For some of us “we just have to see” if an advertized 30 gallon bait tank "really holds 30 gallons… Of course one way to do that is to fill a five gallon bucket several times and see how many gallons it takes. But for others this is way to simple… That is why I had to make a spreadsheet where you can input different variables of width, length & height for an “oval tank” to see what the math says…
Just to share this knowledge here is the formula for anybody else with too much time on their hands… Keep in mind these are inside dimensions, and if you have a two compartment tank, only measure the “usable inside space” (that’s the side where the fishes live).
Let’s assume we have an oval tank 18" wide, 26" length, & 19" high.
First, to find the cubic inches we use the formula: 3.14 x (W/2) x (L/2) X H
Therefore: (3.14*(18/2)*(26/2)*19)=6980.22 CI
Then convert cubic inches to cubic feet by dividing the CI by “1728”:
Therefore: 6980.22/1728 = 4.04 CF
Finally to find the volume in gallons multiply the cubic feet by “7.48”.
Therefore: 4.04 x 7.48 = 30.22 Gal
and that’s all there is to it…
To see how many bait you can keep alive in your size tank, just keep adding a dozen each trip until they float. That way you now know you probably have exceeded your maximum capacity! Some say 1.5 to 2 herring per gallon, but I don’t plan on them being in there that long so why not just load er’ up…
For you guys with round tanks, I don’t have one so I didn’t do the math. For guys with square tanks you probably can’t keep your bait alive anyway so it doesn’t really matter as Herring hate corners…
OK, here is the formula for finding the volume in gallons of a cylinder (or round bait tank)…
Let’s look at a 55 gallon drum for example…
Diameter is approximately 22 inches, so the radius is 11 inches which is 0.91667 feet. Height is 33 inches or 2.75 feet.
Formula: V = (pi x r2 x h)
Therfore: “Volume = (Pi x Radius squared x height”).
(Note the radius and height are in feet below by dividing the inches by 12). This saves another conversion step…
Therefore: 3.1416 x (0.91667)2 X 2.75 = 7.26 cubic feet
So to convert cf to gallons multiply by 7.48
7.26 cf x 7.48 = 54.3 gallons
??? Van, what is the shape of my live well? And do you recall ever losing a bunch of bait while fishing with me? The exception would be at Cherokee when the tank water froze overnight when we tried to save some for the next day:smiley: This business of tanks having to be round is a bunch of mularkey. It’s all about size, air, salt, and temperature. What shape are David’s, Richard’s, and Ned’s tanks? C’mon buddy!
Hey Fog I new I’d get a rise from the square tank comment… And yes most all the bait men have square tanks, be they 500+ gallons… But if you notice when we pull bait out of your tank they are all bent at 90 degrees to the right… LOL!
OK just for the “square cornered guys”…
Multiply Length x Width x Depth = Cubic Feet of a rectangle.
Cubic Feet x 7.48 = Total Gallons
Just to be sure, I fill the 5 gallon bucket up by calculating the average water pressure & flow per minute based also on the diameter of the faucet, and the length of time I run the water… (adjusting for the ramp up and decline during start-up and stopping of the flow of course.) Or you could use a quart jar…
