My fish in my freshwater tank keep dying??

Question
QUESTION: So heres the thing:
I wanted to make sure my fish was properly cycled before adding new fish in, or
at least on the way to establishment...so I set up my 10 gallon tank and added
Stability every day along with different chemicals such as Neutral Regulator for
pH and Ammo-Lock (I had ammonia problems in the past with my fish which caused
their deaths! So i'm quite scared it would happen again..) But anyways, I also
borrowed gravel from my boyfriend's 30 gallon tank which was already established
and I put that gravel into my tank, and continued adding Stability and such. But
I also had bought 3 platys and 2 mollies and placed them into the tank (not
dumping the fish store water in, but netting the fish out after placing the bag
into the tank to have them adjust to the water temp). I had gotten the fish two
days ago and I kept adding Neutral Regulator, Stability, Water Conditioner when
I added water after evaporations, and Water Clarifier, and Prime (which
eliminates Ammonia and Chlorine and such). I also did a 10-15% water change
today to remove uneaten food from the bottom of the tank so that it did not
create a rise in ammonia. I added more water in, but did not add Neutral
Regulator when I put the water in. Would this cause a problem for my fish? Would
it stress them out? They were doing so well right before the water change...
.Oh and I did a test for ammonia and my results came out to .50 ppm..but i
thought that was alright since my tank is still being cycled. I just thought
this was the peak of the ammonia levels and then it would go back down and my
fish would be fine...
This is my first time keeping fish, so if you could help me out, that would be
great!

ANSWER: Hi Nikki,
First, take a deep breath... You're doing ok. You just have to let the aquarium cycle. Ammonia at .50ppm is a bit low for a peak in the cycle. With a 10 gallon it can take up to a month to become completely stable. Just be patient. You should also do larger water changes during the cycling process. 25% to 30%, every 2 or 3 days, is perfectly fine with fresh water systems that are cycling, and will knock down the stress on your new pets. I also would cut back on the chemicals and additives. I never use anything but a water conditioner such as Aquasafe or Stress Coat and 1 biological supplement such as Stress-Zyme to aid bacterial colonies in growth, activated carbon in the filter. Then I wait. Also when cleaning and doing your water changes dont go too deep in the substrate/gravel with the vac, it does too much damage to the bacterial colonies you're trying to cultivate. Just skim the top of the gravel, loose foods and waste, and suck mainly water out. Just relax, do your water tests and water changes and cut back on the chemicals. You should come through just fine. Do let me know how it's going and if I can help further.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I thought the whole cycling process was going okay, so when all my fish died, I bought two low-maintenance goldfish while my tank was in the process of being cycled...I bought them on Wednesday, and when I came back to my room on Thursday, they both were dead. I would also like to add that I live in Chicago in a dorm room and maybe it is the water quality in the city? But my roommate had a goldfish in a bowl with the same water and hers lasted over 2 semesters without dying. It died yesterday though. I, again, did a water test and my ammonia levels came up at 1.0 ppm. My boyfriend thinks the stickers that i peeled off from the bottom of the fish decor couldve caused toxins in my tank which are poisonous to the fish, which is why they are dying so quickly. Is this possible? I just want to know what I am doing wrong because if I can kill goldfish in less than a day, there is something very wrong :/

Answer
Hi Nikki,
NEVER use tap water. Especially in Illinois. It's disastrous. Goldfish have a lifespan of over 20 years, so 2 semesters is a pretty dismal span. You can generally find RO/DI water at Walmart or Meijer cheaply. Machines that dispense into your own containers. The sticker residue is possible culprit, but not likely. The ammonia at 1.0ppm is a definite. Thats the tank cycling. The cycle as I said, can take 3 to 4 weeks in a 10 gallon aquarium. The ammonia will spike at 1.0ppm or higher, so you need to do daily or every other day water changes of 25% to 30%. Just do your water changes, use distilled water, not tap, a water conditioner, activated carbon in the filter, dont add more than 2 or 3 fish to start with and you'll get going in the right direction.