I recently purchased a tr-196 and am wondering what is the best way to set you livewells to keep fish healthy. I am really not use to the areator.

If that triton is brand new, you've got a darn good livewell. However, this time of year keeping fish alive is tough. The hot heat basically just turns the livewell into and oven. I suggest constantly running the aerator, and keeping some ice in your cooler to help lower the temps in the livewell....

Along with the ice I suggest some additives to calm the fish and help replace the slime coat.  "Catch 'n Release" is one brand.  There are a couple of others out there.

If the water temperature is "hot" you definently need to keep a jug of ice, tightly sealed, in your well.  I use distlled water when possible.

The fish get stresssed in the well and the cooler water calms them down and also helps with the oxygen levels.

Here is what Dr. Keith Jones says in his book, Knowing Bass, on pages 256, 257 and 260.

I suggest purcashing this book as it is a wonderful guide and will help you catch more fish.

"When surface water conditions are good, it is advisable to open the system and regularly flush new water through the holding tank.  This removes any metabolic wastes put off by the bass (mostly ammonia and carbon dioxide) before they can build up toxic levels.  

However, when surface conditions are poor, or when they differ considerably from deeper waters where the captured bass have been residing, then it is wiser to close off the system and isolate the fish.  Even then you should replace the water in the tank at least once every three hours.

Through effective aerators, these systems can be physically hard on bass, especially if the water jets constantly strike the fish.

I would suggest installing a spearate bubbling type aerator into the livewell.  From the bass's point of view, these sytems are gentler, kinder means of aerating the water.  It always pays to have a backup aeration system, should one or the other fail.  Either way, the water in the livewell should be continually aerated as long as it contains live fish.

In the summer, for example, when surface waters are normally much warmer than the bass's deeper haunts, it is advantageous to cool the livewell water by 5 degrees in order to keep from thermally stressing the bass.  Unfortuantely, bass boats do not come equipped with chiller units for the livewell so the only real option is to add bags or blocks of ice as needed.

Closed loop systems also provide you the option of chemically treating  osmotic stress with commercial livewell treatments.  When used at the recommended dosages, the treatments are advertised to do one or more of the following:

alleviate stress

calm fish

promote slime coat replacement

pervent fungal infections

heal wounds

remove harmful chlorine

reduce weight loss

add oxygen

For better results, use standard noniodized table salt to reach the desired concentration range (as outlined in the book). Commercial sea salt and rock salt can be substituted for table salt if desired."

Dr. Jones also suggest putting three to five drops of Oil of Cloves for every 10 gallons of water in your livewell to calm bass down noticeably within minutes.

Sorry this post is so long but if you purcahse the book you can read what Dr. Jones suggests and also learn a lot of things that us bass fishermen beleive that are not true.

Fill the livewell and close the valve to recirculete. fill plastic bottles with water  ... freeze with the cap on.  Use them in the livewell instead of ice so no clorine gets in the livewell water.  Use a chemical like Rejuvenade, Bass Rx, or Please Release Me.

Just a personal note. Please do not use Rejuvenade. Recent independant studies show that it doesn't calm the fish and it has a high rate of post release death.

I use Catch and Release or Please Release me and a couple of Large Gatoraid filled with water and Frozen. It keeps the fish calm and healthy.

I also hear that Skeeter and a couple of other boat companies are designing some insulated livewells for production in the next few years.

One suggestion. When its hot do not put your  recirculete pumps on auto timer. let them run constant when fish are in the live well. I fish Lake Erie a lot and fish dying is a big issue up the. Those SM come from deep cool water. Live wells get hot. I use the Ice trick, but as soon as a fish is put in the live well. I put my recirculete pumps on manual and let them run. Since doing this I haven't lost any fish.