i'm also an aquarium enthusiast, but unless it's just for the sake of doing it, i found that it wouldn't be effective to produce my own bait... which is a bummer, it seemed like fun. the problem is with just one tank you would be growing them out in batches, so you wouldn't have a constant supply. also with a small tank (from a bait production perspective) like a 37, you wouldn't be able to grow more than a couple dozen at a time without their growth rate slowing down from the overcrowding.
you might consider settling on an option somewhere in between... set that 37 up with a good filter and a big airstone/pump for extra aeration. then pick up a couple hundred adult minnows from a hatchery and dump them in there. that's what i do with shiners and it works great, they keep very well in an unheated tank. you still get the benefit of cheap bait (you pay ~ $1 per dozen vs $4-6 per dozen at the bait shop), you get something interesting to do with that 37 gallon tank, and you get a useful quantity of bait out of the deal.
http://www.muskytrouthatchery.com/pa...pricelist.html
