New Freshwater tank but 4 fish died

Question
Hi Karen,
  I have been following your answers and this website, first of all thanks for the awesome information you have been providing to newbie's like me. I am totally new to fish hobby and just bought 10g tank as a B'day present for my Daugther, unfortunately I had not idea about cycling and gone through killing fish phase. Now I want to go slow with fishless cycle method and want your help to know what I did wrong.

Tank Setup.
10g TopFin Aquarium Kit, Power filter, 50w heater
1 Driftwood from petland
2 small artificial plants.
colored gravel.

I setup my tank on 6/20 and had it running for 3-4 days, then on 6/23 went to petsmart with my tank water and he tested those ok on pH, ammonnia, nitrite etc. and suggested I can buy fish today (my first mistake). I got 2 goldfish and put them in my tank. I changed 25% of water every 3 days, added Auaplus water conditioner also into new water. for first 5-6 days they were happy, eating flakes and pallets, then on 5th day one of them got white spots on skin. I went to petsmart and that guy told me its Ich and gave me a medicine. As per medicine instructions I took filter out, put the first dose and waited for 48 hrs, then after 48 hrs I put another dose...meanwhile my first fish did not show any recovery but she was just sitting at the bottom, not eating anything...after 48 hrs from second day I changed 30% water and put a new filter in. By now second fish also had white spots and first one looks like had fungus on body....by next day first one almost died and I had to take her out, by evening other one also had same symptons and was floating. I removed both, took water sample and went to store again. He did water test and told me Ammonia is little high but still ok for cyling phase, he suggested me to take Black Skirt Tetra which will help me during cycling phase. I bought two black skirt tetra, did 50% water change and put those in water tank. From day one they were very active BUT did not eat anything (flakes or pallets). Within 2-3 days they also got white spots...now this time I read somewhere about raising water temp to 80+ and put aquarium salt. I did that immediately. Next morning/evening fish had some relief from white spots but now they have rot fins, and looks like they also got fungus on their body. Within 1 day both of these also died. Now I want to start the process again but not clear on couple of things.

1. What went wrong in last 14 days of the cycling method I seleted.
2. How do I restart the process, do I need to take out everything from tank, wash it with bleach and put it back?
3. Can I keep some of the gravel from this tank to help boost the re-cycling process OR it will be risky as all my fish died cuz of fungus etc.
4. I have collected articles about fishless cycle and I am committed to go that route this time no matter how much it takes but shall I go with adding market ammonnia method or add fish food to rot in tank which will create ammonnia?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance, I really did not wanted to kill any fish , I feel bad about killing those two beautiful goldfish

Answer
Hi there,
I'm sorry to hear about your fish dilemma. But this is a very common problem and I don't blame you for doing anything wrong, but the petstore could have been a little more helpful...

One thing that is very important that few people know is that when treating White Spot parasites (ICK or ICH) its vital to keep the medication in there for at least 12-14 days to insure every last parasite is gone. This is because ick is resistant to medications while on the fish, but after a few days they will drop off to begin multiplying in the gravel, after about a day or so they will swarm up again and find a new host to repeat over and over. Only in this "swarm" or free-swimming stage are they vunerable to medications. And oftentimes when the spots disappear from the fish, the owners think their fish has been 'cured' and spot treatment. I use to believe this a long time ago but then the fish would get it again and eventually die.

So the important thing is to keep the medication in the tank for at least 12 days or so even if the directions say only a couple of days. And like you read and know, raising the temperature to 80-82F and adding salt really helps get rid of the parasites tremendously. Their lifecycle is slower at lower temps so it takes longer to treat.

*Another factor that many people don't realize that when using medication, it also destroys any beneficial bacteria that are trying to establish. So then, without them the ammonia levels rise and ammonia is extremely toxic to fish. You can't prevent this but you can help the situation by changing 50% of the water everyday to both lower ammonia and lower the parasite count. When redosing the medication. Just do the 50% water change and redose with the recommendation. A lot of medications advise not to do water changes but its really very important, It Removes excess organics in the water which can deactivate the ingredients in the meds.

*In order to start over, drain your tank down and let it dry out and then setup it back up as normal. The ick parasites will die when allowed to dry out. I can bet that there isn't really any bacteria left worth saving. You can buy bacterial supplements at your petstore that can help but your tank will still need plenty of time to get established.

As far as providing the ammonia source. You can go either route but I know that Pure ammonia (with no fragrances, additives, ect..) would be more accurate. And about 3-5 drops per gallon is about right or enough to bring your ammonia reading to  4-5.

This is an awesome simple article. You might have already seen it though-
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/misc/fishlesscycling.html

I'm really glad you decided to go the fishless cycling route. Cheers for that! I hope it all goes well!
Karen~