# Building a LiveWell - Completed



## russ010 (Jan 25, 2009)

OK.. I know a few of you have been waiting for this.. and it actually works (tried it out today)

So first things first... I bought a 500 GPH bilge to serve as my aerator AND bilge for the livewell. So after I got this, I went to Home Depot to buy some plumbing supplies. I had an idea of what I wanted it to do, but I didn't know what all I would have to have because I forgot to look at the diameter sizes of the bilge, so I call bassboy1 from HD and he gives me all the details as I knew he would. I should mention, this is actually his design - I just kind of tweaked it a little bit.

I'm pretty sure the hose size that I bought is 3/4" OD (outside diameter) and the ID (inside diameter) is 5/8". Either way, the hose clamps snugs it up securely and it's in the livewell underwater so I'm not worried about leaking. That hose runs from the bilge pump to the first 45 pvc. I got 1/2" threaded elbows, and the gray pvc is actually a 12" riser which is used for sprinkler systems. I would have used regular pvc, but this was only .99 cents and I wouldn't have to buy a full stick of 10' since they won't sell in pieces. 












On the top of the riser, I put a 1/2" - 3/4 Side Outlet 90. The side coming up from the riser is threaded 1/2" fips (female threaded) and the 90 is 3/4". The pump is not fastened to the bottom of the livewell. There are 2 pvc clamps that are attached to the aerator pipe - this keeps the whole thing in the same position.






One side at a time...... *The aerator side first*.

Coming out the right side is 3/4" pvc into a 3/4" PVC Ball check valve. The next piece is about 18" of 3/4" pvc which has holes drilled in various places. I didn't care if I had a straight line of holes, I actually offset them one after the other so water would hit all over the livewell. In the very end is a 3/4" cap.











*Bilge Side....*

This side has a bout an 1.5" of 3/4" pvc that goes into a reducer. I took this from 3/4" down to 1/2" because I didn't want to buy more hose. I bought a 10' section and it was expensive because I got all they had in that one spot. They do have cheaper and I would suggest getting that. This 10' roll was about $18, ridiculous...

Anyways, the reducer is male threaded on the 1/2" side, and it screws directly into the 1/2" ball check valve. The fitting coming out of the check valve is a slip barbed adapter, which will let the hose slide right up on and then a hose clamp to hold it in in place. The hose is about 40" long and I drilled a hole dead even on the tub so that it can run straight out the front of the livewell and can be hung over the side when I'm ready to empty the livewell. When it's not hanging over the side, I can fold it up out of the way to the side.





















*Wiring...*

Wiring is a little tricky. I wanted this to serve multiple purposes, so I installed a 12v power source for the livewell to plug in to. I wired the cigarette lighter first so I would know how much wire I needed to add to my livewell pump depending on its' location.

I started at 12v power source. I plugged a few different adpaters into it so that I could make sure that no matter where I installed it, everything with a 12v power adapter could plug into it. So, right in front of the rear bench, next to the side wall is where it was placed. It also made running wires to the battery easy because I could just run them down the side wall channel.











With that in, I need to get power from the battery. I found an old Minn Kota battery connector and fabricated it to work for me. This allows me to simply unplug the power source to the connector. Now this connector has 10ga wire, and I'm running 14ga. To make 14ga fit in a 10ga connector, strip off a little more line and bend it back over itself... then you can just crimp it down.






Here's what I have at the battery. This is one battery that is ran in parallel to another battery on the other side of the bench. The main terminals with the large connectors is my front trolling motor. On the studs, there is the trolling motor connector which powers the 12v power source, and the other is the 4ga cable ends running to the other battery.






The livewell is next to wire. First, I ran the bilge pump positive wire (brown) up the riser and down the bilge side of the livewell.. this is how I determined where to place my toggle switch. I placed waterproof connectors on this, and ran an additional power line (red) back to the 12v adapter (plug-in). 
















If you follow the wires to the corner, you'll see where I drilled a 3/16" hole to run out. I have about 36" of positive and negative wire so that I can move the livewell around a little bit if needed.











*Filling up the Livewell...*

I didn't want to carry extra stuff with me to fill the livewell with, so I got this 800GPH aerator pump from walmart on clearance for $10.. but I think it was mismarked. They didn't look, and I didn't tell at the register. Gotta love self check out!

Anyways, I had longer hose to draw water up with, but that didn't work. While out on the water today I took my knife and cut the hose to about 3". I don't know if it's even needed.. I ended up dumping the hole thing in the water and water started pouring in! I did attach alligator clips to power this - so no switch. I only wanted this to be temporary since I won't be using it but a few times throughout the day.






*Pricelist...*

Keep in mind a few things.. the braided hose I used is expensive stuff, and you don't need to use this kind. This was all I could find on the aisle I was on (I built this thing in my head while in the store). 

Rubbermaid Tub, 22gal - $5 @ Wal-Mart
500 GPH Bilge Pump - $20 approx
PVC Fittings - $15 (the check valves are like $4-5 each)
10' 3/4" pvc pipe - $2
3/4" OD braided hose - $18 (get the cheaper stuff, but this stuff will last forever - atleast it better for that price)
Toggle Switch - $10
2 - 25' power wire rolls - $5
12v power source/plug-in - $6
Total Price - $85 roughly... You might have this stuff laying around like I did. I just priced it to help out with this post. 

You don't have to put the bilge side in the livewell, but it sure does make it easy to drain. I put about 18 gallons of water in there today, and when I tried to pick it up... well, lets just say that water wasn't going to be poured out by me that easily.


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## Jim (Jan 25, 2009)

Looks good Russ! I want to make the smae thing with a big cooler!


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## daltonmcgill (Jan 25, 2009)

i like it i made 1 the same way but you have a hose so that you can empty it but mine just has a cap at the end im gonna make another so that i can empty it easier


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## bassboy1 (Jan 25, 2009)

russ010 said:


> I should mention, this is actually his design


Not really. I stole it from the internet, so I can't take credit for it. He did modify it a bit more extensively than many I have seen on the 'net.


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## russ010 (Jan 25, 2009)

I amaze myself sometimes with what I can jerry rig while standing in 1 aisle at home depot for more than an hour.


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## Waterwings (Jan 25, 2009)

That looks great, and nice work! I like the red flip cover idea over the toggle switch 8)


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## russ010 (Jan 25, 2009)

you can see the toggle switch picture?? I only see half of my post. I don't even see the main stuff... I hit submit earlier while posting this and hit stop on the browser, then kept writing and hit submit when I was completely finished... please tell me the pricing is the last thing on that post - otherwise there is a ton of stuff left out!


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## daltonmcgill (Jan 25, 2009)

russ010 said:


> you can see the toggle switch picture?? I only see half of my post. I don't even see the main stuff... I hit submit earlier while posting this and hit stop on the browser, then kept writing and hit submit when I was completely finished... please tell me the pricing is the last thing on that post - otherwise there is a ton of stuff left out!


i dont see it


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## russ010 (Jan 25, 2009)

I'm going to rewrite/edit this post.. .there is a lot of stuff missing... wiring, and all that jazz... check back in a little while, I'll have more added to it.


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## Macgyver (Jan 25, 2009)

cool, but how do ya fill it and do you have it is a compartment to keep it cool?


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## russ010 (Jan 25, 2009)

I have another pump to fill it with.. you checked it right before I updated it, so check it again...

As far as cooling it.. I'll freeze a few 1L bottles of water if I have to to keep the water cool.. I can keep those in my cooler with drinks. One thing I'll do though is fill the water in the morning when I get to the lake... Shouldn't be too big of a problem though, I can fill and refill/drain throughout the day if it gets bad.


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## FishingBuds (Jan 25, 2009)

Sorry Russ that's not gonna work, it will be a failure, so I must do my duty and help my brother fisherman from this soon to be disaster of a live well, let me PM you my address so you can send it to me and I will put it in my, I mean throw away this live well for you :---) 

scouts honor :mrgreen: :lol:


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## OhioStateBuckeye (Jan 25, 2009)

why wont it work?


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## russ010 (Jan 25, 2009)

It works man... he just wants me to send it to him to put in his boat


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## OhioStateBuckeye (Jan 26, 2009)

i think im going to do it... might try to find a way to box it in and put a lid on top i dont know! so much to do so little time.


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## russ010 (Jan 26, 2009)

crap - now that you mention the top, I'm not finished....

I plan on cutting out a rectangle (not sure of size yet), and using a piece of the aluminum bench top that I cut out of my boat. I'll attach it to the top of the tub with a stainless steel piano hinge fastened with rivets.

I forgot how high exactly it sits above the rear bench, but I think I could deck around it. Then I could put insulation around the bottom side of it to keep it at desired temps.... (this edit comes in after HiH (hoist-n-hawgs) gives me the idea for insulation.)


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## HOIST-N-HAWGS (Jan 26, 2009)

Outstanding instructional post Russ! =D> I have a draw full of inventions 80% complete. Now if I could I borrow your brain for a day or two for the final 20%, they may actually work! 

On the "keeping it cool" subject, you may want to consider some sort of insulation. I've tried something simuliar in the past(didn't look anywhere near as good as your's) using ice to cool them off during the warmer months. Can yu say FISH BOIL? #-o I also had a Taho livewell and delt with the same problem. I wrapped it w/insulation(cover and sides), then duct tape. It worked, but esthetics were an issue. 

Great work and it looks good too! :beer:


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## russ010 (Jan 26, 2009)

I'm going to wait and see what happens when the water's get warmer.. Here in the south the surface temp of the water can get up to about 95* or higher... most places I fish average about 89-93*. 

The plan I have so far is filling the water when I get to the lake, and insert a liter bottle of frozen water. Actually, what I plan on doing is filling up a 2L bottle first, cut the top off and put that block of ice in, then direct water coming in from the lake to run over it... that's how you get cold water. Then put 1L frozen bottles in to keep it at the desired temp. As water changes are necessary, I think I'll cut the top off of 1L bottles and do the same thing. I can fill/refill at the same time, so shouldn't be too much of a problem. But we'll have to wait a few more months before we get that kind of temp. I plan on putting some kind of aquarium thermometer in to keep an eye on the temperature. When the water gets around 70*, water should be changed out every 3 hours. This is what I'm shooting for to start with.


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## russ010 (Jan 26, 2009)

I've been thinking about this livewell now for the last few hours and decking... I think I can make it happen, but this thing sits higher than my bench seat. I could cut out the floor the dimension of the bottom of the tub, then build up around it to match the rear bench so that I have more platform... but I think what I am going to do (don't know why I didn't think of this in the first place) is go to my brother-in-laws HVAC shop and make me one out of sheet metal. Then I can insulate the outside of it with HVAC insulation, and make it the dimensions that will allow it to sit even with the rear bench. He has all the machines to make it happen, I just have to get back to SC in my free time to build it.


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## rcgreat (Jan 26, 2009)

Russ, you are the Man!!!! Nice work. I am still working on mine.


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## russ010 (Jan 26, 2009)

I worked all the kinks out before posting this to make sure it would work.. the only thing I have yet to do is put a fish in it.

When I turned the bilge on, I checked the voltage on my fishfinder, and at the time I went from 13.6v to 13.5 volts. I'm running a 500GPH bilge and it goes into a cigarette lighter adapter. One thing I wasn't thinking about was the adapter that attaches to the bilge pump has a little light on it that shows it's receiving power. I doubt that could draw much power, but when trying to conserve power, that little bit probably wouldn't make a difference, but it's something to think about.


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## Waterwings (Jan 26, 2009)

Russ,

I see the entire post, including the pics and pricing.


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## Hanr3 (Jan 27, 2009)

Great idea and nice write up.

My only concern is the weight your expecting that tub to control. Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon. To keep the math simple, 20 gallons * 8 = 160 pounds. I suspect that tub wont be able to control 160 pounds of water in rough seas. Building the exterior box and insulating it should solve that problem and you could lower the height to match your deck.


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## russ010 (Jan 27, 2009)

I've filled that tub up to about 18 gallons so far, so that should be roughly 150lbs including tubweight and accessories.. it's just like putting another person in the back of my boat. I don't get in rough seas, only electric only lakes where there are no waves, only high winds and some little white caps. 

That tub is a lot more sturdy than I thought it would be as I was worried about its' ability to handle the pressure of the water. But after the test on Sunday, I'm not worried about that anymore either.


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## FishingBuds (Jan 27, 2009)

Niceley done again Russ, how quick does the water fill up for ya? I actually am not to familiar on live wells


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## russ010 (Jan 27, 2009)

I filled it half way, enough to cover the tops of the fish + about 3 inches... I timed it and it took me about 2 min. I'm using an 800 GPH livewell pump for that function.


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## bassboy1 (Jan 27, 2009)

Hanr3 said:


> My only concern is the weight your expecting that tub to control. Water weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon. To keep the math simple, 20 gallons * 8 = 160 pounds. I suspect that tub wont be able to control 160 pounds of water in rough seas. Building the exterior box and insulating it should solve that problem and you could lower the height to match your deck.


I had that concern when I made mine, which uses a standard Rubbermaid tote. The biggest thing with it is the lid. When riveted on, it keeps the top in the right pattern, and keeps the sides from bowing out as easily. I have used mine in one tourney so far, and bouncing around in my boat in rougher water, it didn't have that problem. Russ only uses his boat in electric only waters, so it won't bounce around like mine. When I made mine (on a budget of about 15 bucks two days before a tourney - reason I didn't use a cooler, or fabricate a better tank) I figured if I had a problem with it bowing out, I would make a couple bands out of some 1.5 inch wide strips of sheet that always seemed to have to come off when I was building my deck.


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## russ010 (Jan 27, 2009)

bassboy does your livewell have the handles on top like mine do that snap over the lid to keep it on? I don't trust them so I still put a bungee cord over the top of it to keep it on while trailering it to and from the lake. This thing is pretty sturdy so I don't know now if I'm going to cut a top out of it and put a hinged lid or not


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## baptistpreach (Feb 3, 2009)

Great job, I still don't know why I had such a hard time finding it! Thanks again, and you'll be seeing probably the same thing in my boat soon!


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## bassboy1 (Feb 4, 2009)

russ010 said:


> bassboy does your livewell have the handles on top like mine do that snap over the lid to keep it on? I don't trust them so I still put a bungee cord over the top of it to keep it on while trailering it to and from the lake. This thing is pretty sturdy so I don't know now if I'm going to cut a top out of it and put a hinged lid or not


Yep. I put the rivets all the way around the lid with the hinge as my bin was a standard Rubbermaid, and no where near as stiff as yours. So, without the lid, the water makes it bow out like crazy, but it is the lid that solves that dilemma, and the handles alone are not enough to hold it.


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## daltonmcgill (Feb 19, 2009)

russ010 said:


> I worked all the kinks out before posting this to make sure it would work.. the only thing I have yet to do is put a fish in it.
> 
> When I turned the bilge on, I checked the voltage on my fishfinder, and at the time I went from 13.6v to 13.5 volts. I'm running a 500GPH bilge and it goes into a cigarette lighter adapter. One thing I wasn't thinking about was the adapter that attaches to the bilge pump has a little light on it that shows it's receiving power. I doubt that could draw much power, but when trying to conserve power, that little bit probably wouldn't make a difference, but it's something to think about.


i ran my livewell all dayand night (for shinners) and woke up the next morning and it was still going so i dont think you will have to worry about it draining that much power and i was using a lawnmower battery


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## russ010 (Feb 19, 2009)

Awesome.

I've ran it for about 5 min at a time while having fish in it every 30min.. they did fine, but I did a water change after about 4 min to see what changes I needed to make if any..

but as far as the batteries - I've got the bilge for livewell, a radio, and front trolling motor on 2 batts in parallel, and it doesn't drain at all after an all day fishing trip


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## G3_Guy (Feb 19, 2009)

Awesome set-up Russ!


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## baptistpreach (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm gonna try to finish putting mine together by tomorrow afternoon or Mon morning at the latest! I've got everything, and I've got it dry fit now, I can't wait to post pics! Thanks Russ, you're the man!!


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## dougdad (Apr 4, 2009)

awsome job Russ, the post shown through the home page came out great, wireing and all. Going to build one a bit smaller for bait as I do not fish tourneys. Besides my boat does not have room for a big one. Again Great job !!!


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## dunk50 (Apr 15, 2009)

A couple rookie questions so please indulge me a little. If the live well is not bolted down as in you are able to move it a little then why?? I am thinking of building yours with a minor change. I would either eliminate the bilge portion of the live well or move it close enough to the side to have both the bilge run to empty it and the other run to fill it. This would make it easy to change or put fresh water in. Clear as mud huh. Let's try it this way, if you have to have a separate 800 gph pump to fill it you could use the same 800 pump to empty it. If you hooked it up near the side of the boat, you could leave the 800 in the water. Turn the 500 on to empty and the 800 on to fill. In my case I would use two the same gph output. Seems like it could be made to work. Maybe even suction up the one in the water to the side of the boat. No ice, no hassle and very little difference from what you did. Just using both pumps. I can visualize it, question is can i BUILD it. I think I can I think I can!! :mrgreen:


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## russ010 (Apr 16, 2009)

I added 2 D-rings - I have 1 on each side of the cooler (I'm not using the rubbermaid container, now I'm using a cooler. Anyways, I attach the straps to that and wrap it around the handles on the cooler and then back down to the hook screwed into the floor. Then I run a strap across the top from one side to the other to keep the top on going down the road.

The way I have my cooler set up is a little different, and I'll post pics of it later. I have a bilge pump in it that I use to circulate the water, and I can take the hose off the spray bar and pump water out. I have another bilge pump with a longer power wire set up to where I can pump water in.

I have a cigarette lighter on both bilge pumps. I have the one 12volt plug-in like before. But I bought a 12v adapter that has 3 inputs on it. The bilge in the cooler has a switch on it for me to cut it on and off, and on the other bilge pump I just have to plug it in and pull it out when I'm done. I didn't put a switch on it because when I'm done recirulating I pull it out of the water and put it behind the cooler somewhere out of the way. I carry atleast 9 rods with me during tournaments, and in a 12' boat that makes a cramped space even smaller.

I'll try to post pics tonight if I get home in time.


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## jojo (Mar 18, 2010)

Nice! I just found this. What a great design. I had a question though. I liked the idea to have a second pump to fill the livewell. You mentioned that the pump would not pump water in through your tube you initially had on there. Any idea why?


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## roncapps (Apr 27, 2010)

Nice Job. I had been thinking of how I would make one and then saw yours. I now know what I'll be doing. I'll post mine when completed. Thanks for sharing!


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## russ010 (Apr 27, 2010)

jojo said:


> Nice! I just found this. What a great design. I had a question though. I liked the idea to have a second pump to fill the livewell. You mentioned that the pump would not pump water in through your tube you initially had on there. Any idea why?



Yea... I was using a Livewell pump, not a bilge pump. So I had a hose just stuck in the water expecting it to suck water up, but you actually have to have that pump in the water to draw water in... When I switched it to a bilge pump, it worked 10 times better because I could throw the pump in the water to fill, and then put the pump in the livewell to empty (sorry I'm just now responding, I missed your post)


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## Troutman3000 (Apr 27, 2010)

russ010 said:


> I added 2 ... can't think of what they are called... but you bolt them to trailers to attach straps to to hold it down. I have 1 on each side of the cooler (I'm not using the rubbermaid container, now I'm using a cooler. Anyways, I attach the straps to that and wrap it around the handles on the cooler and then back down to the hook screwed into the floor. Then I run a strap across the top from one side to the other to keep the top on going down the road.
> 
> The way I have my cooler set up is a little different, and I'll post pics of it later. I have a bilge pump in it that I use to circulate the water, and I can take the hose off the spray bar and pump water out. I have another bilge pump with a longer power wire set up to where I can pump water in.
> 
> ...




Interested in seeing your cooler pics.


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## russ010 (Apr 27, 2010)

umm... yea about that cooler.. I have the cooler, but it's not functional anymore since I have a "real" livewell.

Basically all I did was take the drain spout out of the cooler, and installed the livewell recirculater pump. It's about a 3/4" hole, so it fit just fine, and I didn't have to seal with caulk or anything around it. Then I drilled a hole in the top, put regular tubing in through that hole and attached it to a homemade PVC pipe with holes drilled in it for aeration... worked like a champ, but my cooler was HUGE - it's a 150qt cooler. Almost 46" across the bottom


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## fishinnut (Aug 10, 2012)

Built one like it for my pontoon. It works great except when passing boats get it rocking and it splashes over the side. Trying to build some type of baffle now.


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## zq8blazer (Mar 20, 2013)

So I'm guessing this live well recirculates within the container instead of removing the old water and putting new water from the lake into it?


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## russ010 (Mar 26, 2013)

that's the way it's set up... but you can turn one of the ball joints to pump water out, while at the same time having another bilge pump or livewell pump bringing water in


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## javelinpr (Apr 5, 2013)

Can you mount the pump with the top part flush to the bottom so that you can empty the livewell easier? you arent using the pump mount anyways so that can point up

Im gonna build one livewell and I need to make it work with a small budget. 

I already have a bilge pump that I can use to pump water into the livewell. I need the aereating and pumping water out parts. This design seems simple and easy to build. 

I already have a plastic container In there as a livewell.


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