Minnows

I reside in a residential area without a small stream or brook to
keep a minnow box (or some type of container) in the water to keep my
minnows alive.   I thought about purchasing a 10 gallon aquarium to try
and keep them alive in, howver, I'm told this usually doesn't work very
well for keeping redfins alive.  Does anyone have any recommendations?

  I have a commercial tank you can have. It even has a drain spicket.
 It should work good for what you want. Pm me if interested.
 
   Crappy

I tried the aquarium route this winter and it worked ok except for when I put more then a dozzen or two in it.  The filter actually posed more problems then it was worth.  If one of the unlucky minnows couldn't escape the suction and died, soon every minnow was going belly up.  I have gone back to the old method...  Putting an areator on the minnow bucket.

I have a (i think 30 gallon?) tub that the beer stores use for kegs.  I bought one at Lowes for $15.  They usually only have them in Aug/Sept when the local universities start up.  It works great, with an aquarium pump and areator.  Make sure you either use Auquasafe or something like that to balance out the chemicals.  I have it in the basement, which keeps rather cool during the summer.  Baitshop shiners will last for ever.  I use a cylinder one, which is recommended for any type of shad, since they will find a corner and swim into it until they die.  The tub doesn't keep them alive for much longer than a few days though.  If you have ever tried to keep alewives or gizzard shad, a few hours if that, is how long they will last in a minnow bucket, so this keeps them a bit longer.  It lets them do laps around and around, with out getting stuck.  They will get stuck on the pump hose if it isn't in the center.
 
If you don't have an areator or pump, try using a drop of hydrogen peroxide every so often.  Do a quick search on the internet of how much to use.

WOW id be afraid to see some or your guys aquarium set ups (for pets that is) the Rule of thumb in keeping fish is 1inch per gallon. 10 gallon = 10 one inch fish. now if you mean to keep your minnow for longer periods youll need a chiller that connected to a pump. It can become very costly. my advice is what Stealys said use a frozen bottle.   Go to wal mart or dollar general and purchase like a 30 gallon storage bin. cheaper and less of a worry for breaks. What i did for my saltwater coral fragment tank was sit the bid on 4 block bricks and added a lil drain nozzle on the bottom for easy water changes. Ive got a chiller for sale I used on my 55 gallon reef tank if your lookin to spend some money.

I've used a 55 gallon and a 70 gallon aquarium for keeping bait. Have never had a problem keeping bait. Use a dual filter pump system.(filters need cleaned often) With a two stone setup on an aerator. Keep it in the coolest spot you have out of direct sun. in winter I can keep 100's of baits. In the summer not as many. Right now I have 100 creek baits and about 50 emeralds(large). They are fresh and ready to go when I need them. The aquarium set up is a little more inconvenient because of the maintenance needed.But not nearly as inconvenient as being ready to go fishing at 5am with no bait..

I got one of those traps at walmart, its like a cylinder shape and i wanna put it in a creek near my house,  Whats the best bait to use and whats usually the best parts of the creek to put a trap in?  also is it a bad idea to put it in a creek where there is light to moderate fishing pressure?

Get yourself a camo rope also. Had my traps cleaned twice this week. One trap was only in the creek for 5 hours found it on the bank. When I use dog food I tie it up in onion sack so when you get the bait out you don't have a bucket full of loose dog food.

get the dog food in a can and punch holes in that works well. anything stinky and oily will get the job done.