I have a flats boat and the live wells on it came equipped with fill pumps only and no aerator pumps.  I was looking for a quick and inexpensive way to add aeration to them and I found Frabill's Aqua Life dual output aerator at BPS:  http://www.basspro.com/shop/en/frabill-aqua-life-dual-output-aerator

 

I bought one and took it home but going through the manual I noticed it said to install the pump above the water line of the area to be aerated.  In order for me to do that, I'd have to mount it on the deck of the boat because the water level in the livewells basically comes up to just underneath the lid when full and the lid is part of the deck.  I don't want to mount it on the deck where it could be kicked, tripped over, etc. so my question to anyone that has experience with one of these pumps is this:  Is it absolutely necessary to mount it above the water line or will it still work if you mount it lower?  If the answer is yes, it is absolutely necessary, I'd like to know why.  It seems like it's just pushing air bubbles through a nylon tube.  I wouldn't think it would need the assistance of gravity for that.

 

 

I believe you can mount it below the water line as long as the tubing, at least a few inches, runs above the water line. This is to prevent water back flowing into the pump. The more tubing above the water line the better.

 

 

 

Put this one on my Lowe 180W. 41$ at amazon free shipping and you can mount it any where you like but inside the livewell. I put mine on a fuse and toggle switch.

3 hours ago, Al Wolbach said:

I believe you can mount it below the water line as long as the tubing, at least a few inches, runs above the water line. This is to prevent water back flowing into the pump. The more tubing above the water line the better.

 

 

 

 

The backflow thing makes sense.  I didn't consider that possibility because the pump came with anti-siphon valves.  It's certainly possible to put the tubing in a couple inches above the water line on my livewells.  I guess I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't work then I'm out 50 bucks.  Not the end of the world.

27 minutes ago, Osprey39 said:

 

The backflow thing makes sense.  I didn't consider that possibility because the pump came with anti-siphon valves.  It's certainly possible to put the tubing in a couple inches above the water line on my livewells.  I guess I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't work then I'm out 50 bucks.  Not the end of the world.

If it has anti-siphon valves then you can mount the pump as low as you like. If you put the tubing in the top or as close to that as you can it's not going to backflow anyways.

Livewells are usually next to the rear storage/battery compartment. You can mount a aeration pump in the compartment close to the livewells and plumb the aeration hose into them, if the pump isn't submersible.

Tom