Water quality questions

Hey guys,

I'm new hear and I thought I had my tank set up figured out, but I've run into a few problems. I apologize for the length of this post.

Firstly, I have cloudy water. My tank has been set up for 5 days now and my water is still cloudy. I'm currently attempting to cycle the tank. I've been adding shrimp pellets and Top Fin Bacterial Supplement for 2 days now and my ammonia has gone up from zero to .50. No nitrites or nitrates yet though. So hopefully I'm on the right path. I've been doing 20% water changes every other day as well but the cloudiness persists. I know it isn't from my sand being dirty because me mixing it up does not make the tank any cloudier. I thoroughly rinsed all of the decorations I placed in the tank as well. I'm worried that it may be my water supply. I tested the pH yesterday and it was a rather high 8.2. Also, I can see deposits from where droplets have evaporated from. What can I do about this?

Everything else seems to be fine though. I've stopped the flow from the HOB filter with a little basket filled with bio sponge. I have a few fake plants, a hide, a 4 inch air stone, and one live plant tied to a rock that will hopefully root soon. My temperature has stayed between 68-70 for the whole 5 days. I plan on getting a fan to improve cooling as well.

Extra Info: I have a 20 gallon long and do not have any axies yet. I want my tank to be well established first. ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

I would do bigger water changes... That usually helps the cloudiness go away... I would do at least 50% water change every other day till you see improvement... Also throwing food into the tank with no one eating that will also cause your ammonia to go up, so I would put a hold on that...

Are you conditioning the water before you add it? If not then it could be from the chlorine evaporating out of it, otherwise I don't see your water source being a problem

So should I take care of the cloudiness before I cycle? The reason I'm increasing ammonia with the addition of the food is to give the bacteria the "food" they need to complete the nitrogen cycle.

And yes, I am conditioning the water with API Tap Water Conditioner. I usually fill my bucket with four gallons of water, condition it, and then let it sit for a few hours so the water temp change isn't drastic. I then take four gallons out and add the conditioned water.