off for the winter. The reason I thought I might use a cooler is because it would be fairly cheap, easy (if the drain spout is built-in, and no, we don't have a floor drain), and convenient (since we usually transport the minnows from our supplier in a cooler anyway). If I didn't have to cut off the lid so much the better. I will just have to do a little shopping to find one that meets my needs I guess. I was merely hoping that the brilliant minds of TT could come up with a suggestion so that I wouldn't have to do any legwork.

...and so ends another useless TT thread...”

“A dehumidifier??

A big dehumidifier?? :-)

Seriously, I know it's important. I am amazed that these great minds didn't do better!!”