New 10 gal tank for the grandkids - old timer back after 50 years

[JCinPA3]

Journal Entry 05/03/26 11:30 am EST

Ammonia: 0.25 ppm

My one guppy looks fine! Have not dosed Prime in 48 hours. Am going to add some Tetra SafeStart this afternoon. I’m stopping with the Prime dosing. I overfed a bit now. I’m hoping the SafeStart will help jumpstart the bacteria colony. I still don’t want to add any more fish (wish I had started with a fishless start), but I’m getting more optimistic my one little guppy will thrive in this 10 gallon for a couple weeks.

I only tested for ammonia today, all levels are so low, and he’s so small, it’s not likely worth testing other stuff for a bit.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/03/26 4:30 pm EST

Fish still looks great! API ammonia reads between 0.25 and 0.5 PPM. I just dosed with 35 ml of Tetra SafeStart. I have not used Prime in over 48 hours. I'm pretty hopeful I'll get through this with this little guy thriving.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/04/26 9:30 am EST

Fish still looks great, good appetite, and processing (pooping) well, very active. I dosed with the Tetra Safestart yesterday, hoping it speeds the cycle, but this little guy won't likely create enough waste to rapidly grow the bacteria colony. Measurements this morning.

Temp: 77.4 F
PH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25 (NH3 calculation 0.0036)
Nitrite: 0 - 0.25
Nitrate: 0 - 5 (base rate with new tap water)

I think I will over feed a little bit to hopefully jump start the Tetra Safestart bacteria. The environment seems to be good for him.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/05/26 10:30 a.m. EST

Temp: 77.5 F
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25 (NH3 calculation 0.0037 )
Nitrates: 0
Nitrates: 0

Fish looks very healthy, very active, perfectly happy. He's not big enough to really raise any waste levels in the tank, apparently. I'm glad I put the Tetra Safestart in, may not help but can't hurt.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/06/26 9:30 am EST

Temp: 77.5
pH: 7.8 - 8.0 (between colors, I did it twice because it surprised me)
Ammonia: 0.25 (NH3 = 0.009)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5

Fish is active, looks great. Flits all over the tank. Tetra Safestart seems to have been somewhat beneficial.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/07/26 9:00 am EST

Temp: 77.5
pH: 7.8 - 8.0 (between colors, unchanged from yesterday)
Ammonia: 0.25 (NH3 = 0.009)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5

Well, I added two more male guppies yesterday, 05/06 at about 4:00 p.m. I had not intended to get any more fish, but my car repair shop office manager has a small guppy tank and they've been breeding for her like crazy. When I complimented her and said I just got some she asked me to take a couple of males off her hands, and had a Petsmart plastic bag handy. So I adopted two fairly small males about the size of the one I already had, so 3 fish now.

I added 35 ml of Tetra Safestart again when I added the fish. I fed them, they all had a good appetite, and the new fish seem much more comfortable and happy than my original fish did when I brought him home, perhaps because the tank is moving along the cycle, albeit slowly. This morning I ran the water tests, results above, unchanged from yesterday after 17 hours with 3 fish present. I must have some bacteria eating ammonia but not yet to the producing nitrate stage, so it is not yet cycled. Adding two more fish, even small ones, I would think would have changed the chemistry, but it did not.

I have one dose of Tetra Safestart left in that bottle, and if I see any bad stuff lifting in my water tests, I'll add the last of it. I may do it this Saturday, regardless, because it is harmless--could help, can't hurt. All fish are very good looking, nice fins and color and very active, swimming all over the tank. Fingers crossed this continues to cycle without issues.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/08/26 9:30 am EST

Temp: 77.4
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.25 (NH3 = 0.009)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5 (base)

Well, the two new guppies should have raised the ammonia readings in the tank, but after 48 hours they absolutely have not done that. In the week since I got my API Master Test Kit, the ammonia is always 0.25 ppm and after adding the two new guppies, I've tested 2X per day. I believe the Tetra Safestart is living up to its good reputation.

They all look just great! very active swimmers and good appetites. They really like the Fluval Bug Bites.

Edit: I checked ammonia and nitrite again, I'm a little paranoid about having added the two more guppies this early in the cycle. Ammonia is near zero. I added the last of the Tetra Safestart today, and will wait until my nitrates get off the floor of 5 ppm before any more additions. But based on their swimming and eating behavior, I think my three are in good shape, as is the water so far.

KH = 4
GH = 11

 

[JCinPA3]

05/09/26 9:00 am EST

Temp: 77.5
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: <0.25 (NH3 = 0.009) almost none, pretty clear solution
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5 (base)
KH = 4 GH = 12

Fish look great, great appetite and activity, apparently still in the early stages of the cycle.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/10/26 9:00 am EST

Temp: 77.5
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: <0.25 (NH3 = 0.009) negligible - not yellow, but almost clear now
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5 (base)

Fish look great, great appetite and activity, apparently still in the early stages of the cycle. Clearly, three fish and feeding must be creating ammonia, but I cannot detect it, so the Safestart has to have helped. I will wait until I see nitrates to add more fish, but I think I am a believer in Tetra Safestart. And would be in Dr. Tim's One and Only, both work, apparently. Best in a fishless cycle, but since I got myself into this mess, it has helped for sure.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/11/26 11:00 am EST

Temp: 77.5
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: finally zero
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5 (base)

Fish still look terrific. Very active. Waiting on rest of the cycle.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/12/26 11:00 am EST

Temp: 77.5
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: negligible
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5 (base)

Fish still look terrific. Very active. I've decided it is silly to keep doing daily water testing, nothing changes that fast. Clearly the tank is not going to go bad on this small fish load of 3 guppies. I will next check on Friday, and probably weekly after that if nothing changes. I won't add more guppies until I see nitrates appear. Ammonia is clearly not going to be a problem.

 

[JCinPA3]

05/13/26

Fish are fine, tank is still cycling, no more entries until Friday, 05/15. Daily testing not necessary.

I decided to start another round of Seachem Stability, though. Can't hurt.

 

[JCinPA3]

I had an obviously stalled cycle with 3 guppies in the tank. The bio load was not high enough to really grow the bacteria with just 3 male guppies. I used the Google AI to research how to add 3 more using Tetra Safestart and got these instructions:

1. Add fish and bacteria together: Float and acclimate your three new male guppies. Pour the entire, well-shaken bottle of Tetra SafeStart directly into the tank at the same time you release the new fish.
2. Do not use your conditioner: If you must top off evaporation, use water that has sat out for 24 hours instead of adding API Tap Water Conditioner. Do not do a water change for at least 7 to 14 days to let the bacteria attach to your filters and gravel.
3. Hide the API Master Test Kit for 48 hours: SafeStart contains a specialized fluid that will skew liquid test results. Testing tomorrow or the next day will show false, alarming ammonia or nitrite spikes that do not reflect actual toxic levels.
4. Feed very lightly: Feed your six guppies only once every other day for the first week to keep the initial waste levels manageable while the bacteria settle.

I have both an UGF and an HOB filter, so I should be able to grow a healthy bacteria colony with those. The Tetra Safestart is identical to Dr. Tim's One and Only (he developed it while working for Tetra's parent company so they have the patent), and I have a lot of confidence in it. A fishless cycle would have been better but not knowing that, I got myself into this with fish, but I think they will come out of this OK. Further instructions from the AI ...

• Resume testing on Day 3: When you resume testing, do not panic if you see a faint trace of ammonia (0.25 ppm) or nitrite; SafeStart fluid can cause false positives early on. Look for a steady trend of zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and rising nitrates by week two.
• No water changes for 14 days: Unless you see extreme, undisputed spikes accompanied by lethargic, gasping fish, do not change the water or vacuum the gravel for two full weeks. Let the bacteria settle undisturbed.

There was other good information from the AI, I'm actually pretty impressed. Complete with footnotes and other links. I'll test again on 05/17. Today's tests were the same as all the earlier tests, no changes.

I added a yellow guppy, a blue guppy, and a tequila sunrise guppy. It's a very colorful group!

 

[JCinPA3]

05/17/26

Fish are fine, zooming all over the place, all six of them. All look healthy, no signs of any kind of stress.

Temp: 77.5 F
pH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0.25 PPM, (NH3 0.0037
Nitrite: still zero
Nitrate: still 5.0 or tap water base

 

[JCinPA3]

05/18/26

Fish are stillfine, all look healthy, no signs of any kind of stress. I was measuring my pH wrong, though. I could not tell the difference between the 7.4 and 8.0 in the High Range pH test, I was guessing 7.4. Today I thought about it, though and the regular pH test tops at 7.6 in the pure blue, and mine does that. So it has to be higher than 7.6 which eliminates the 7.4, so my pH has been 8.0 all along. Dummy!

Since six guppies have to be producing ammonia at some level the fact that mine are consistently on the floor indicate the Tetra Safestart did its job and the bacteria are growing. Even with feeding (light) I cannot get the tank anywhere near the 0.25 PPM ammonia level, so it's being consumed. Today is the third full day of six fish.

Temp: 77.5 F
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: Negligible, basically clear
Nitrite: still zero
Nitrate: still 5.0 or tap water base