Oxygenator problem.....2 much H2o???

[Crankbait1007]

I need some feedback. I purchased an oxygenator a while back and have had nothing but problems. The first one I got was a portable bait model and I had crazy bad effects with it….fish dying and all that. Guy told me I needed a larger model. So I upgraded. Now I’m just running it in a cooler converted livewell. It was to my understanding that you just turn it on and let it run. The first couple of times I used it when I placed a bass in the water she jumped out of that water like it was boiling hot. Now I’ve had bass thrash before but never like that. The bass that were in the livewell were jumping and thrashing like there was no oxygen in the water. The bass ended up dead. My water wasn’t even that hot. What I ended up doing was taking to altronix timer chips and making my own timer. The box consisted off two timers. Timer a would come on every 30 minutes (or whatever I set it to). Timer a would trigger timer b (which was the one that actually ran the oxygenator) which would run for 3 minutes. So basically every 30 minutes my oxygenator would come on for 3 minutes. In looking back my bass seemed like the sustained burns! They were red and irritated around the fins gills and even mouth. I’ve been doing some looking and it seems that you can actually over oxygenate water?? I’m no scientist or fishery biologist so I’m looking for help and opinions about this oxygenator. Keeping my bass healthy and alive is important to me! A test I did was I took two five gallon buckets and put a dozen minnows in each bucket. One with the little bait Oxygenator in it and the other just plain water with an air stone. The bucket with the oxygenator in it killed the baitfish within around 7 hours The other bucket kept the fish alive for two days before I released them.

[PaBass75]

That's odd..
Water, based on it's temperature, can only hold a set amount of dissolved oxygen.
It would be nigh impossible to over saturate it using a portable oxygenator.
Federal/State Fish Hatchery DO Requirements for transport are 7.2 to 15.0 ppm in fresh water, based on temperature.
Assuming you're in that range, it should be fine..
I'd guess either the temp is too high or the water is being polluted somehow..?

[JayInGrapevine]

Get in contact with Carl Wengenroth. He owns the Angler's Lodge down at Amistad and he worked with TPWD on creating a real oxygen system.
if you have a facebook profile he's on there
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000933314529
or you can call him 830-775-1586
Tell him what you're trying to do and that Jay Davis sent you. He's really knowledgeable and passionate about fish care.

[steve1206]

I assume you are not using a salt based additive...???

[Crankbait1007]

Thanks guys. PaBass my water is typically cooler …around 72-75 and that may be a problem in that cooler water holds more oxygen. JayinGrapevine I will definitely get in contact with Carl….thanks. And steve 1206 no I’m not using any type of salt based additive.

[chris c]

You can't use an oxygenator as your sole means of adding oxygen to the water...If you don't have an aeration system, your fish will die....The oxygenator is meant to help add oxygen to aerated water. I don't believe it is possible for the oxygenator to add enough oxygen to water to kill fish. Make sure you aerate the water, keep the water 75-80 degrees, and do not use an additive that has salt like rejuvenade or please release me.

Chris

[JayInGrapevine]

Please Release Me or Sure Life is fine. A minute amt of salt is fine for the fish, it also has a light sedative to keep the fish from thrashing around and hurting themselves, plus it helps build them slime coat. Depending on the water temp I might suggest adding some ice (bagged ice is actually fine, it contains less chlorine than tap water and Sure Life has an additive that neutralizes any chlorine form other sources). I might also look at where you're getting your water from, if you're loading up first them in the morning in the take off area, you have to realize that water is probably pretty tainted with excess two stroke oil and other contaminants from other boats sitting there idling. Rejuvenade is junk, it has garlic in it which irritates their gill filament and stresses them out. They feel like they're on fire, that's why they act like they're so lively when you look in your livewell. These additives aren't like a drug you find at the pharmacy, they don't have to list the ingredients on the bottle so be really careful with some of this stuff.

[Crankbait1007]

You can't use an oxygenator as your sole means of adding oxygen to the water...If you don't have an aeration system, your fish will die....The oxygenator is meant to help add oxygen to aerated water. I don't believe it is possible for the oxygenator to add enough oxygen to water to kill fish. Make sure you aerate the water, keep the water 75-80 degrees, and do not use an additive that has salt like rejuvenade or please release me.

Chris

Do you have one? thats the problem i was told it was. but i have a spray bar that runs pretty much all the time.

[Paul Shibata]

As a fishery biologist I am entrusted to ensure the survivorship of the fish in our tournament series. Renegade Bass has been using the oxygenators in both our live release boats and I can speak to your problem. I suspect that your issue is an over-saturation of oxygen. The oxygenators are extremely efficient at creating dissolved oxygen especially in an absence of any fish to help balance through consumption. If you fill your well and run your oxygenator for a lengthy period prior to the introduction of your first bass, you may have unfortunately created an over-saturation of oxygen which will kill your fish. The fish will appear to be hyperactive and will demonstrate the redness that you described prior to their death. This is an unfortunate possibility but when used appropriately the oxygenators are undoubtedly the most efficient way of creating the true dissolved oxygen which fish require. Despite the obvious presence of bubbles, most conventional aeration systems will only introduce a fraction of the dissolved oxygen required. Without blabbing for too much longer, this is the protocol which we endorse: (1) Fill your livewell in advance of your first fish but in an effort to control temperature, keep the freshwater flowing. (2) Turn on your oxygenator when you catch your first fish. The oxygenator can run continuously from that point forward assuming that your oxygenator has been appropriately sized for the volume of your livewell. (3) Aerators can run continuously which will help release the hydrogen gas from the water surface. (4) Fresh water must be introduced every 15-30 minutes to help dilute the build up of ammonia (fish waste) which would otherwise begin to poison your catch. (5) If you elect to use a chemical additive, from our research only rejuvenade or the U2 formula are safe to use in combination with an oxygenator. The oxygenators "hydrolyse" the water molecule into oxygen and hydrogen and unfortunately are equally effective of splitting a salt molecule into sodium and chlorine. The sodium is okay but the chlorine will of course kill your fish. For this reason only formulas that do not contain salt are safe to use.

Hope this helps,

[Crankbait1007]

First let me say I was in no way bashing the oxygenator. I believed I was over oxygenating them but wasn’t sure. Curious what ppm is the best for healthy bass? Unfortunately I was never told about the recirculation. Question you said (1)” Fill your livewell in advance of your first fish but in an effort to control temperature, keep the freshwater flowing” So is it better to keep the temperature at near lake level temperatures rather than trying to keep the water cooler. I was always concerned about this and would even attempt to raise the temperature of my live well gradually before fish release. I never really got a chance to put my timers to the test. But I’ve gotten some good info.