You have nice tap water. When you tested aged water in the bucket I assume that you were aerating it? The only suggestion I have is that if you measured the pH right after dosing the tank with ammonia the pH would be high. When I add just 1 ppm of ammonia the pH will rise immediately and then fall as the ammonia is consumed. Some fishless cycling instructions have people putting up to 4 ppm of ammonia, which IME is way too much and could push the pH over 8.0