Do any of you drain those things when the freezing temps hit…or are the fittings/hoses and stuff designed for freeze/thaw?
John
Thats a good question. I have never drained mine. But I guess it could be busted right now and I would not know it. I also don’t have it full, so if it froze it would have room to expand. And even though it is cold, I don’t think it is cold enough to freeze a 10 gallon cube of water. But the hoses are different.
Most of the live wells are plumbed with flex hose due to movement and flex of the boat, so they would fair better in cold weather, however the fittings used on them are not, so yes there is a possibility of them freezing and busting [:0] so in freezing temps it would be a good idea to drain them or add RV antifreeze to them, keep in mind that saltwater takes longer and lower temps to freeze so it would depend on the temp and length of time below those temps,
and for those skeptics: 
[i]The freezing point of regular water is 0? Celsius or 32? Fahrenheit. The presence of salt in water, though, reduces the freezing point of water. The more salt in the water, the lower the freezing point will be.
When regular water freezes, hydrogen and oxygen molecules have to bond together. The presence of salt makes it harder for these molecules to bond, because salt doesn?t naturally bond with ice.
When salt particles replace water particles, the freezing rate slows down. This is why salt is often used on icy roads to slow down freezing and make them safer to travel upon.
Normal ocean water usually has about 35 grams of salt for every 1,000 units of water. This lowers the freezing point of ocean water to about -1.8? C or 28.8? F. So ocean water will freeze. It just needs to reach a lower temperature.
Man, he went all scientific on you.
You could just add some moonshine to it, that will lower the freezing point. And you could have a tasty treat next time you go out
i agree with the moonshine, whoo hoo, i went to school with wayne nix , he is on A&E show Moonshiners he is not like they portray him at all… that is my old stompin grounds
I am not a scientist But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express one night 
I have heard that up north they will put cheap Vodka in the tanks to lower the freezing point. I’m sure the first ‘fresh water wash down’ is much better when it thaws out.
quote:
Originally posted by penfishn around every bend theres the promise of a treasure that can only be caught and seen in a blink.. and in your minds eye..and sometimes if youre lucky..in a picture..its there for just a minute...then gone..but hopefully once youve seen it it will remain in your heart forever. Theres nothing like the "Smell" and sounds of the creek. Its not just one thing that makes it familiar..its all of it.
I’am not sure what all the information about salt water has to do with the fresh water tank. My ten gallon fresh water tank had about four or five gallons left in it before the last hard freeze. It was late when I got home and almost dark before the big freeze. I debated running the water out with the pump or removing the lower hose to drain the tank and pump. I took the lazy route out and poured about a quart of antifreeze in the tank and ran the pump for a few minutes. The good news is it didn’t freeze and will not freeze the rest of the winter, the bad news is I will need to clean it out before sandbar time!
ZX
Thanks everyone…I think I’ll cut the pump on and pump it all out this afternoon.
John
Is this one subject that yall will take advice from us Yanks about? 
If your boat is in the water, it will be fine until the water around it freezes. Your hull is like a radiator and will keep all the below deck plumbing in order.
Your tank will take more than one night to freeze.
Your hoses and fittings will freeze, as will your pumps. They may crack. Even bronze thru hulls can crack.
Add a lightbulb in the bilge or blow everything out with compressed air.
Your bilge pump line is supposed to have an anti siphon loop in it… you can gently blow the water back thru the pump if access is a problem.
Water tanks get drained, some pink anti freeze is added and run thru all the lines. Add just enough pink for the pump to run.